Ascend Review With John Hartmann

This week's episode kicks off with Jesse providing a review of his trip to Las Vegas for the MJBiz Conference. Sentiment remains optimistic and Jesse touches on the meetings he had, parties he attended, and friends he ran into along the way. Ohio issued new adult-use regulations that should provide a faster opening for adult-use sales, but a higher excise tax and THC caps on flower and concentrates. Morgan and Toby share their thoughts on the new regulations and how Ohio should learn from prior states that have gotten too greedy with taxes. At the halfway mark, John Hartmann, CEO of Ascend joins the show to discuss their recent strong results and what's been driving the improved outcomes. John talks about what he wanted to change when he joined the firm, the importance of Ohio, and the success of their new Royale and Tunnell Vision products. Ascend has a unique outlet store model and John explains how these fit into the broader retail strategy and the types of products these stores offer. The conversation concludes with a discussion about Schedule III and how it may change companies' capital allocation processes.