Clear Cannabis, Inc. Opens Round of Private Funding with Boustead Securities, LLC.

Colorado-based Clear Cannabis, Inc. opens a $10 million crossover round of private funding with an investment bank

Clear Cannabis, Inc. (CCI), leading cannabis distribution and infrastructure company in legal marijuana states, today announced it will be opening a crossover round of funding with Boustead Securities, LLC. The $10 million dollar raise is aimed to help CCI elevate brands and expand operations.

“Our mission is supporting cannabis entrepreneurs in securing licenses, optimizing facility design and standardizing operations to transform and maximize business development,” John Cushman, CEO for Clear Cannabis, Inc. said. “This new investment validates Clear Cannabis, Inc.’s position as a leader in the cannabis market and potentially allows us to take an aggressive growth and acquisition stance that will fuel our ability to enter emerging markets and expand our CBD product line.”

“We are excited to work with Clear Cannabis, Inc. to open this crossover round of funding,” Karen Ard, Investment Banker at Boustead Securities, LLC. said. “This round of funding should help Clear Cannabis, Inc. expand to more markets and help establish the company as a leader in cannabis branding, licensing and business development.”

With the new round of funding, CCI will aim to continue to support the infrastructure and the development of brands in the seven states where The Clear™ is currently sold, as well as the numerous other states where The Clear CBD™ is sold. Increased funding is also expected to fuel CCI’s expansion to new markets as more states allow legal adult use cannabis. As the cannabis industry grows, CCI is positioning itself to lead the market in multi-state branding and acquiring cannabis brands that create emotional connections with consumers.

About Clear Cannabis, Inc.

Clear Cannabis, Inc. is the international master licensor of “The Clear Concentrate” and the Clear family of products. The Clear™ was created as a consolidation from Cannabis Venture Capital firm Cliintel Capital Management Group, LLC . The consolidation included the portfolios of seven cannabis-related companies and corresponding intellectual property assets: The Clear™ Concentrates, Subtle Escape, Subtle Relief, 5156 Systems, Cannabis Industry Institute, Cliintel, LLC, and BATMANN Consulting, Inc.
There is no guarantee that any specific outcome will be achieved. Investments may be speculative, illiquid and there is a risk of loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Raising Cannabis Capital

THE CLEAR IS A WELL KNOW, TRUSTED BRAND OF CONCENTRATES AND DABBING PRODUCTS. THROUGH CLEAR CANNABIS INC. A TOTALLY SEPARATE, NON-PLANT TOUCHING COMPANY THEY ARE ABLE TO LICENSE THEIR TECHNOLOGY, NON-CANNABIS PRODUCTS, BRAND NAME AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO LEGALLY CREATE A NATIONAL CANNABIS COMPANY. CEO JOHN CUSHMAN JOINS DAN HUMISTON TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PLAN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR LICENSING, ACQUISITIONS AND THEIR CURRENT CAPITAL RAISE.

Expensive Cannagars made with high quality materials
Weed From Well-Known Lifestyle Brands Is Next Stage of Legal Cannabis

In July, to commemorate their first anniversary, a Colorado couple in their 30s wanted a treat that would help them extend the high of their special day: custom gold-foil-tipped marijuana cigars.

They went to Made in Xiaolin for a $1,200 set of “cannagars,” made with premium flower and bearing the wedding date stamped on the rolling paper. “We compare it to popping bottles,” says Christopher Louie, the founder of the company 30 miles southwest of Denver. He has aims on Aspen’s party scene next.

Four-figure blunts are but one part of a burgeoning market for personalized, high-end cannabis products, especially on the West Coast, where growers often have a glut and are trying to find new ways to market their harvest. Oregon and California, two states with a long history of cultivation, have experienced oversupply since marijuana was legalized. (Interstate commerce is federally prohibited, and Oregon produces more legal weed than its residents can consume, while California still has a robust black market on top of its new legal industry.)

