Puerto Rico Medical Marijuana Industry Receives Boost from U.S. Investors

In 2019, the Puerto Rico medical marijuana industry was growing at a phenomenal rate and looked like the next frontier for cannabis investors. At the time, the medical cannabis program had more than 92,000 registered patients and had increased 180% since the previous summer alone. While not officially a state, Puerto Rico remains an unincorporated U.S. territory. As a result, officials projected that it could generate $100 million in cannabis tax revenues by 2020 and create 20,000 jobs.

Of course, wherever there is opportunity to be found, corporate cannabis investment firms tend to follow. At that point, the primary players in the Puerto Rico medical marijuana industry included Cansortium, Columbia Care, and Bhang.

Cansortium Brings Fluent Dispensary

Cansortium did not waste any time. The company announced plans to open its second Fluent medical marijuana dispensary in Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Columbia Care was expected to launch “vertically integrated operations” on the island, including a medical marijuana dispensary in San Juan and a cultivation/manufacturing facility in Cidra. In addition, Bhang penned a deal to distribute its wide variety of more than 25 cannabidiol (CBD) product lines to the island.

Cansortium’s CEO, José Hidalgo, remarked that, “The opening of our second Fluent dispensary in Puerto Rico is further evidence that we are executing our growth plan by steadily expanding our dispensary network.” Notably, the company’s hugely successful fundraising rounds earned it over $56 million even before it hit the market as an IPO.

This funding allowed Cansortium to expand its network significantly in Puerto Rico, as well as Canada, Florida, Texas, and Colombia. Hidalgo went on to say, “In addition to our two dispensaries in Puerto Rico, we operate 15 Fluent dispensaries in Florida with plans to have 30 in operation or secured by the end of 2019. We are excited to bring our high-quality consistently-formulated Fluent products to more customers in Puerto Rico.”

Columbia Care and Bhang Investment

New York City based cannabis firm Columbia Care had also been extremely profitable, bringing in more than $100 million since its launch in 2012. CEO Nicholas Vita noted that, “We are thrilled to join the Puerto Rican community and be a part of its economic revival. Columbia Care continues to execute its national rollout strategy with Puerto Rico representing our 11th market launch in the U.S.”

Florida-based Bhang, meanwhile, secured a distribution deal to provide its CBD infused chocolates, chewing gum, lip balms, and gummies to the Puerto Rico medical marijuana industry. Bhang CEO Scott Van Rixel explained that, “Our entry into the fast-growing Puerto Rico market is yet another step toward our mission to build a true, global house of brands while leveraging partnerships with leading regional operators.”

Puerto Rico had been in recovery mode ever since Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017, yet it continued to rebuild. Therefore, U.S. cannabis investment companies looked like a potential saving grace, creating jobs and providing much-needed tax revenue for an island in need.