Co-founder and managing partner of Merida, Mitch Baruchowitz has twelve years of experience investing in cannabis and over twenty years of entrepreneurial, legal, regulatory, and financial experience in highly regulated industries. He is an expert in the regulatory component of cannabis limited licensing and multi-state cultivation operations, and a frequent speaker and author on cannabis investment strategy and diligence. Prior to founding Merida in 2016, Mitch co-founded Theraplant LLC, one of four Connecticut-based cultivators, and Leafline Labs LLC, one of two Minnesota cultivators. Mitch was previously head of investment banking for ACGM and Cavu Securities.
What do you feel is the most urgent issue facing the New York-Cannabis industry?
New York has to thread the needle of strong regulatory enforcement and sanctions that encourages legal market participation while not replicating the mistakes made by the war on drugs in disproportionate criminalization of minorities. Allowing unregulated activity is hurting legal businesses and is more likely to create unintended consequences that hurt the legal program for years.
Do you have any cannabis industry-specific advice for people looking to break into the field?
While the rules seem to be moving in a direction that further creates a more normalized cannabis industry, the entrepreneurial energy needed to succeed in the space is daunting. Challenges arise almost daily that require careful navigation which means even base level employees have to have an entrepreneurial approach to their roles. The best organizations have a solid structure, but leave room for that energy so bring it from day one in any endeavor you are trying to get into.
What are your hopes for the future of the cannabis industry in New York?
It would be great to see some of the discussed licenses finally launch, like consumption lounges. A thriving NY ecosystem would have a ton of product innovation, grow facilities producing amazing products, and would be a great combination of legacy operators and newer entrepreneurs that can unlock the creative potential that exists in such a diverse landscape like NY.
What are some of the positive impacts you’ve seen from legalizing cannabis in New York?
The way NY rolled out its adult use program was abysmal-it decriminalized before allowing any legal operators to start operations which created a terrible doom loop of unregulated activity. There is no hiding that and some of the early leaders of that should rightly be criticized for that. However, the creative energy that has been unlocked by legalization has been amazing to watch and seeing formerly incarcerated people now benefitting rather than suffering from legal issues is simply incredible.