Legal cannabis sales were north of $10 billion last year in the U.S. and are forecast to grow to $30 billion in 2024, according to BDS Analytics. Eleven states plus Washington, D.C., authorize recreational use, while 24 more allow some form of medical marijuana. Almost 80% of Americans live in a state with some kind of access.

As marijuana loses some of its historical stigma, and pushes into the mainstream, it’s getting a luxury makeover. Aesthetics has been “a big point of differentiation between us and anyone else on the shelf,” says Brett Heyman, founder and creative director of luxury handbag label Edie Parker. She introduced her own strains of marijuana in stylish, gold-capped jars as well as smoking accessories in May. “The vibe [of other cannabis brands] is very much old-timey apothecary, or medical, or stonery—none of those things spoke to me.”

To create the Flower by Edie Parker line, Heyman worked with craft cannabis brand Flow Kana and traveled to farms in Northern California to test product, eventually settling on three lines—cherry cheesecake (a heady indica strain), pineapple rising (an energetic sativa strain), and banana jam (a hybrid hyped as “a unique hostess gift for any dinner party”). All are outdoor and sun-grown by farms with at least one female partner. “We wanted the THC levels to not be crazy high and [the production] small batch—that narrows down your options,” she says. “Plus, they all had fruit names and all of our pipes are fruit [shaped].”

Heyman leaned on San Francisco-based Flow Kana’s expertise in producing and packaging, then bought its batch wholesale to sell through Edie Parker and distribute via weed-delivery company Emjay in and around West Los Angeles and Oakland. There was no additional cost for Heyman’s input on the strains and design aesthetics.

“Flow Kana was surprised that a fashion New York brand wanted to do it, but I think our story helps with the mainstreamification of cannabis for them,” Heyman says. Another client: David Bronner, the CEO of Dr. Bronner’s soaps who launched Brother David’s weed line earlier this year.

“I’m a firm believer that cannabis is part of culture. If you’re a brand that speaks through the rhythm of culture, it makes sense,” says Jason White, former global head of marketing for Beats by Dr. Dre and now chief marketing officer for Cura Partners Inc., which has a robust white-labeling business for dispensary partners and celebrity projects. The company is being acquired by Curaleaf Holdings Inc., the most valuable U.S. marijuana company with a market value of roughly $3 billion.

Creating a tailored cannabis line reflective of your brand—hypothetically, a Lululemon weed would have a different high and aesthetic than a Monster Energy weed—is a way to be in that conversation. “There is money to be made, and brands know that,” says White. “You want to put out a product that works for you, and you want your followers to understand what you get behind.”

There’s still a high barrier to entry. Laws vary by state; they limit how much a consumer can purchase at a time and how product can be distributed. A bride couldn’t buy enough for a 300-person wedding, for instance, but she could work with a dispensary to create custom joints for a bachelorette party, then bring in her friends to purchase the products individually.

Plus, the cannabis market is bifurcating, says Douglas Cortina, chief executive officer of NorCal Cannabis Co., a vertically integrated company with an 85,000-square-foot campus in Santa Rosa, Calif. The price of high-quality weed—typically high-THC and indoor-grown—is increasing, fetching $100 an eighth of an ounce or almost $13,000 a pound in California. Lower-quality weed is becoming a commodity, ranging from $500 to $3,500 a pound.

For NorCal, creating an order of custom joints, as it did for Georgia rap trio Migos, isn’t typically worth their while. But “if Drake asked for it, we’d do one for him,” Cortina says. The company can produce about 2,000 pounds a month, and even 500 joints only comes out to about a pound of weed.

Richard Batenburg Jr., chairman and president of Clear Cannabis Inc., says it is smaller growers, increasingly pushed out of the industry by more scalable operations, that could benefit most from white labeling. An operator could grow a special strain for a customer and sell it with personalized packaging for about 10% or 20% more than what it would normally fetch, he estimates. “You’re getting at how some of these mom and pop operations could continue to be successful,” he says.

