(This story has been updated to include a comment from Bruce Linton.)
Former Canopy Growth co-CEO Bruce Linton, presenting the keynote address at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Business Summit, made light of his recent firing by the board of directors at Canopy Growth.
“I can confirm there is no such thing as job security, no matter what you do,” Linton quipped.
His firing after a disappointing financial performance by the Canadian company in the first quarter of 2019, was only one of many topics Linton addressed during his hourlong talk in San Jose, California on Tuesday.
Here are some of the other highlights of Linton’s keynote:
- Marijuana companies should look to locate in economically distressed towns or areas that are looking for injections of capital and jobs that cannabis businesses can bring with them. Such areas are likely to be much more business-friendly, he said, in contrast to cities that may have a bigger customer base but are more hesitant to welcome the industry.
- He hasn’t made any sales of marijuana stocks that he owns, either in Canopy or other companies, because he believes new marijuana-industry entrants such as alcohol giant Constellation Brands and others will be able to turn around stock prices that may have dipped in recent months.
- Multistate operators in the U.S. aren’t necessarily better positioned to do well financially than single-state operators. Such endeavors come with challenges of their own, and profitability isn’t necessarily tied to a company’s size or footprint in more than a single market.
- European marijuana markets, Linton predicted, are going to accelerate rapidly in the coming years in part because of socialized medical programs already in place that will help establish medical marijuana programs.
- The lack of federal marijuana reforms in the U.S. is setting back American companies on a global scale. But, Linton said, it’s still important to get intellectual property in place because that can easily be transported across international boundaries.
John Schroyer can be reached at johns@mjbizdaily.com
