Despite years of turmoil, from sales sales declines to thousands of licensed businesses going under, illicit market competition and countless other hurdles, serial cannabis entrepreneur Dave Spradlin thinks there’s still hope for small companies to carve out successful niches. And he’s trying to prove that with a new small retail chain in Northern California focused solely on craft cannabis from the Emerald Triangle.
Dave Spradlin
Spradlin obtained a distressed dispensary in the aptly named town of Weed in Siskiyou County and began sourcing directly from small farmers in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties for his shop, which he dubbed Goldenhour. And he worked fiercely to keep costs down to see if he could turn a profit in the notoriously difficult business landscape.
“Goldenhour is either the bright new light of a new day, or it’s the last light of the night before the night,” Spradlin said. “So we’re going to give ’em hell until we figure out which path that ends up being.”
Small farmers have been largely left out of any success in the legal California marijuana trade, which has contracted drastically since new state rules went into effect in 2018. But Spradlin said there’s still arguably the best cannabis in the world being grown in the region, value that hasn’t been fully tapped.
Spradlin believes that his experience – he got started in the California marijuana trade back in 2009 and has been part of at least five cannabis companies, including as CEO of Sacramento-based chain Perfect Union – will allow him to build a platform to showcase those small growers, for both their benefit and his.
So far, it’s worked out. Since Spradlin reopened the newly rebranded Goldenhour store in Weed on April 17, 2024, sales are up 300%.
“It was definitely a big turnaround,” Spradlin said, and things are “going great” for the shop. He’s even planning a second location in the town of Point Arena in Mendocino County. He’s been carrying flower and other products from about 30 farms in the Emerald Triangle, but that’s likely to grow, as more consumers find out about the craft-focused business model.
Spradlin emphasized that he’s neither the first nor only California cannabis retailer to choose such a niche, and said others are finding similar success catering to marijuana connoisseurs that want top quality and rare strains.
“There’s other businesses that are doing similar concepts to what we’re doing … Woody Harrelson’s spot down in (West Hollywood), they have a whole section of the store that’s dedicated to craft small mom-and-pop farmers,” he noted. He also called out a delivery operator in Sacramento, Zen Life Organics, that is also primarily focused on craft marijuana.
“People love it, and I can give (craft cannabis) to the consumer at a significantly discounted rate. I can compete with any of the big boys that are vertically integrated on price,” Spradlin said. “It makes total sense, and it feeds into what’s a huge growing category across the board in every consumer category, which is conscious consumerism. People want to buy stuff that makes them feel good. They don’t want to buy some mass produced trash if they can avoid it – and if they can afford it. And we’re trying to hit both those marks.”
Spradlin believes one of the reasons for his success is also a slow and cautious approach to growth, a strategy that is in stark contrast to the widespread business philosophy across California just a few years ago of going as big as possible as fast as possible. That approach led to a lot of company failures and financial losses, Spradlin recalled, as industry insiders struggled to adapt to the harsh new regulations, taxes and competition once the state put rules in place seven years ago.
But now, Spradlin said, he believes there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. He’s seen more companies pivot and stabilize in recent times and figure out strategies that have given them at least a semblance of sustainability.
“It’s California. It’s a huge state. It’s huge market, one of the biggest markets in the world. It’s going to be fine. There’s going to be room for us. That’s why we’re trying to carve out our niche, and I think there’s going to be many other versions of Goldenhour and small mom-and-pop businesses that can thrive,” Spradlin said.
Difficulties acknowledged, Spradlin said there are pathways to success in California cannabis already today. They’re just very, very narrow, and thus few and far between.
“You have to be locked in to a very narrow view of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Spradlin said. “And what I’m trying to accomplish is create a platform to highlight what I believe is the best cannabis in the world grown by the best farmers in the world. And if I can successfully execute that, that’s a winning formula.”
Vancouver-based Vext Science Inc. (CSE: VEXT) (OTCQX: VEXTF) on Friday announced the sale of its Kentucky medical marijuana license through a subsidiary for $880,000 in cash, and said its business in the Bluegrass State going forward will only be in the hemp sector.
The cannabis processing permit was won by Vapen Kentucky LLC and a partner; Vext bought out the unidentified partner last month “utilizing non-cash consideration,” it said in a press release.
The sale is intended to have a twofold effect for Vext: to give it more working capital and provide more flexibility to refocus on its core marijuana markets of Arizona and Ohio, CEO Eric Offenberger said in the announcement.
“By divesting the processing license in Kentucky, we are deepening our focus on our core operations in Arizona and Ohio, where we see the most compelling opportunities to drive long-term value,” Offenberger said. “The proceeds of the sale strengthens our balance sheet and will support the build out of our Ohio retail footprint as we continue to prioritize profitability and cash flow growth.”
