Canadian CANNAINVESTOR Magazine Canadian Publicly Traded April / May 2019 | Page 58

Cheers. Readers, Vireo is also a case study this month and you are encouraged to read that case study for more stock specific metrics. Dr. Kyle, keeping the early part of this conversation on the macro … how important is it for lawful cannabis companies to have full banking access. Readers, for more information refer to this link on the Marijuana Banking Bill.

It is imperative that legal cannabis businesses have access to safe and secure banking. It’s a public safety risk for large businesses to go unbanked.

Beyond the administrative headaches and other risks that running cash businesses present to operators, the most disappointing aspect of existing policies is that they create inconveniences for the customer which impact our ability to deliver excellent experiences and win new business.

Vireo was one of the first cannabis companies in the U.S. to achieve “MSO” status following our successive wins of merit-based license applications in the states of Minnesota and New York, so we’ve grown accustomed to running our dispensaries through mostly cash transactions over the past four years. Having said that, the reality our industry is being forced to operate within is archaic and change is long overdue.

Some technology advancements and debit-based mobile and electronic payment service providers have helped the industry meet the needs of customers, and thankfully U.S. federal banking reform is finally getting the attention it deserves. We’re hopeful that new legislation in Congress will help alleviate some of these challenges in the near-term future, but there is still tons of work to do to achieve fair taxation of cannabis-related commerce and Vireo is a proponent of further legislative reform.

be a CGOC portfolio company, and they’ve become a true partner whose experience and guidance we value.

They’re obviously proud of Vireo’s performance, and I’d refer everyone to the news release they issued shortly after our RTO to get a better sense for what I’m talking about, but we’ve always taken our responsibility to shareholders seriously and we intend to maintain our commitment to creating value for shareholders as we transition to operating as a public company.

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