“The interesting thing we will be seeing is more movement of bigger name brands that wouldn’t have touched [cannabis] with a 10-foot pole even two years ago,” says Pamela Hadfield, co-founder of HelloMD, a digital platform for cannabis consumers. If Dolce & Gabbana can release a branded pasta, could a D&G weed be far off?

Asked if he’d ever consider a marijuana product, Greg Chait, founder of L.A. luxury cashmere brand the Elder Statesman, says: “The short answer is yes, but just like anything we do at the Elder Statesman it has to be very genuine to the company, so the process, the flower, the exploration, and the creativity has to feel right for us.” He could very well be talking about belts or socks.

Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg have developed second careers as pot connoisseurs, and Willie Nelson is well known for his cannabis brand Willie’s Reserve. This July, San Jose-based pot company Caliva announced Jay-Z would be its chief brand strategist. And in April, NorCal announced a joint venture with comedian Chelsea Handler to develop a female-focused line of vape pens and low-dose edibles.

Cortina says NorCal was initially skeptical, because such licensing deals are a common way for celebrities to slap their name on weed and get paid. But Handler impressed them with her knowledge, and they formed a company that they control in which Handler owns a large stake. She was particularly interested in a weed high in THCV, a lesser-known marijuana compound that may be an appetite suppressant. NorCal didn’t have that strain, so it looked to the wholesale market before deciding to cultivate its own. The first products are slated to be released in November.

Ryan Littman, chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based cannabis extraction company Herbology, says the extension from smoking accessories to actual cannabis is the next logical step for lifestyle brands. He cites Barneys, whose Beverly Hills head shop, the High End, offers joint clips, glass items, and CBD-infused serums. By the end of August, its New York store is scheduled to start selling rolling papers from Devambez, the famed Parisian engraving house.

Littman says fashion companies have an edge: They have an established aesthetic and can leverage their signature color or mood to design their cannabis products and packaging. “If you know what your price point is and color palette, you can work backward,” he says.

“I really did see a path where we are creating this lifestyle brand,” says Edie Parker’s Heyman. “I didn’t think the world needed more shoes or handbags.”

Celebrate National CBD Day With All These Very Chill Sales

As cannabis legalization spreads across America, THC is moving aside to make room for fellow cannabinoid CBD. CBD won’t get you high, but there’s so much else it does. It’s used to treat anxiety and insomnia. People also swear it has pain-relieving effects. Its anti-inflammatory properties have prompted many beauty brands to add it to their products, and of course, you can always hit your CBD vape for stress relief.

You likely didn’t get the day off for National CBD Day, which is August 8, but you can still take advantage of the sales — and there are a lot of them, including beverages, tinctures, and skin care. We rounded up 11 CBD products on sale for the holiday, including an offer which gets you a free vape pen.

1. Sunday Scaries


The Deal: You know when you wake up on Sunday, filled with unnecessary anxiety about the night before you and looming dread for Monday? This Allure-approved CBD brand is here to help. Sunday Scaries is offering an exclusive offer of 30 percent off with the code ALLURE30.

The discount is sitewide, so stock up on gummies, tinctures, and even “unicorn jerky.” Sunday Scaries gets all its full-spectrum CBD oil from a family-owned farm in Colorado and is pesticide-free.

2. Good Day CBD Beverages


The Deal: Once upon a time people only consumed CBD through smoking weed. While we’re not hating on that, it’s pretty rad that today we can enjoy CBD alone without the psychoactive effects of getting high, as sometimes we have to keep our head on straight. What’s more? You can also drink it.

Get 15 milligrams of the healing cannabinoid in Good Day CBD Beverages. This drink includes cold brew coffee, citrus sparkling water, and chamomile herbal tea. The CBD in this beverage is derived from hemp in Colorado, and it’s 20 percent off on National CBD Day with the code CBDDAY20.

3. Goldleaf CBD Jotter


The Deal: One of the trickiest parts of enjoying cannabis (and CBD) is finding the right product that works for you. Different brains and bodies need different dosages. Some of us may desire CBD in our beauty products, while others prefer a vape to puff on. What method of consumption is best for you? Experimenting is part of the fun.

