New York-based multistate operator Curaleaf has exited the Vermont cannabis market after selling its remaining assets in the state to CBD company Zenbarn Farms.

The deal includes a medical marijuana dispensary in Bennington, a medical/recreational cannabis outlet in Montpelier and a greenhouse cultivation and manufacturing facility, VTDigger reported.

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A Zenbarn co-owner told VTDigger that the company “plans to close the recreational side of the Montpelier dispensary.”

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Curaleaf did not respond to an MJBizDaily query seeking more details.

Zenbarn Farms, a social equity licensee, plans to produce premium, organic marijuana with a sustainable approach, according to a Zenbarn news release.

The Waterbury Center-based company also has plans to create an incubator program for small cannabis brands and a workforce-development program focused on craft marijuana for minorities.

“This represents an opportunity to take our business to the next

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The Ontario government is proposing a number of significant legislative and regulatory changes to its cannabis framework that it says would combat the illegal market.

The province plans to make amendments to Ontario Regulation 468/18 under the Cannabis Licence Act, 2018, that would effectively increase to 150 the number of stores retailers and their affiliates are allowed to operate.

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The current limit is 75 stores.

The province said the increase would help combat illegal cannabis stores.

“We welcome Ontario’s move to increase its store cap to 150 and explore other measures aimed at curbing the illicit market,” High Tide CEO Raj Grover told MJBizDaily via email.

The Alberta-based retailer said the cap increase comes as some operators that have a franchise model are already approaching, or have exceeded, 75 stores in the province.

“The move also brings Ontario closer to Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which don’t

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An administrative judge in Florida gave the thumbs-up to a new rule adopted a year ago by state regulators that boosted the biennial license renewal fee for medical marijuana companies in the state by more than twentyfold, to $1.3 million.

Administrative Law Judge William Horgan said the renewal fee “carries out to the letter” a legislative mandate that was supported by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to the Orlando Weekly.

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Last year, the governor called for steep fee increases for MMJ companies in Florida, arguing the state should charge licensees and applicants “an arm and a leg.”

Sanctuary Cannabis, a vertically integrated operator with multiple dispensaries in the state, argued in a petition that the fee hike was “an exponential increase” from previous assessments and asked for an administrative hearing with the health department.

The fee increase was more than 22 times the $60,000 biennial fee

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