Trulieve (TCNNF) expanded its medical retail footprint in Ohio following a court settlement of a $25 million debt collection suit, according to press releases from the Florida-based MSO and Harvest of OH, which will relinquish two of its three dispensary licenses to the cannabis giant.
The acquisition comes in time for the start of Ohio’s inaugural application window for medical operators to convert to adult use, or non-medical sales.
The settlement transfers ownership of dispensaries in Columbus and Beavercreek to Trulieve, while the third Harvest of OH location in Athens will become 100% owned by Harvest’s former majority owner, Ariane Kirkpatrick. That dispensary will be rebranded as Mavuno. Harvest of OH will also divest its cultivation and processing facility to an unnamed third party that will receive operational support from Trulieve, according to a May 30 release from Harvest of OH.
“We are happy to announce the resolution of our litigation that triples our footprint in Ohio,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers in a statement. “We look forward to serving medical patients and adult use customers when permitted.”
The settlement will allow Trulieve, which operates in the state as Harvest Health & Recreation (HHR), to max out its state cap on medical cannabis licenses at three. Trulieve opened its first medical dispensary in Ohio on July 12, 2023, just two days before the company sued Harvest of Ohio and Harvest Grows, along with both companies’ owner, Ariane Kirkpatrick, in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
HHR was an Arizona-based multi-state operator when it loaned almost $20 million to Kirkpatrick to create a vertically integrated medical operation in Ohio. Trulieve then acquired HHR in October 2021, which included taking over that debt.
“As the first Black and the first woman-owned cannabis company to achieve 100% vertical integration in the state of Ohio, the Harvest of OH team will forever be a part of cannabis history having broken barriers and paved the way for a diverse and inclusive workforce and supply chain,” said Kirkpatrick in a statement.
“Our dedication and commitment will continue to be the hallmark of Mavuno in Athens and beyond, as we enter the Ohio adult-use cannabis market,” added Harvest of OH Chief Operating Officer Amonica Davis.
In a Sept. 12 response to the original complaint, the defendants accused Trulieve of engaging in predatory loan practices and failing to provide operational expertise as promised.
“Trulieve Entities promised to support Harvest of OH, as a local, Black, woman-owned cannabis company by providing “operational expertise” and ‘market rate funding.’ Instead, Trulieve Entities engaged in countless predatory practices designed to obstruct operations in an attempt to fully take over the Ohio business,” the response said.
Ohio opens adult-use applications to existing medical operators
The state began accepting applications for adult-use licenses on June 7, according to James Crawford, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Commerce. The first round of license applications is exclusively open to Ohio’s existing medical operators.
Provisional licenses must be issued by Sept. 7, as per the state’s voter-approved statute.
“An existing location that has been operating under the medical rules will be able to convert a provisional dual-use license into a certificate of operation relatively quickly since they have already met many of the requirements set forth in that program,” said Crawford.
Businesses that plan to open new locations or make major modifications to existing facilities will take longer, because they will also have to go through additional regulatory approvals, such as a separate site-selection process.
Ohio has 128 active medical dispensaries, 58 processors and 36 cultivators across the state as of June 3, according to the CRB Monitor database.
The state allows for the transfer of medical cannabis licenses, as long as the previous owner held the licenses for at least 12 months. The transfers must be approved by the state and will include the issuance of a new license number from the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the Department of Commerce.
Crawford also noted that along with the adult-use license roll out, the state is targeting hemp-derived cannabinoids.
“There remains a clear and present danger on store shelves across the state by way of unregulated, untested and unsafe products containing Delta 8 THC that are easily obtainable by Ohio’s youth,” he said. “As the Division prepares to introduce products that have met its highest standards of testing and safety, all of which will carry the DCC seal, we must ensure dangerous, unregulated products such as Delta 8 are removed from circulation.”
