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We don’t know a whole lot about these guys, and yet Murphy is projecting $3 billion in revenue and an IPO within the next three years. Acreage just added the former Speaker of the House as a board member. That’s a big deal. The cannabis industry—and the legalization movement—want to know more about their intentions and their operations. So I dug a ...

Here’s the nut of the dispute: In 2016, Acreage hired Harris Silver, a cannabis consultant, to lead the company’s bid for a medical marijuana license in Pennsylvania. Silver prepared an application that won a cultivation license, but then Acreage reneged on Silver’s payment—or so he claims. Acreage’s legal response indicates that they believe Silve...

Acreage “purports to be successful investors in the fast-growing field of licensed cannabis cultivation and dispensing and are seeking to cash in via an initial public offering,” Silver contends in his civil complaint. “But in fact, [Acreage has] suffered a string of failures in their efforts to actually obtain the cannabis licenses they sought.” T...

Acreage CEO Kevin Murphy and managing member Melvin Yellin arranged a meeting with Lenfest at his apartment in downtown Philadelphia. According to Silver, the Acreage team asked him to pitch Lenfest on the idea of joining Acreage as co-owners of the Pennsylvania medical marijuana license. Although Silver didn’t have a formal working agreement with ...

That compensation was substantial. Silver would be paid $180,000 to prepare the applications, as well as a 4% non-dilutable ownership interest in Prime Wellness, the suit says. Silver was allegedly promised a job as chief marketing officer of Prime Wellness and a bonus for each winning application: $150,000 for a cultivation license, $50,000 for ea...

As the deadline for the Pennsylvania application neared, Silver continued to press for a signed contract. The Acreage executives, he says, continued to delay. Finally, on March 20—the day the Pennsylvania license application was due—Murphy and Yellin, the top Acreage executives, presented Silver with a written contract. It was, Silver claims, “a ne...

Three months later, on June 27, 2017, Prime Wellness was awarded a cannabis cultivation license by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The company did not, however, win a dispensary license. Upon hearing the news, Silver contacted Acreage to inquire about his payments, equity, and bonuses. Also to see about that job as chief marketing officer of...

For its part, Acreage and its legal team is, well, going full-on legal on Harris Silver’s claims. “Acreage has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation,” a company spokesman told me yesterday. “This case has been referred to outside counsel, and Acreage intends to vigorously defend itself against all claims asserted.” That’s the official co...

Acreage may have the stronger legal hand here. The term sheet looks to be just that—a term sheet. And the Prime Wellness employment offer appears to clearly state that it’s contingent on the company winning both cultivation anddispensary licenses. The company won only the cultivation license. It seems clear that, if you take Silver’s suit on face v...