With Goldleaf’s CBD Jotter, you can keep track of your experiences to learn what’s best for you. From August 8 to 11, get 20 percent off entire store with the code CBDDAY19.

4. New Highs CBD


The Deal: Between August 8 and August 12, luxury CBD brand New Highs is offering a 15 percent off online sale with code NEWHIGHSDAY. The premiere hemp CBD tinctures are made with Oregon-grown hemp and coconut oil. The brand is full-spectrum, meaning that rather than just isolate the CBD compounds in the plant, New Highs keeps the green richness of the entire plant which research suggests helps the CBD work better due to a process known as the “entourage effect.”

Add a few drops of New Highs under your tongue or in your favorite drink to unwind without psychoactive effects.

Photo of a Syringe over a bunch of grapes
18 Concentrate Brands You Should Know About

Stoners, weed snobs, and concentrate connoisseurs, lend us your rigs.

To honor all things dabbable, Weedmaps News compiled a list of some amazing concentrate makers in the U.S. today. It includes craft brands, some founders, ground-layers and “original” companies in legal markets, big-name dab makers, small-batch processors, and everything in between. As the industry grows, more talent crops up, so know that quality extractors extend beyond this list.

We see you, dabbers. So here’s a tip of the hat to some of the coolest companies crafting our golden wax, rosin, and concentrates in all shapes and sizes. From the entry-level to the rare expert, the list includes both supreme top-shelf and affordable but still high-quality companies for consumers to enter through.

Here are 18 ooey, gooey concentrate companies killin’ the game you need to know about.

Raw Garden

Why It Made The List: Get lost in the live resin sauce. Raw Garden is a popular California concentrate maker known for its refined live resin diamonds and live resin sauces. Raw Garden tends to fly off dispensary shelves thanks to its affordable price, landing anywhere from $40 to $60 per gram. This is the tastiest bang for your buck, and it keeps winning awards to boot.

Who It’s For: The avid dabber who will not sacrifice quality and flavor for a low price

Where to Find It: California

Bloom

Why It Made The List: Bloom is a wildly popular concentrate brand founded in 2013 in Los Angeles. Today, its concentrates can be found inside of Dart pods, distillate vape pods, and easy-to-use syringes for distillate. Its quality can only be matched by its tried-and-true genetics worth trying Bloom’s take on, including King Louis the XIII, Green Crack, Pineapple Express, and Maui Wowie.

Who It’s For: The consumer who wants clean, easy, delicious distillate

Where to Find It: California, Nevada, Washington, and New Mexico

Moxie

Why It Made The List: Since 2015, Moxie has been an award-winning staple in the concentrate game with plenty of clout. Its cartridges and Dart pods will sell new consumers on the gospel of concentrates. The wax found inside will be Moxie-level quality. Genetics you’ll dab with this brand? Snoop’s Dream, Alpine Cookies, Blue Coral, Goji Valley Kush, Lemon Goji OG, and Viper City, to name a few.

Who It’s For: The dabber who loves convenience and new tech

Where to Find It: California, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania

Viola

Why It Made The List: Viola was founded by former NBA player Al Harrington. Since Viola’s inception, the concentrate brand has made waves in both Colorado and Oregon with its trail-blazing diamonds and live sugars, innovating today with THCA sauces, and serving up massive jars called Honey Pots. Delicious dabs include Screaming Afgoo, Chem D Krush + Chem D x I95, and Orange 43.

Who It’s For: The honey-bear consumer who wants a “Honey Pot” (7 gram jar) of concentrate, so it will last a long time

Where to Find It: Colorado, Oregon, California, and Michigan

Green Dot Labs

Why It Made The List: Green Dot Labs is at the top of its game in the Colorado market, absolutely crushing concentrate products including live resins, badders, and rosins worth drooling over. The company innovates in its hydrocarbon extraction process as well as collabs with artists, including a recent collaboration with the Disco Biscuits for the summer. If you see Green Dot Labs’ Black Label, know that it will be as glorious as music in your ears.

