Cultivation Company Shows Promise of Large Harvest for Arizona Dispensaries
A merger has been recently announced for the medical-marijuana dispensary company Harvest of Arizona. Based in Tempe, Harvest of Arizona Phoenix Dispensaries currently has its retail shops situated in Scottsdale and Tempe. This recent merger announcement promises the first step in making Harvest of Arizona one of the largest competitors of medical marijuana in the rapidly growing industry. The idea based behind this deal is to lower costs for medical marijuana for as many as 115,000 registered patients in the state today.
The merger follows Harvest of Arizona’s newfound alliance with Modern Flower, an Arizona cultivating company. Combining the efforts of these two powerhouses has led to the possibility of them becoming the largest operator of medical marijuana in the state of Arizona. Modern Flower is already seen as Arizona’s leading wholesale supplier and the company has mentioned in a news release that it will continue to stand in its place in the industry with the implementation of this merger.
It is expected that as soon as January, Harvest of Arizona will have ownership of eight dispensaries and a total of seven cultivation centers in the state of . This comes as no surprise, considering Harvest of Arizona has won accolades for its vast contribution, such as winning the title of the best dispensary in the 2015 Best of Phoenix.
Attorney Steve White, the CEO of Harvest of Arizona, commented on how many cultivation centers and dispensaries the public could hope to see from Harvest by January. He went on to comment on the concentration the company has for patient convenience. He stated that having numerous dispensaries allows patients scattered around different parts of the state to have access to a facility where they can expect to have a consistent experience. This certainly sheds light on the concern for the patient, many of which would not be able to afford a trip to a dispensary located hours away from where they are.
White also went over how consolidation of the companies would only help competition, rather than stifle it in any way. Through becoming the largest wholesaler in the state, Harvest of Arizona will gain the ability to influence overall pricing of medical marijuana and will work towards lowering the prices at various retail locations which they own. He surmised that the price of a flower (or buds) will go down over the course of the next year due to more cultivators and wholesalers flocking to the market.
It’s been reported by the Arizona Department of Health Services that a total of 98 dispensaries are currently open and operating. The Arizona Department of Health Services is the entity which oversees the state’s medical marijuana program, as well as granting licenses for retailers to sell. The state actually expanded the amount of licenses it was willing to give out back in October. Since then, 130 licenses in total have been granted to entrepreneurs, who have been busy getting their own shops set up for business.
White has predicted that by 2018 there will be too much marijuana flower produced to keep up with the demand of what will be consumed by patients. Should this be true, this overabundance will cause prices to fall among dispensaries.
There has been a widespread rejection of the law on the federal front in Arizona, as well as 25 other states, in only the past few years. The federal law rejections have resulted in a multibillion-dollar market that will continue to grow and generate jobs for Americans that outlast even manufacturing jobs by the year 2020.
Robert Carp, an expert on the industry and a Boston-based lawyer, has expressed his agreement on White’s belief that the merger promises an improvement for patients in the long run. He’s gone on to explain that expansion of the strains offered by Harvest are going to generate opportunities for smaller businesses.
Within the medical marijuana industry, there lies a veil of secrecy as to who will be running the largest dispensary. Due to a law that does not allow the public to know the identities behind such an organization, all that is known is just how these Phoenix dispensaries are run. All retail licenses are currently assigned to a board of directors who dictate how a dispensary is run from a technical standpoint.