Reword and rewrite the following article in HTML, use a hip journalistic writing style and make the heading statements in H3 or bold font where necessary: Cannabis has always existed in the atmosphere of the fringe. In the thirties, musicians and jazz artists sang songs. Later in the sixties, hippies and Yippies marched for legalization. It was a badge of honor to be a cannabis consumer and an outlaw.
Then, California legalized medical marijuana, followed by Washington’s and Colorado’s legalization of adult-use cannabis. Both of the progressive states launched legal, regulated markets without the intervention of Wall Street capital. The inability to legally bank these businesses at major banking institutions was a ‘no-go’ for Wall Street. It wasn’t until Canada opened its banks and stock exchanges to cannabis companies that the sector became a target for investment bankers.
Green Rush
“If you look at the evolution of why things go public, it’s usually, sometimes it’s a means to get big financing,” said Seth Yakatan of Katan Associates. “In cannabis, it was a vehicle that had a window (for financing), and that window opened really quickly, and many things ran through that window before it very abruptly closed.”
As Yakatan stated, most of the Wall Street businesses that helped create capital for cannabis companies and take them public have since moved on. Plunging stock valuations and a lack of legalization action at the Federal level in the U.S. caused many to pack their bags, take their toys, and leave. Equity analysts covering the sector have largely disappeared, and several former publicly traded companies have either gone into receivership or been acquired by other companies. All of this sounds depressing, but is it?
No Suits Required
The thing is, cannabis doesn’t need Wall Street. It will be just fine without it. Indeed, it could easily thrive on its own.
Several states have demonstrated that private cannabis companies can be successful. To be fair, they have taken investment capital, but they opted to remain privately owned. There are many benefits to remaining private. For example, a private company may have a product that isn’t performing well and so it ends production of the product. A public company making that same decision would get criticized for reducing a product line, with rumors flying that it must be facing financial pressure since it isn’t continuing the product.
“Being a private company means we can build strength in New York without being distracted,” said Michael Kandhorov, co-founder, MFNY. MFNY is a New York State certified cultivator, processor and distributor, and is among the most popular brands in New York dispensaries.
Kandhorov added, “Public companies answer to investors first; we answer to our customers. At MFNY, we have the agility to move quickly, make smart decisions, and adapt in a turbulent market, because we are private. We can invest for long-term market leadership and expansion without the ‘make the quarter’ pressure that plagues public companies.”
That also means they didn’t have
