In the latest sign of an ailing industry, one of the biggest buyers of Oregon cannabis—the publicly traded Canadian company Chalice Brands—is facing charges that it failed to pay some Oregon farmers and product makers for flower, pre-rolls, edibles, and other weed products it placed in its Oregon dispensaries.
Four Oregon farmers tell WW that Chalice owes them thousands of dollars for cannabis products the company purchased within the past year but have not yet paid for.
According to the growers and invoices shared with WW, the unpaid bills add up to more than a hundred thousand dollars. For some farms, unpaid invoices mean employee layoffs in a market where profit margins are slim, and capital reserves are rare.
“Chalice is financing its business on the backs of small farmers,” says Marianne Cursetjee, owner of Alibi Cannabis in Clackamas County. “People are too afraid of saying things out loud because we have no power to collect anything outstanding. I really, truly feel that Chalice is a house of cards.”
Read more at https://www.wweek.com