Billionaire activist Nelson Peltz departs from advisor role at Aurora (ACB)
Nelson Peltz has resigned from his position as a strategic advisor to Aurora Cannabis after 18-months. The co-founder of a multibillion-dollar asset management firm Trian Fund Management joined Aurora in March 2019. His arrival was expected to help the company create key CPG partnerships and expand internationally – Peltz is a director at Procter & Gamble and is Chairman of the Board at Wendy's. His firm, Trian, has been involved with CPG giants like PepsiCo, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Kraft Foods, and Heinz. Peltz joining Aurora was also seen as a significant vote of confidence for the Canadian company and the industry, with the stock popping nearly 14% on the news.
Peltz was granted options to purchase close to 20 million shares in the company at CA$10.34 per share, vested quarterly over four years. If fully exercised, Peltz would be the second-largest shareholder in Aurora.
Utah's medical marijuana program more popular than expected (CURLF)
After 6-months, Utah's medical marijuana program has already exceeded enrollment projections.
State officials from Utah's Center for Medical Cannabis told Salt Lake City's Deseret News that 10,000 active medical cannabis patients had received medical marijuana cards – a number they had anticipated hitting one year into the program. Since the program's start in March to the end of August, medical marijuana sales have reached $8M, a promising indicator given the state's more conservative population. There are currently 6 of 14 pharmacies (dispensaries) allowed by law operating. Curaleaf owns of these operating dispensaries and has reported that it is already serving 600 active patients.
The exceptional demand has led to supply shortages in the state, which has led some cultivators to ramp they're grow area to the maximum 100,000 square feet.
How might U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barret rule on cannabis?
U.S. Supreme Court nominee and Federal appellate court Judge Amy Coney Barret hasn't given an opinion on cannabis cases in her short tenure on the 7th Circuit. However, Barret clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whom she has cited as her mentor and shares an originalist approach. Scalia ruled with the majority in Gonzales vs. Raich, where the justices agreed that Congress has the power to criminalize marijuana even if a state has legalized it for medical use. It would not be surprising for Barret to rule along conservative lines on marijuana if a case were to make it to the Supreme Court
