Election Day Reality Check And Post-Election Market Shake-Up: How Harris vs. Trump Impacts Cannabis Debt
As key election results unfold, Z&A hosted a panel to examine how growth opportunities in 2025 could vary under Harris vs. Trump.
As key election results unfold, Pablo Zuanic of Zuanic & Associates (Z&A) hosted a panel with industry experts to examine how the outcomes and potential shifts under either Harris or Trump could shape cannabis debt financing, regulatory changes and growth opportunities in 2025.
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Consolidation And Scaling Challenges
Panelists Peter Sack of Chicago Atlantic Group (NASDAQ:REFI), Dan Neville of AFC Gamma (NASDAQ:AFCG) , and Erich Griffin-Mauff of FiSai Investments provided insights on key issues for cannabis-focused debt providers, including regulatory impacts, M&A complexities, and anticipated financing innovations.
The panelists agreed that 2025 will likely be a year of consolidation, especially for top multi-state operators (MSOs) and smaller companies struggling to compete. Erich Griffin-Mauff emphasized, “Scaling is crucial, but so is quality management,” adding that consolidation could save $25–40 million per acquisition by reducing duplicated costs.
However, as Dan Neville pointed out, large-scale mergers often struggle due to state-specific regulatory restrictions on ownership and asset transfers. “Smaller, state-level M&A is more feasible,” he noted, citing the failed Cresco-Columbia Care merger as a cautionary …