MJBiz - May/June 2024 - 16

COMPANY NEWS U.S. & International
liabilities, including increasing the
maximum number of authorized
shares. The company is working
to regain compliance with a
Nasdaq rule requiring listed
companies to have at least
$2.5 million of stockholder equity.
Lawsuit Accuses Glass
House of Labor Violations
California marijuana producer
Glass House Brands imposed
on workers " systemic quota
and production demands " that
violated labor law, including
unpaid overtime and unrealistic
workloads, a lawsuit filed by
an ex-employee in Los Angeles
County Superior Court alleges.
According to Law360, the
suit names as defendants
Long Beach-based Glass House
Brands and subsidiaries Glass
House Camarillo Cultivation,
Mission Health Associates
and GH Camarillo as well as
Houweling's Camarillo and Labor
Force Management. Glass House
declined an MJBizDaily request
for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in February,
charges that Los Angeles resident
Gerard Melendez and his
co-workers " regularly worked in
excess " of eight hours per day
and 40 hours per week to meet
" excessive quotas " imposed by
Glass House, Law360 reported.
Glass House required workers
such as Melendez to trim
4 pounds of cannabis per
day and either cut short or
eliminated meal breaks to meet
those demands, the suit claims.
The lawsuit aims to establish
Melendez as the lead plaintiff
in a potential class action that
could include other workers. The
action seeks back pay, damages
and attorney fees.
Glass House shares trade
as GLAS on the Cboe Canada
exchange and as GLASF on
U.S. over-the-counter markets.
Herbl Receivership
Nearing Its End
Two
buyers
placed
winning
auction bids totaling more than
$1.4 million to acquire certain
assets of now-defunct California
marijuana distributor Herbl,
according to court documents
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Organigram Moves
to Enter U.S. Market
Organigram
Holdings
dipped into its strategic
investment pool to pick up
a minority stake in Roxboro,
North Carolina-based Open
Book Extracts. The investment
is part of Organigram's plan
to target emerging cannabis
markets in the United States
and elsewhere.
Late last year, British
American Tobacco injected
16 May-June 2024 | MJBizMagazine
CA$124.6 million ($92.5 million)
into Organigram, the majority
of which was pledged for its
strategic investment pool,
named Jupiter.
Organigram's investment for a
minority position in Open Book
Extracts amounts to $2 million
(CA$2.7 million) in the form of a
convertible note, according to
a news release. The companies
said the investment will help
the North Carolina business
commercialize hemp-derived
products in the U.S. over time.
Separately, Organigram
entered into an underwriting
agreement with ATB Securities,
as lead underwriter, to sell
7,740,000 units at a price of
CA$3.23 per unit, for gross
proceeds of approximately
CA$25 million. The New
Brunswick-based company
expects to use the proceeds to
fund growth initiatives and for
general corporate purposes.
Shares of Organigram trade as
OGI on the Nasdaq and Toronto
Stock Exchange.
and industry sources.
MJBizDaily also confirmed
that a bundled package of
unsettled Herbl legal disputes
was acquired by Beverly Hills law
firm Ervin Cohen & Jessup for an
undisclosed amount.
California distribution giant
Nabis confirmed that it acquired
Blackbird, a Nevada distributor
that entered receivership after
Herbl's collapse in June 2023.
Nabis acquired the company
for $850,000, according to a
listing update from WeCann, the
Orange County, California-based
firm handling Herbl's asset
sales on behalf of Kevin Singer,
Herbl's court-appointed receiver.
Blackbird was acquired by Herbl
in mid-2021 for an undisclosed
amount.
Herbl's accounts-receivable
claims, another asset listed
under receivership, was sold for
$600,000 to a private investor,
according to court documents.
With these transactions finalized,
Herbl's lone asset in receivership
is the company's technology
platform, which was designed to
streamline cannabis-distribution
processes.
MJBiz - May/June 2024

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