🌿 The Cannabist Company initiates multi-state exit plan, Army adjusts policy for cannabis convictions, and PharmaCann shuts down production plants

Happy Friday Pre Rollers! Welcome to another edition of The Pre Roll, the cannabis newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the industry happenings you need to know.

Here’s what we’re rolling up this week:

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Asset allocation. The Cannabist Company, formerly Columbia Care, entered into definitive agreements to sell its Ohio cannabis operations to Holistic Industries and its Delaware operations to Parma Holdco, with expected closings in 2026.

It also signed a non-binding memorandum to sell assets in six other states: Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maryland.

To support these transactions and preserve liquidity, the company initiated restructuring proceedings under Canada’s Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and parallel Chapter 15 proceedings in the United States.

They have already stopped operations in New York and are in the process of winding down in Pennsylvania.

The company has appointed a Chief Restructuring Officer, an independent monitor, and secured support from noteholders accounting for over 60% of its senior secured debt. Share trading is expected to be halted, and delisting review is likely. These measures are part of a broader strategic review to address operational and financial challenges across the company’s multi-state cannabis portfolio.

Recruitment reform. The U.S. Army is expanding enlistment eligibility to allow applicants with a single conviction for cannabis possession or drug paraphernalia to join without requiring a waiver or facing additional waiting periods. The policy does not apply to multiple or more serious violations, and drug use remains prohibited for service members.

Recruiting regulations have also been updated by raising the maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42.

These changes reflect shifting societal attitudes toward cannabis and ongoing recruitment challenges. The guidelines will take effect on April 20, coincidentally (or not) aligning with the well-known holiday celebrated in cannabis culture.

Facility fallout. PharmaCann, the Chicago‑based multistate operator, will permanently shutter two large cultivation and processing facilities. Both sites will close on May 20 of this year.

In Denver, the the move includes laying off 132 employees as part of its broader exit from the Colorado market. It follows the sale of its 17 LivWell dispensaries to Vireo Growth $49 million in December of last year.

Similarly, in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, 60 employees are being let go after the company defaulted on its lease obligations.

PharmaCann also ceased operations at its facility in Dwight, Illinois at the end of 2025, affecting an additional 82 employees.

Massachusetts: Lawmakers expressed skepticism about a proposed ballot initiative that would repeal the state’s 2016 vote-approved legalization of recreational cannabis.

South Carolina: Senators advanced a bill to regulate hemp products through new restrictions and sales limits after days of debate.

Cornbread Hemp signs significant deal

The vertically integrated hemp wellness company announced it has secured an exclusive contract with Alliant Purchasing to be the sole supplier of hemp‑derived CBD products for the new Medicare Hemp Pilot, creating a distribution network reaching 68,000 healthcare provider locations.

BatchNav enters ERP market

The new cannabis software firm introduced a cannabis‑focused ERP alternative platform that gives cultivators and processors full visibility into costs, operations, inventory, and labor to improve margins and profitability.

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Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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