MedMen Enterprises was a United States-based

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

company. At its peak, it had operations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts. MedMen owns and operates 29 retail stores and 6 cultivation facilities and is currently licensed to expand its footprint to 65 retail locations. Its stock began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol MMEN in 2018. The CSE suspended trading of MedMen's stocks on January 8, 2024 pursuant to cease trade orders from the

Ontario Securities Commission The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC; French language, French: ''Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario'') is a regulation, regulatory agency which administers and enforces security (finance), securities legislation in the Canadian p ...

and

British Columbia Securities Commission The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) is a regulatory agency which administers and enforces securities legislation in the Canadian province of British Columbia. See also * Canadian securities regulation * Securities Commission * Ca ...

, and the stocks were delisted on May 16, 2024. MedMen was also traded

over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid pres ...

in the United States under the ticker symbol MMNFF. MedMen is based in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

and has more than 1,000 employees.

History

MedMen was co-founded in 2010 by Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin. In an interview with Green Entrepreneur, the pair said they saw a business opportunity in the emerging cannabis industry and a chance to "redefine society's relationship with cannabis". In 2018, MedMen West Hollywood was one of the first cannabis retail stores to open in California after the state's recreational cannabis laws went into effect. MedMen opened its first branded retail outlets in New York and in Nevada in 2018, and opened its first medical marijuana dispensary in Florida in 2019. In April 2018, the company opened MedMen Mustang, a 45,000 square-foot greenhouse and manufacturing facility near

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

with expectations of producing 10,000 pounds of cannabis annually. In May 2018, MedMen began construction on a second 45,000-square-foot cannabis factory in

Desert Hot Springs, California Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 32,512 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 25,938 at the ...

. It was scheduled to open in early 2019. MedMen went public on the Canadian Stock Exchange via a

reverse takeover A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

(RTO). The company listed under the

stock ticker Ticker tape was the earliest electrical dedicated financial communications medium, transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines, in use from around 1870 to 1970. It consisted of a paper strip that ran through a machine called a sto ...

symbol MMEN on May 29, 2018. In June 2018, MedMen announced its acquisition of a nursery and retail license to build 25 stores in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. In the second half of 2018, MedMen acquired dispensaries in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The company also initiated a $682 million acquisition of PharmaCann, although the deal eventually fell through. The acquisition would have set a record for the largest U.S.-based cannabis company buyout. The board decided the money would be better spent in increasing market share naturally. In February 2019, MedMen announced a relationship with Treehouse Real Estate Investment Trust (“Treehouse”), a cannabis-focused

REIT A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

that had raised $133 million to acquire properties from MedMen. In 2019, MedMen former CFO, James Parker, filed a lawsuit claiming that he was wrongfully discharged; while MedMen's CEO and its board denied the claims, calling them baseless and asserting that they will prevail in court. On April 19, 2019, MedMen's

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

Ben Cook,

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

Lisa Sergi Trager, and senior vice president of corporate communications Daniel Yi resigned. Parker's lawsuit's claims resulted in the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association removing MedMen from its roster. In May 2019, the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...

'' called for a "national evidence-based regulatory regime for marijuana marketing" citing MedMen's nationally broadcast health claims. In June 2019, the ''

Los Angeles Business Journal The ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', established in 1979, is a weekly newspaper and online news source in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most po ...

'' reported MedMen's cash burn rate $70 million per quarter as the company cut expenses by 20% from 2018 levels. On February 1, 2020, Adam Bierman resigned as CEO and surrendered all of his Class A super voting shares. Ryan Lissack, MedMen's chief operating officer and chief technology officer, was appointed to serve as the interim CEO. On March 30, 2020, MedMen announced it had appointed Tom Lynch as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer. He previously served as Interim Chief Executive Officer of

David's Bridal David's Bridal is a clothier in the United States that specializes in wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, prom and homecoming dresses, ''quinceañera'' dresses, flower girl dresses, other formal wear, and alterations. Until filing for bankruptc ...

and before that chairman and chief executive officer of

Frederick's of Hollywood Frederick's of Hollywood is an American lingerie brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed before a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Group an ...

. On April 26, 2024, MedMen announced that they have entered bankruptcy proceedings in Canada, and its CFO Amit Pandey resigned immediately after the announcement. MedMen USA filed for voluntary

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...

and immediately discontinued all future operations permanently.

Funding

Prior to its Canadian Stock Exchange listing, MedMen raised approximately $110 million through a private placement at an implied enterprise valuation of $1.65 billion. The company also raised nearly $200 million (debt and equity) from September 2018 through November 2018, but reported only $80 million in cash on hand at year-end. In March 2019, MedMen announced a $250 million convertible financing facility with Gotham Green Partners.

Retail stores and facilities

As of fall 2019, MedMen operated 32 dispensaries serving both medical and recreational customers in Arizona, California, Illinois, Nevada, New York, and Florida. On March 11, 2024, it was reported by several sources that Medmen had closed its operations everywhere except for in San Diego and near LA International Airport. The closures came not too long after the company's stock value dropped to zero, which lead to the ousting of their CEO and executive chairman.

Business strategy

Domestic

MedMen West Hollywood was one of two licensed dispensaries operating in time for the start of legal recreational use in the Greater Los Angeles area on January 2, 2018. According to the Bureau of Cannabis Control records, the first state license for a cannabis business in the city of Los Angeles went to MedMen Beverly Hills on January 19, 2018. MedMen has opened eight stores in Florida to serve its medical marijuana market and plans to have nine stores open by the end of 2019.

International

In 2015, MedMen partnered with MedReleaf, a Canadian marijuana producer now known as

Aurora Cannabis Aurora Cannabis Inc. is a Canadian licensed cannabis producer, headquartered in Edmonton. It trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq as ACB. , Aurora Cannabis had eight licensed production facilities, five sales licences, and operations ...

, to open opportunities for collaboration on "product development and market penetration" with MedReleaf CEO Neil Closner joining MedMen's board of advisors. On March 19, 2018, MedMen announced its cross-border, joint-venture partnership with Canadian company, Cronos Group, called MedMen Canada.

Marketing and branding

In February 2019, the company released
video
ad directed by

Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...

and narrated by Jesse Williams touting the "normalization" of cannabis usage in American culture and linking the practice to founding father

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. The ad also criticizes anti-cannabis sentiment and American drug war policy. On July 19, 2019, the television

animated comedy An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...

series

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

released a satirical video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

to promote its fictional " Tegridy Farms" cannabis brand, which originated in a 2018 episode. Multiple publications have noted similarities between the South Park ad and MedMen's Spike Jonze-directed ad, both of which begin with scenes featuring America's

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

growing hemp, particularly George Washington.

References

{{reflist

External links

MedMen official website
Cannabis in California Cannabis companies of the United States Cannabis companies of Canada 2010 in cannabis Companies formerly listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange American companies established in 2010 American companies disestablished in 2024 Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2024 Retail companies established in 2010 Retail companies disestablished in 2024 Medicinal use of cannabis organizations based in the United States