The top 5 cannabis scandals of 2022

We always joke that time flies in the cannabis industry. A year of cannabis is equivalent to five years in any other industry. It also feels like, unlike more mature industries, the cannabis industry has had its fair share of scandals.

So the Green Market Report took a look at the past 12 months and identified the top five cannabis industry scandals for 2022.

MedMen/Ascend Wellness

This story started well enough. MedMen needed some cash and decided to sell its New York assets to Ascend Wellness. A price was agreed upon, although it seemed a bit low considering how promising the New York market was looking in early 2022.

Photo by Anton Petrus/Getty Images

Then top management changed at MedMen, and they, too, found the price a little cheap and tried to back out of the deal. After court battles that included allegations of political pandering, Ascend won.

But the victory dance didn’t last long. Ascend developed buyer regrets when the New York market started looking like a hot mess, so the company said thanks, but no thanks.

Left behind with its New York assets, MedMen found itself stuck with a property few covet, even as it put it back on the shelf to sell. Wonder what would have happened if MedMen had just taken the original price and closed the deal before the New York MSO market blew up?

Parallel/Beau Wrigley

Hell has no anger like a despised investor. Parallel Cannabis, formerly known as Surterra Wellness, has been in the crosshairs of some of its investors. Investors sued the company, saying Parallel could not take on any more debt under its investment agreement — which it did.

Investors also claimed that the company’s CEO, bubblegum boy Beau Wrigley, was not honest with them. Wrigley eventually lost his job as a result of the lawsuits. But the challenge continues, and Parallel has defaulted on that debt.

Despite this, Floridians can still go to a parallel cannabis dispensary and buy medical marijuana. Bills, schmills. Only fools pay their debts, right?

high times

No money, no problem. High Times owes its lenders $28 million, but that hasn’t stopped the company from going on an acquisition spree. It bought Moxie Holdings and a consumption lounge earlier this year and paid for the deals despite defaulting on its debt.

High Times also owes $5 million in rent arrears on a lease it held when it bought some Harvest Health pharmacies.

RELATED: Groundhog Day for High Times as they (re)announce their IPO

The legacy publisher started the year with its newest CEO, Peter Horvath, stepping out the door and appointing Paul Henderson as CEO. Henderson is also President and interim CFO. Busy guy!

The company expanded its stock offering, though it won’t be able to sell any shares until it updates its financial data with the SEC. As if that weren’t enough, High Times found itself embroiled in a stock promotion scheme with a fraudulent Florida newsletter writer.

Perhaps the name should be changed to Not-So-High Times.

Photo by Aleksandr_Kravtsov/Getty Images

Dutchie Ditch’s founder

Dutchie co-founders Ross and Zach Lipson were dumped from their own company in a board coup. The Lipsons fought for control of the company after some board members were unhappy with their leadership.

While the Lipsons went into the fray thinking they had a majority of the voting power, the board dropped one of their own and changed the balance. Then it dropped the Dutchie founders and took charge of it itself.

RELATED: Top 5 cannabis industry scandals

The brothers complain, saying the board did not have that power and that they should be reinstated. The board, made up of several investors, believes they are right and will bring better leadership to the company.

Lesson learned: Don’t piss off investors.

Tip Jar Jokes

It looks so easy. A top glass on the counter for the bud tender. A little thank you for the cannabis concierge who probably earns less than a living wage. It just turned out that the workers didn’t get the tips.

Various businesses, including Curaleaf and Bud’s Goods & Provisions, ran into trouble when employees complained they weren’t receiving their tips. Massachusetts ended up siding with the employees, who get some money back from the company. Curaleaf argued that workers were told not to put out a tip jar, but they did anyway.

Here’s a tip: pay the staff enough so a tip jar doesn’t have to become a thing.