Cheddar's Cannabiz explores the latest trends, and businesses looking to capitalize on the growing cannabis market. Cheddar's Baker Machado and Brad Smith speak with investors, business leaders, and legislators in this episode.
In the last few days several officials have announced efforts to reverse marijuana-related convictions. San Francisco's District Attorney George Gascón announced the dismisscal of more than 3,000 marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. Cheddar's Baker Machado spoke to Gascón about that decision, and the reaction he is receiving from other cities.
Recreational marijuana has been legal in California since January 1 and since then cannabis stores like MedMen in West Hollywood have been a significant bump in sales and foot traffic. Alyssa Julya Smith visited the MedMen location in West Hollywood one month after the store first started selling recreational marijuana.
Yi explains that month-to-month MedMen has been triple the amount of foot traffic and revenue in January as they had from December. He explains that more people than ever before are buying edibles and trying different forms of cannabis.
Private equity firm Privateer Holdings is looking to pioneer the future of the legal cannabis industry. The company closed a $100 Million funding round in January to further its investment in cannabis start-ups. Privateer Holdings CEO Brendan Kennedy describes how the company is planning to use this new surge in funding.
"A lot of the opportunities that we are looking at right now are outside of the United States," says Kennedy. "We'll deploy more than half of this round outside of the U.S. where we see Canada this year legalizing Cannabis for adult use."
Agricultural technology company VividGro announced Tuesday it has acquired a home grow marijuana app. The company's President David Friedman explains how this acquisition is helping VividGro expand its footprint in the horticulture industry especially for weed.
"This gives us access to the home grow market, which is a quicker and more rapid penetration point," says Friedman. "Eventually we will grow into the commercial side of the market."
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Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
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