California pot company executives out as stock plummets to zero

Cameron Kiszla
·2 min read

A California-based chain of cannabis dispensaries is in a period of upheaval after its stock became essentially worthless, prompting the ouster of its CEO and executive chairman.

Culver City-based MedMen, which has locations in California, Illinois, New York, Nevada and Massachusetts, was once valued at $3 billion. But that was 2018; now, that valuation is zero, according to multiple reports.

MarketWatch explained that MedMen was hit with a cease-trade order for its stock, and several required financial reports have not been filed with authorities.

CEO Ellen Deutsch Harrison and the board’s Executive Chairman Michael Serruya departed last week, though the company “clarified that the resignations were not due to disagreements on operational matters,” according to the WeHo Times.

While MedMen stock is no longer being traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, stores remain open, SFGate explained.

In the L.A. area alone, MedMen has eight locations, including spots in Long Beach, Orange County, West Hollywood and near LAX.

It’s important to note, however, that it’s the large number of stores that might be an issue, according to a 2019 report in the Los Angeles Business Journal.

A customer buys cannabis products at MedMen, one of the two Los Angeles-area pot shops that began selling marijuana for recreational use under the new California marijuana law Jan. 2, 2018, in West Hollywood. (Credit: David McNew/Getty Images)
A customer buys cannabis products at MedMen, one of the two Los Angeles-area pot shops that began selling marijuana for recreational use under the new California marijuana law Jan. 2, 2018, in West Hollywood. (Credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

“Investors in cannabis retailer MedMen Enterprises Inc. are looking to newly minted Chief Financial Officer Michael Kramer to right the ship at one of the fledgling industry’s most ambitious companies, which is rapidly burning through cash as it pursues an aggressive expansion strategy,” the article said.

That effort was apparently unsuccessful, as Kramer was fired about four months after the Business Journal report was published.

The financial problems continued, however, and the company “has been selling assets to raise cash,” according to MarketWatch.

“The company this month said that it sold off its non-core business operations in Arizona,” the report added. “Plans to sell two cannabis shops in Nevada await approval from regulators.”

KTLA 5 News reached out to MedMen for comment but has not received a response.

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