The Public Cannabis Hangover: When the Market Catches Up

This week delivered two more gut-punch reminders of how unforgiving public markets have been for cannabis companies. The Cannabist Co. — formerly Columbia Care, once a top-tier multistate operator — voluntarily entered creditor protection in Canada and plans to file for recognition under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, all while still owing roughly $270 million to lenders and the IRS even after asset sales in Virginia, Ohio, and Delaware. Meanwhile, WeedMaps parent WM Technology announced it will voluntarily delist from Nasdaq, citing thin trading volumes, high compliance costs, and regulatory constraints. The stock, which once traded near $20, plunged another 37% in after-hours trading on the delisting news.

Neither story is new. They’re the latest installments in a pattern that by now has its own well-worn script:

• MedMen (CSE: MMEN) — the self-styled “Apple Store of weed” — peaked at a $1.7 billion valuation before filing for bankruptcy in April 2024 and placing its California assets into receivership.
• Leafly (Nasdaq: LFLY) — went public via SPAC at a $532 million valuation and was subsequently delisted from Nasdaq in January 2025 after failing to meet minimum net income requirements.
• WM Technology / WeedMaps (Nasdaq: MAPS) — traded as high as nearly $20 at its 2021 peak; it closed Tuesday at $0.71 before plunging another 37% after hours.
• The Cannabist Co. (OTCQB: CBSTF) — formerly Columbia Care, which saw a failed acquisition by Cresco Labs fall apart in 2023 before the long wind-down that concluded this month.
• Parallel — Beau Wrigley’s privately held MSO where a planned $1.9 billion SPAC deal collapsed without explanation in 2021, triggering years of investor litigation.

The routes to public capital have varied — reverse takeovers, SPACs, conventional listings, private raises — but the destination has been remarkably consistent.

The structural problem runs deeper than any individual balance sheet. Federal illegality bars cannabis operators from standard bankruptcy proceedings, leaving insolvent companies with only state-law alternatives like receivership — a messier, slower, more value-destructive process. The industry was simultaneously staring down nearly $1.83 billion in debt coming due by 2026, with capital markets long since closed to most operators.

So is the public market carnage a leading indicator or a lagging one? Probably both — and that’s the uncomfortable answer. The operating headwinds have been visible for years, making this week’s headlines feel less like surprises than conclusions. But consolidation can also clear the field. The question worth asking is whether we’re watching the end of cannabis as a public equity story — or just the end of a badly overwritten first chapter.

About the Author

Ed Keating spearheads Emerald Intel’s engagement with regulators worldwide, gathering and analyzing corporate, financial, and licensing data to map the evolving cannabis landscape. He is the author of the Emerald Insights blog and host of the Cannacurio podcast. Ed holds a degree from Hamilton College and earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He currently serves as Chief Economist at Emerald Intel.

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