Who It’s For: The responsible but heady, jam-banding dabber

Where to Find It: Colorado

Natty Rems

Why It Made The List: Natural Remedies, which evolved to Natty Rems over the course of the last ten years in the Denver market, produces some killer concentrates. Founded as one of the Mile High City’s first medical dispensaries in 2009, the company grew to include Concentrate Remedies in 2015, when it began producing cured budder, live budder, live diamonds, live sugar, shatter, and fresh frozen solventless concentrates.

Who It’s For: Dabbers who want the heady, natty remedy without breaking the bank

Where to Find It: Colorado

The Clear

Why It Made The List: In the case of this Colorado company, the name really does say it all. The Clear produces some super-clean concentrates, almost opaquely white diamonds, with product line offerings, such as a new 1:1 Lobster Butter, Banana Cream, and its Honey Buckets of pure distillate.

Dubbed by the company as “Sunshine in a Bottle,” you can find The Clear on shelves in dispensaries in five legal markets across the U.S. Founded by a group of chemists, The Clear said on its website that it produces its flavors and terpenes in-house, “using only organic and kosher components.”

Who It’s For: The dabber who is obsessed with crystal, bling, and sparkly things

Where to Find It: California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Michigan

Willamette Valley Alchemy

Why It Made The List: If you live in Oregon, give concentrates from Willamette Valley Alchemy a shot. Founded in 2015, the company uses genetics from equally sought Oregon producers and collabs including Doghouse and Yerba Buena, to name a few. The alchemists create shatter, live resin, and diamonds made from freshly frozen cannabis flower, potency ranging anywhere from 65% to 95%, while prices will range but hit in the $42-to-$72-per-gram range.

Who It’s For: The mad scientist dabbler

Where to Find It: Oregon

710 Labs

Why It Made The List: The710 Labs’ motto? “OGs make better OG.” Which its founder Brad Melshenker said means the “constant struggle to now one up ourselves.” This California concentrate company has been praised in both the Cali and Colorado markets for making some out-of-this-world concentrates in the form of sauce, live resin sugar, sauce, and live badder. Using unique genetics in its living soil cultivation — including Lemon Tart Pucker, Z Cubed, Black Mamba, and Kaya’s Koffee F2 — 710 Labs has the clout to match its price point. Often partnering with artists including This Is Addictive, Giacomo Bagnara, Katz and Dogg, to name a few, 710 Labs is as artisan as it gets.

Who It’s For: The dab head with extra cash or who wants to savor the gram. If you’re saving money, it’s the birthday splurge.

Where to Find It: California and Colorado

West Coast Cure

Why It Made The List: West Coast Cure is responsible for creating some of the prettiest wax extracts we’ve ever seen. Its most popular strain extracted under its BHOMB product line, Hardcore OG, propelled West Coast Cure to stoner notoriety, as rapper Action Bronson vouched for its Hardcore OG cake badder. Founded in Newport Beach, California, in 2010, West Coast Cure was born to cater to a high-end consumer of cannabis extracts, including shatters, budder, and cartridges.

Who It’s For: The weed snob who started dabbing for the terpene and flavor profile

Where to Find It: California

AllGreens Extraction Co.

Why It Made The List: If you follow cannabis brands, influencers, or hashtags on Instagram, you’ve probably seen some IG posts of AllGreens distillate. Case in point: Unicorn Tears is the name for its distillate with a beautiful, vivid purple hue. The company excels in its rare offerings that include Papayahuasca or Chem de la Chem grown by Limonene Farms, to name a few. Its recreational drops are so rare, dabbers rush to get them once announced on Instagram.

