Canopy CEO: We'll 'Disrupt the Heck' Out of Pharma
*By Carlo Versano*
At the end of a week that saw the nascent cannabis sector soar to record valuations (with enough [volatility](https://cheddar.com/videos/making-sense-of-tilrays-stock-chart) to make your head spin), at least one exec isn't getting high off his own supply.
Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth ($CGC), told Cheddar Friday that he is focused on using a recent $4 billion cash injection from Constellation Brands to accelerate his business operations as new markets open up for legal marijuana use.
The market for legal pot went from a handful of countries like Canada, where Canopy is based, to now over 30 globally, Linton said in an interview, and Constellation's stake "is the kind of rocket fuel we need."
As speculators send the stocks higher ー Canopy is up 100 percent since the August deal, while Tilray ($TLRY) is up 1,000 percent since its July IPO ー Linton is keeping his nose to the grindstone developing new uses for cannabis, illustrated by the 39 patents Canopy filed in the last year just for sleep-related cannabinoid products. He sees other uses as well, from anxiety to sports recovery, which begs the question: is Canopy a pharma company?
"We're going to have enough intellectual property and activity that it would be difficult for pharma companies...not to need to play with us," Linton said. "We're going to disrupt the heck out of them."
Speaking of disruption, Linton said he wasn't bothered by parallels with the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s. He said Canopy had more in common with a Google or Amazon ー established businesses with strong fundamentals ー than any of the internet stocks that were relegated to the tech boneyard after the bubble popped.
But for an industry like cannabis that is entirely dependent on regulation, there will always be a risk, Linton noted. For every country like Canada, which legalized medical marijuana in 2001 and will allow recreational use starting October 17, there's an Italy ー where medical marijuana is legal but heavily restricted ー or a Japan ー where it is strictly outlawed. Put another way, Canopy may have the best legal pot cultivation and distribution in the world, but its long-term success on a global scale may be capped by shifting regulatory and political climates.
Still, Linton sees the writing on the wall in places like South America, Australia, and the EU. As regulatory barriers come down, he said Canopy's strong production operations will lead the market.
"People can fight for who's going to be the second best," Linton said. "We're going to be the best and the largest and the most dominant on the planet over the next decade."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/canopy-growth-blazing-a-trail).
Commercial and residential buildings account for 13% of carbon emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA, and one company says it has a solution. Runwise says it has updated the boiler and heating systems of thousands of buildings, and that its technology not only lowers carbon output but also saves landlords money. Lee Hoffman, Co-Founder and COO of Runwise, joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Kirsten Jordan, real estate broker and star of 'Million Dollar Listing New York,' joins Cheddar News to talk about the state of New York City real estate, tips for homebuyers, and season 9 of the Bravo show.
Following sales tech startup Scratchpad raising $33 million in Series B Funding, CEO and co-founder Pouyan Salehi joined Cheddar to discuss how his company's software works to help salespeople with an all-in-one workspace, integrating with Salesforce to optimize notes, spreadsheets, and other relevant information so businesses can forecast and make the best decisions. "If you look at other crafts like artists, they'll have studios; chefs, they'll have kitchens; scientists will have labs, and we just asked, well, if you look at sales as a craft, why doesn't something exist that is designed solely for a salesperson?" Salehi said about his workspace app.
As the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics inches closer, sponsors are facing mounting pressure to pull out of the games with China is under fire for controversies like the alleged human rights abuses against its Muslim minority population and the disappearance of tennis player Peng Shuai. Rick Burton, professor of sport management at Syracuse University, joined Cheddar to discuss what he expects to happen once the games begin. Burton said China is too large of a market for American advertisers to ignore, and he doesn't expect any of them to pull out of the games. "Olympic sponsors right now I think are really just trying to hang on and get through these 17 days, come out the other end," he said.
Google could be gearing up to release its own wearable device as rumors swirl about a potential smartwatch with the Pixel brand. Jon Prosser, the creator of Front Page Tech, who tweeted a possible leak about the product, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss potential the benefits of it entering the same space as the Apple Watch. Prosser said, while he doesn't expect it to launch until at least 2023, the Pixel Watch will be "one of the most vital, most important wearables that we can have on the market," noting that it won't likely challenge Apple for much market share but will set the standard for other Android wearables to come.
The Federal Reserve released its highly-anticipated research weighing the pros and cons of a digital dollar in the U.S. The report comes as economic rivals like china have already piloted their own central bank digital currencies. Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst, The Americas, Oanda, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Tax season is now underway, and it's going to be a bit different than in years past. For starters, the deadline is April 18, instead of the typical April 15th, and many Americans will need to account for advance child tax credit payments, the return of the recovery rebate credit, and a special break for charitable contributions, among other things. Brent Weiss, Co-Founder and certified financial planner at Facet Wealth, tells us what we need to know about filing our taxes this year, and when we can expect to receive our returns.
American semiconductor company, Intel officially announcing plans to build a new $20 billion chip manufacturing complex outside Columbus, Ohio. This comes as the global chip shortage continues to hamper production of everything from smart phones, to cars. Jennifer Smith - Logistics and Supply Chain Reporter, WSJ joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
