Higher Exchanges

This week's episode is all about cannabis earnings season. The guys start by sharing their biggest takeaways from this quarter.  Companies are finally beating expectations, CEOs are increasingly confident about getting to Schedule III, and it's becoming clear which companies are more dependent on reform for success. 

AYR Wellness' CEO David Goubert joins for the second half of the show to review their most recent quarter. David explains the motivation and terms for the recent debt restructuring and how it gives AYR time to harvest potential upcoming adult-use opportunities in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania. AYR has 89 stores, but only 15 are fully ramped adult-use locations. The conversation concludes with David sharing AYR's assets in these key assets and AYR's philosophy of hoping for the best but planning for the worst. 

We apologize for the technical issues in the first half of the episode. Higher Exchanges is recorded live on X and occasionally there are glitches with the technology. 

Ohio became the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the guys began the episode talking about the vote, the opportunity for MSOs, and the benefits of converting more red states. Verano President Darren Weiss and CIO Aaron Miles join halfway through to discuss their Q3 results. The team talks about strong cash-flow generation, innovative ways to implement new technology, and their capital allocation process. The conversation concludes by discussing price elasticity and opportunities for growth in new states and through existing markets transitioning to adult-use sales.

In this week's episode, Jesse, Morgan, and Toby catch up on the sector's recent performance and current events. Cannabis stocks have retraced most of their gains since the HHS announcement on August 29th and the group discusses the reasons for the shift in sentiment and drop in prices. They touch on why SAFER Banking is overstated, the importance of the rescheduling process,  and how cannabis is the ultimate "show me" story. The episode concludes by discussing AYR's debt restructuring and a quick preview of earnings season. 

This week on Higher Exchanges we spoke about potential new adult-use states and a groundbreaking lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Hirsh Jain, Founder of Ananda Strategy, leads the discussion about the potential for adult use in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. These are three key states that may flip to recreational sales by the end of 2024. 

Joshua Schiller, Partner at Boies, Flexner, Schiller, joins the show halfway through to explain the key points of the lawsuit they filed.  He articulates the basis for the suit, how the objectives are different than SAFER Banking and rescheduling, and the potential timeline. Higher Exchanges is recorded live on X Spaces and we apologize for the technical difficulties during today's episode. 

TerrAscend Executive Chairman Jason Wild, CEO Ziad Ghanem, and CFO Keith Stauffer joined us to discuss the latest TerrAscend news. The company recently hosted an investor day and raised guidance. The team shared the reasons for the improved outlook and how various states are performing. We dove into deeper updates on Maryland and Pennsylvania, plus Ziad updated us on how historically challenging Michigan is evolving. Finally, Jason updated us on the benefits of the TSX listing and the increased interest they are seeing from institutional investors. 

Boris Jordan, Executive Chairman of Curaleaf, joins the show to discuss the latest updates on their Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) application, SAFER Banking, and rescheduling. He shares an approximate date for uplisting to the higher exchange and explains how the increased liquidity and access may benefit Curaleaf shareholders. Boris also covers the potential impacts of a new Speaker of the House on SAFER Banking and theorizes on when we may hear back from the DEA on Schedule III. 

In addition, Jesse, Morgan, and Toby discuss the radical recent shift in sentiment and whether the more dour perspective is warranted. Plus, the group debates the relative importance of Florida moving to adult-use sales versus SAFER Banking. 

The first episode of Higher Exchanges begins with Jesse, Morgan, and Toby discussing why they wanted to start the podcast. The conversation evolves into sharing their experiences at the recent Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago. They share their top three takeaways from the event and discuss whether cannabis is seeing increased institutional interest and the potential for future M&A activity. The episode concludes with a preview of what to look forward to in future episodes.