Marijuana Business Magazine - May-June 2018

B¬G H¬TS Jamaica. We judged the timing wrong. We also came into Spain too early, and it’s still a very complicated, uncertain, high-risk market. Q Is it possible to correct or avoid mistakes like that in the future? A I had an old boss in the venture capital industry who summed up our job as getting to “no” as fast as possible. That’s one of our key frameworks. And when I think about international opportunities in the cannabis industry, that’s how we think about it. We don’t have any problems spending a lot of time, energy and resources investing in opportunity. But as soon as we determine this is not the right opportunity or it’s going to take too long, then we pull the rip cord and stop investing any additional time or resources in that country. Q What’s the best example of when you said “no” to an investment? A A few years ago I went and looked at all the licensed pro- ducers in Israel and was under a lot of pressure to make an investment. All these entrepreneurs in Israel told me that the Israeli parliament was going to allow exports of medical cannabis from Israel within the next six months. I’ve been to Israel four or five times in the last five years, and every time I go, it’s, “We’re going to export medical cannabis from Israel in the next six months,” and here we are five years later, and no company can export medical cannabis from Israel. We never made that investment. Q Is it possible to view the international market in terms of sectors? And if yes, which ones have the best opportunities? A I do think about it in sectors, but slightly different sectors than what you’re used to seeing in the United States. In nine of the countries where Tilray products are available, they are available through pharmacies. That is essentially medical retail in those countries. We look at other countries around the world as cultiva- tion opportunities. We have made significant investments in Portugal for a Tilray cultivation, processing and distribution facility. So climate and affordable labor costs were impor- tant. And tariff-free access to the European common market was an important factor in evaluating whether or not to put that facility inside the European Union or outside the EU. Another category would be low-cost cultivation. And there are a number of opportunities where companies are looking at Colombia or Congo to cultivate cannabis as potential low-cost centers from where you can export can- nabis products around the world. ◆ Snoop Dogg’s VC Firm Raises $45 Million Casa Verde Capital, the venture capital firm founded by rapper Snoop Dogg to invest in ancillary cannabis companies, closed its inaugural fund after securing $45 million from investors, making it one of the larger raises in the marijuana industry. The West Hollywood, California-based firm has invested in at least eight companies and plans to announce more investments in the coming weeks. Tikun Olam USA Nets $7 Million Tikun Olam USA closed on a $7 million offering of 6% convertible promissory notes that mature in March 2019. The U.S. unit of the Israeli MMJ firm Tikun Olam said the proceeds will be used for product research and development. Vancouver Grow Company Nabs $9.5 Million Vancouver-based Sunniva, a cultivation company, inked an agreement with Beacon Securities Limited and Cannacord Genuity Corp. to raise $9.5 million (CA$12.5 million) through a stock-purchase deal. Sunniva owns two companies: Sunniva Medical, a late-stage applicant for a federal Canadian medi- cal marijuana cultivation license, and CP Logistics, a cultivation company in Cathedral City, California. Alberta Cultivator Secures $4.8 Million Atlas Growers in Lac Ste. Anne County, Alberta, near Edmonton, said it received $4.8million (CA$6.3 million) from ATB Financial, which is owned by the Alberta government. Atlas Growers said it is one of Canada’s first cannabis companies to receive finan- cial backing from an “accredited financial institution.” Number of Note: $57 Billion Worldwide spending on legal cannabis is forecast to reach $57 billion by 2027, led by growth in North America and Europe, according to a report by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics. ◆ – Omar Sacirbey May-June 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 13