After the sale closes, which is expected sometime in the second quarter this year, Vapen Kentucky will pivot to being a hemp-only company, Vext said.
Tilt Holdings (Cboe: CA:TILT) (OTCQB: TLLTF) on Thursday provided more details to investors regarding its defaults to its cannabis landlord on two properties in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The Arizona-based multistate operator said it’s facing the possibility of both leases being terminated and legal action over nonpayment of $4.1 million in back rent.
The legal reckoning, with marijuana landlord Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR), was first made public on Monday, when IIP notified its investors of a trio of companies that were in default, including Tilt.
The other two companies facing defaults are Arizona-based 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQB: FFNTF) and California-based Gold Flora Corp. (Cboe Canada: GRAM) (OTCQB: GRAM), the latter of which is also heading into receivership and going up for sale.
According to Tilt, it owes Innovative Industrial $2.9 million over a property in Taunton, Massachusetts, that has long been used by Tilt subsidiary Commonwealth Alternative Care and another $1.1 million for a property in White Haven, Pennsylvania, that has been utilized by Tilt subsidiary Standard Farms LLC.
The debts are for back rent, late charges, interest and security deposit replenishment, the company said in a press release, and it faced an April 4 deadline to pay up. Missing that deadline gives Innovative the right to evict Tilt and sue over the unpaid bills.
Tilt attempted to negotiate with the real estate investment trust, but the best deal it could get was an agreement that Innovative would hold off on pursuing eviction in exchange for “payments in satisfaction of the April rent obligations,” it said in a release.
“The company is committed to negotiating in good faith to resolve the outstanding amounts and secure favorable terms for its operations,” Tilt said in the release.
Tilt lost $41.4 million in the fourth quarter of last year and $99.7 million for the entire 2024 calendar year, the company reported in March. At the end of last year, Tilt had just $4.3 million in the bank.
Filament Health Corp. (OTCQB: FLHLF) (Cboe CA: FH) (FSE: 7QS) said that it will raise around C$900,000 via a private placement led by existing investor Negev Capital Fund One and company insiders, while also planning to voluntarily delist from the Cboe Canada exchange – just days after reporting latest challenges including a nearly $5 million annual loss and dwindling cash reserves.
According to a Thursday afternoon news release, the financing will come through units comprised of secured convertible debentures with a 9% annual interest rate and warrants for the purchase of common shares. The debentures will be convertible into common shares at C$0.02 per share, while the warrants will have a 36-month term at an exercise price of C$0.03 per share.
“As a longstanding supporter of Filament Health and its mission, we are pleased to continue our commitment to the company,” Vadim Uzberg, partner at Negev Capital, said in a statement. “Filament remains well-positioned, leveraging its groundbreaking botanical drug development platform and an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio.”
The company said that keeping its listing on the Cboe Canada exchange has become financially burdensome given the low trading volume of its shares. Filament will seek shareholder approval to delist at a special meeting on May 6.
“This financing, in conjunction with the planned delisting, will allow for the pursuit of certain near-term objectives,” Co-founder and CEO Benjamin Lightburn said. The company noted that “certain opportunities, including future potential listings on senior U.S. exchanges, are hindered by maintaining an active listing on Cboe Canada.”
Despite the delisting plans, Filament said it will continue as a reporting issuer, remaining subject to disclosure obligations under Canadian securities laws.
Filament Health focuses on developing naturally-derived psychedelic medicines through its proprietary drug development platform. The company claims to have “the first-ever natural psychedelic drug candidates” in its pipeline.
In its 2024 year-end results released earlier this week, the company posted a net loss of $4.97 million and cash reserves of just $391,237 as of Dec. 31, down from $1.83 million a year earlier. Annual revenue fell to $616,678 from $2.13 million in 2023.
Filament’s financials also included a going concern note from auditors, indicating “material uncertainties regarding the company’s ability to execute its business plan and continue in the normal course of operations” due to negative cash flow and an accumulated deficit of $36.12 million, Green Market Report reported.
Lightburn in its earnings release pointed to its lead program PEX010, which showed promise in recent clinical trials. According to the company, a Phase 2 clinical trial at Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen found that a single dose of PEX010 reduced heavy drinking days by more than 50% over a 12-week observation period in patients with severe alcohol use disorder.
The net proceeds from the financing will now provide “additional financial flexibility” for the company as it continues clinical development efforts. At the same time, there will be no transaction fees or closing costs associated with the private placement, with the entire C$900,000 going directly to the company.