Origin House shareholders to ward off hostile acquisition offers

After receiving unsolicited offers from several unnamed cannabis companies, about one-quarter of Origin House’s shareholders have bandied together in a "voluntary voting support agreement" that protects the cannabis company from hostile takeover offers. BNN Bloomberg reports that Origin House’s move comes amid a recent uptick in M&A activity in the sector and a rash of new listings from U.S. cannabis companies that have raised $1.5 billion in capital in the first 10 months of last year.

Tilray gets new license to expand London, Ont. facility production

Tilray subsidiary High Park Holdings said it received a standard processing license from Health Canada that will allow it to process the company’s raw cannabis into finished products at its London, Ont. facility. The license will allow High Park to conduct certain research and development activities on new cannabis form factors, the company said in a news release. High Park announced an initial investment of up to $10 million in the 56,000-square foot facility back in April.

iAnthus opens medical marijuana dispensary in Brooklyn

Brooklyn now has its very own regulated medical marijuana dispensary, the first in the New York City borough, thanks to iAnthus Capital Holdings, the company said in a statement. The 2,000-square-foot dispensary will operate under iAnthus' Citiva New York dispensary brand and will offer more than 30 locally-sourced, lab-tested products, including vape cartridges and tinctures. The company has plans to open three more dispensaries in New York state later this year.

Cannabis bank in California deemed too much of a risk: Officials

Pot companies based in California looking for a firm to handle their banking services will remain out of luck as officials in the U.S. state deemed a public cannabis bank as “too great of a legal and financial risk,” according to the Cannabis Wire. Authorities released a study analyzing the feasibility of such a bank in the state that included the possibility of a public credit union, the state purchase of a private bank, and the use of cryptocurrency – but none were accepted given that current U.S. federal laws restrict marijuana usage and sales.