The Joint, Green Man Dispensaries Agree to Merger

Two Denver Dispensary brands are merging forces. Cannabis One, the publicly owned parent company behind the Joint by Cannabis, has agreed to purchase One Cannabis, owner of Denver's Green Man Cannabis dispensaries.

The two companies (with extremely similar names) will both be under the Cannabis One umbrella, which will include the three dispensaries and a cultivation in Colorado, as well as marijuana businesses in Canada, Oregon and Washington.

One Cannabis also operates Unity Rd., a dispensary franchising operation that currently has fifteen agreements with pot store partners across five states, according to the merger announcement.

Per the agreement, (bear with us), Cannabis One will acquire One Cannabis, with the One Cannabis group receiving a 45 percent ownership stake in Cannabis One and current Cannabis One shareholders retaining the remaining shares.

When we spoke with Cannabis One CEO Jeff Mascio in September, he mentioned upcoming acquisition plans before the end of the year but remained coy on the details. Now that a state law allowing publicly traded companies' ownership of marijuana business licenses is in effect, his company has revealed at least part of those plans.

“This agreement brings together two Colorado-born and -bred companies that have been in the cannabis industry for over ten years," Mascio said in a statement announcing the deal, pointing to Cannabis One's franchising model as a key reason for the merger.

One Cannabis doesn't own the business licenses under its current franchisee partnerships, but Mascio believes the more expansive network will help push Cannabis One's other brands, such as Honu, a marijuana infused-products brand based in Oregon and Washington.

“Franchising is the most agile and proven way to scale in the cannabis industry,” added Cannabis One COO Mike Weinberger. “Our franchisees own and operate their own dispensaries, hire locally and keep money in the communities they serve. The ongoing support and resources we provide allows them to scale more quickly than if they were operating independently."

Colorado's pot industry was closed to publicly traded companies until November, after a successful legislative effort loosened investment restrictions for marijuana business. Since the new law went into effect, two companies, Denver-based Medicine Man Technologies and Canadian firm Columbia Care Inc., have agreed to purchase around fifty dispensaries combined, including one of the state's largest dispensary chains, the Green Solution.