Cannabis

Village Farms CEO Explains $15 M Raise + The CMS CBD Pilot

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5 hours ago

June 12, 2026

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Village Farms CEO Explains $15 M Raise + The CMS CBD Pilot

On today’s Trade To Black Podcast presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell celebrate Trulieve’s (NYSE: TCNNF ) first full trading day since its IPO. We summarize how the stock is trading, where the volume is concentrated and the main advantage of the first day’s price action. In the first segment, Michael DeGiglio, CEO of Village Farms (NASDAQ: VFF ; TSX: VFF ), joins us to discuss last week’s $15 million direct investment, valued at about $2. In part two, we continue our weekly Vantage Standard series with Vantage Hemp CEO Rusty Kuchta and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Shields. This episode outlines the full operational process of the CMS CBD pilot;

It Trade to black The podcast, hosted by Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell and presented by FlowHub, opened its Wednesday episode with a look at Trulieve’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange. On its first day, approximately 712,000 shares were traded, worth approximately $7 to $8 million.

Village Farms CEO Michael DeGiglio is addressing investor concerns about the company’s recent $15 million capital raise, which was structured at a price that raised questions from retail shareholders. DeGiglio was clear that the growth was not due to the need for cash. Village Farms has been profitable on a sequential basis and has self-funded major expansions, including a 33 percent increase in its cultivation in Vancouver and a €30 million facility in the Netherlands.

In part two, we return to the ongoing CMS CBD pilot program with Vantage Hemp CEO Rusty Kuchta and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Shields. Dr. Shields highlighted what real readiness looks like for an accountable care organization entering the pilot; Adding benefits to the CMS system, submitting an implementation plan, waiting up to 60 days for CMS approval, and then identifying eligible patients, especially peripheral neuropathy patients, using EHR data, navigation history, and. He noted that the four-month notice before the April start was, in his estimation, an almost impossible implementation window for lean organizations.

Both Kuchta and Dr. Shields emphasized that the broader industry underestimates the complexity of integrating cannabinoid therapies into care pathways consistent with Medicare. Awareness of ACO conferences has been low, with many attendees unaware that cannabis use has changed or that the pilot program exists. Kuchta argued that the CBD trial ramp is not just for CBD, but also for cannabis entering the pharmaceutical mainstream; when payers accept CBD, it flows to drugstore shelves, big-box retailers, and ultimately to the 69 million Americans on Medicare. Dr. Shields added that while broad-spectrum therapies in combination will ultimately yield better clinical outcomes, the pilot’s mandate is isolated to CBD, and the generation of clean real-world data now using Vantage’s 99 percent pharmaceutical-grade pure product is what will validate the next phase of value-based care for cannabinoids.

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Related Topics:CBD CEO CMS Explains Farms pilot raise Village

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Scott Grossman On Trulieve’s NYSE Debut

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Cannabis

Scott Grossman On Trulieve’s NYSE Debut

Published

1 day ago

June 11, 2026

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Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (NYSE: TRLV ) begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow, a milestone for the company and the broader US cannabis sector as institutional access, liquidity and visibility expand dramatically. In segment #1, Scott Grossman, founder of Vindico Capital and author of the widely followed Sunday Sesh Substack, will outline what investors should expect on Trulieve’s first full day of NYSE trading, how market makers can approach price discovery, and why this relisting is a structural shift for the entire industry. In the second segment, Andrew O’Connell, author of Pristine Capital Substack and former participant in the US Investment Championship, will make his live debut.

Scott Grossman, founder of Vindico Capital, joined the show to set expectations for the NYSE debut. Grossman described the relisting as analogous to an IPO, a day where institutional demand is largely unknown and where the most desirable long-term investors tend to be methodical, entering on levels and macro conditions rather than a single listing date. He noted that the NYSE has been actively courting Trulieve, suggesting the exchange has a strong trading incentive to ensure a smooth debut.

Andrew O’Connell, author of the Pristine Capital Substack and former US Investment Championship contestant, appeared on the show for the first time to offer a liquidity-driven framework for the industry. O’Connell drew a direct parallel with Bitcoin before the arrival of futures trading and spot ETFs, describing: hemp as an inevitability thesis where retail investors can currently prioritize institutions because there is no viable ramp to larger capital. He noted that platforms like Vanguard, where he previously worked, still don’t allow clients to buy Trulieve or Green Thumb, meaning the two largest passive holders of almost all other public stocks, Vanguard and BlackRock, are missing from the field. He argued that inclusion in the Russell 2000 index, which resets each spring, represents a meaningful catalyst for 2027, and that the elimination of the 280E tax liability for medical operators would bring an improvement in earnings per share not yet reflected in any current financial model.

Be sure to watch both interviews in full when you tune in.

Shadd Dales is the founder and president of The Dales Report and has extensive experience in the business media industry.