Who It’s For: The dabber who wants to smoke Unicorn Tears

Where to Find It: Colorado

Harmony Extracts

Why It Made The List: Harmony is well known in the dab circles in Colorado for its quality, and wears the crown for the most-awarded concentrate company with 45 to date. Harmony is obsessed with purity and whips in oxygen for a delicate consistency. Historically, one of the most top-shelf cost concentrates, its roots go back to 2003. The cost? It has gone down in recreational markets over the years, but its sugars, nectars, and distillates sit anywhere from $70 to $100 per gram.

Who It’s For: The hardcore craft connoisseur who is also hardcore into peace, love, and sustainability

Where to Find It: Colorado

Peak

Why It Made The List: This family-owned concentrate company was founded in 2013 in California. Its small-batch, strain-specific concentrates are on the top of the mountain for a reason. Peak’s beloved cartridges maintain an excellent flavor at an even more excellently affordable price point for their quality, usually hitting at $40-$50 for 500 milligrams. Peak’s cartridges are filled with distillate, taken one step further in extraction from the company’s “Full Spectrum Amber Oil.”

Who It’s For: Mountain climber dabbers who want a really good cart on-the-go

Where to Find It: California

From The Soil

Why It Made The List: Washington is lucky to have From The Soil and its bountiful, fire concentrates. The company has expanded rapidly since its 2016 founding, going from 18 acres to more than 92 acres of pesticide-free probiotic soil, meaning bacterial microorganisms live in and contribute to the soil’s overall microbiome. Its genetics are sourced from around the world, including Amsterdam, Colorado, California, and combined with in-house genetics. The result? Stunning varieties of wax, shatter, crumble, live resin, and sugar using butane hash oil (BHO) extraction.

Who It’s For: The nature-made dabber who wants clean dabs

Where to Find It: Washington

Buddies Brand

Why It Made The List: One of the best in the West, Buddies Brand makes some live resins and distillates with icy, golden, diamond-full jars of terpy power. Its live resins and terp sugars include popular varieties Ghost Train, Purple Mahayana, and Game Changer. One five-star Weedmaps reviewer wrote: “This product just sent the Jesus down to me and I dabbed him out????Well done dudes.”

Who It’s For: The daily dabber who always has a buddy to smoke with

Where to Find It: Washington, Oregon, and California

Culta

Why It Made The List: Culta is known for its flower, so it’s no surprise that once this Maryland-based company started making concentrates, it received immediate praise. The company’s line of sun-grown and hydroponic strains used for concentrates include Love, Land Mine, Scooby Snacks, Trilogy, several breeds of Dosidos, and Gelato. Culta doesn’t play.

Who It’s For: The weed-snob who needs a few dabs before a special occasion

Where to Find It: Maryland

gLeaf

Why It Made The List: This concentrate brand out of Maryland is representing on the East Coast with delicious badders, crumbles, rosins, diamonds, and more. Founder Philip Goldberg established gLeaf in 2014. Among its 31 exotic strains, patients find concentrates in Air Force One, Blue Cheese, Painkiller XL, Sour Diesel, and the list continues into flavorful possibilities currently on the menu.

Before gLeaf was born, it was a group of activists and entrepreneurs called Green Leaf Medical, helping to guide the state’s medical cannabis industry, testifying at commissions and Senate hearings on behalf of caregivers, and lobbying to increase the possession amount for Maryland patients.

Who It’s For: Activists and East Coast dabbers with a love for crumbles

Where to Find It: Maryland

Jungle Boys Rosin

Why It Made The List: The Jungle Boys don’t play. The talented team behind Jungle Boys cultivation has grown flower in Los Angeles since 2006, which has translated into Jungle Boys’ great line of pressed rosin. Jungle Boys operate exclusively out of TLC Dispensary in L.A.; see more work under the hashtag #squishingthatfire. It’s dry sift rosin batter and live rosin is impeccably clean, in a light-golden to near-white hue, but the connoisseur should know, the cost is high in the reflection of its rarity at $80-$100 per gram.

Who It’s For: The purist dabber who wants a good full-melt hash

Where to Find It: California