Scottsdale Arizona’s Biggest Medical Marijuana Company Grows

Harvest Health and Recreation has solidified its place as the largest operator of medical marijuana facilities in Arizona. The company recently announced the acquisition of three store locations that were previously the property of a rival company doing business as Arizona National Selections. The purchase makes Harvest Health Recreation the owner of 14 retail medical marijuana stores in Arizona. The total number of stores in the state is 120.

The price of the purchase was not disclosed to the public. However, Harvest did make it known that it was able to obtain the licenses for the locations in exchange for a “non-material” amount of company stock. Harvest stock is traded on the over-the-counter United States market as well as on the Canadian Securities Exchange in Canada.

Licenses for marijuana dispensaries in Arizona are presently worth millions of dollars. But license values are expected to rise significantly if an upcoming ballot measure to increase the range of accepted uses for cannabis in the state is passed as expected.

The Medical Marijuana Act of 2010 opened the market for Medical Marijuana in Arizona. The Department of Health Services responded to the passing of the bill by holding lotteries to determine which qualified applicants would receive the limited number of licenses needed to operate medical marijuana facilities in the state.

There is a DHS rule that seems to prevent the transfer of issued medical marijuana licenses from one license holder to another. However, the department has not interfered with Harvest or other large companies who have taken control of licenses that were first issued to other companies.

The result of the current deal is that stores and menus formerly under the control of Arizona Natural Selections located in Scottsdale, Peoria, and Mesa now belong to Harvest. Additionally, a fourth license originally issued to Natural Selections is unattached to a store at this time. This license was also obtained by Harvest and can be used to establish another Scottsdale medical marijuana dispensary anywhere in Arizona.

Harvest Poised for Growth

Harvest reports it is now the holder of 22 Arizona medical marijuana licenses if you include deals that are pending. Company CEO, Steve White says the company is proud of its accomplishments and is always looking to increase the scope of its operations in Arizona.

A considerable amount of distance exists between Harvest and the next biggest medical marijuana operator in the state. Curaleaf Holdings is based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and currently operates five retail facilities in Arizona.

Other properties that are now under the control of Harvest after its deal with Natural Selections include a 25-acre form in Wilcox that is zoned for marijuana growing, a greenhouse that contains 70,000 square feet of space used to grow marijuana, and a Phoenix grow house that contains 55,000 square feet of available space.

Their Camp Verde Farm was the location used by Harvest to grow the product it sells in Arizona before the deal with AZ Natural Selections was completed.

National Expansion

The growth aspirations of Harvest Health and Recreations are not restricted to the state of Arizona. The goal of the company is to cement its position among the top suppliers of both medical and recreational products in the United States.

Harvest is currently involved in negotiations to take over marijuana facilities across the nation. If all of the proposed deals are finalized, Harvest Health and Recreation will control 130 retail operations in 18 states. The company will also have 1,700 employees on its payroll.

A sign of things to come from the company is the recent opening of its first Little Rock, Arkansas retail location.

The expansion efforts of Harvest have not been without its headaches. The company recently filed a suit against Falcon International Corporation. The two companies previously signed a deal that went sour. Falcon demanded a $50 million fee after the deal was broken between the two companies. Harvest is looking forward to explaining its side of the situation in court.