His work translates to more than 15 years in mainstream media, which included roles at BNN Bloomberg, CTV Properties and the iHeart Radio Network.

Shadd is considered one of the leaders in on-air talent in both the cannabis and psychedelic spaces and has interviewed some of the industry’s most prominent CEOs.

Shadd’s vision is to create a content platform equivalent to mainstream broadcasting, produced in a format that is relevant to today’s investor.

Cannabis

NewLake’s Anthony Coniglio Weighs In On Uplisting

Published

4 days ago

June 8, 2026

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NewLake's Anthony Coniglio Weighs In On Uplisting

In this episode of Trade To Black presented by Flowhub, Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL ) (OTCQX: TCNNF ) unveiled a corporate structure that could provide the first real road map for US cannabis operators seeking access to top US stock exchanges under the current federal framework. In the second segment, Anthony Coniglio, CEO of NewLake Capital Partners (OTCQX: NLCP ), joins us to discuss capital market movements in the wake of bullish news.

Trulieve made headlines after it listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that lifted shares of many state-owned cannabis operators in premarket trading. The company is restructuring its business by spinning off its adult operations into a separate entity, using the shell of Harvest Enterprises LLC from a previous acquisition, while creating a pure medical cannabis company eligible for a Schedule III listing.

Given that roughly 75 percent of Trulieve’s revenue comes from medical operations, CEO Kim Rivers is designing a structure that would allow the company to list before an upcoming DEA administrative law judge’s hearing, and that could just as easily be dissolved if the regulatory landscape changes.

Anthony Coniglio, managing director of NewLake Capital Partners, discusses the broader implications of the filing. Coniglio drew on investment banking to explain that stock exchanges operate like any other business, with sellers actively cultivating relationships with potential listings, meaning conversations between large MSOs and the NYSE or Nasdaq have likely been years in the making. Coniglio emphasized that it is not necessary for a CEO with a federal legal majority of the business and a window of opportunity to step in; it is a fiduciary duty to shareholders.

The talk examines DEA registrations and the increasing pressure on cannabis operators to apply. Coniglio noted that Oklahoma has already moved to require DEA registration in order for operators to remain in good standing with the state’s medical program, a development the group hopes other states will copy.

About 50 percent of NewLake’s portfolio is purely medical, with another 48 percent in dual-use medical licenses, leaving less than two percent as adult-only. Coniglio outlined the institutional investment thesis. NewLake currently trades at an implied cap rate of about 14 percent, compared to six percent for typical REITs, and even a partial compression of that spread would add significant share price appreciation to the company’s existing dividend yield, a combination that resonates strongly with investors and financial centers.

Looking ahead, the panel discussed what a successful lift cycle could unlock for the wider industry. Discover the entire conversation when you join.

Cannabis

Dan Ahrens on MSOS Inflows, Uplisting Rumors and Psychedelics

Published

1 week ago

June 5, 2026

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Dan Ahrens on MSOS Inflows, Uplisting Rumors and Psychedelics

Cannabis and psychotropics continue to gain momentum as an investor position, which could be a transformative time for both sectors. On this episode of Trade To Black, Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell welcome AdvisorShares MSOS ETF CEO Dan Ahrens to discuss the influx of cannabis stocks, recent market activity, bullish speculation, the upcoming DEA administrative law judge hearings and the growing interest in psychiatric drugs.

We begin the developing story on the cannabis front. A congressional committee blocked amendments that would have kept the legality of intoxicating cannabis-derived THC products, further strengthening the likelihood that the federal hemp ban will go into effect on Nov. 12 as planned.

Dan Ahrens, CEO of the AdvisorShares MSOS ETF, offered a candid assessment of where the cannabis investment space currently stands. Ahrens acknowledged that trading volumes remain low and that the world of cannabis investors has actually shrunk since 2021. However, he noted that the recent spate of reverse stock splits and corporate redomicilisation among major operators in various states are deliberate steps being taken in full awareness of stock exchange listing requirements; at any point in history.

Ahrens also addressed investor concerns about reverse splits, making a clear distinction between the splits currently underway in US Hemp and the dilutive capital increases that have accompanied similar moves by Canadian licensed producers. He emphasized that market capitalization, not share price, is the only rational metric for valuing these companies, and that with 280E tax breaks on the horizon and debt already refinanced on favorable terms, there is little reason for any major operator to take advantage of equity markets at current valuations.

The second segment featured the return of Vantage Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Shields for an ongoing weekly podcast series exploring the CBD pilot program. Dr. Shields highlighted the main reasons doctors don’t want to get involved with CBD: medical schools have historically not taught the endocannabinoid system, the substance has long been classified as a drug of abuse with no recognized medical purpose, and the infrastructure for continuing education has not yet caught up. He estimated that approximately 20 percent of a typical adult patient population has used CBD in the past year, but prescribers treating these patients generally lack the basic knowledge to discuss it.

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