Cannabis chain sells Colorado shops to focus on Pennsylvania

Colorado-based multistate operator Terrapin Care Station, which is privately held, on Monday announced the sale of all six of its marijuana dispensaries in its home state to competitors and said the company’s plan is to focus on developing its medical cannabis footprint in Pennsylvania.

Five of Terrapin’s dispensaries will go to Sun Theory Holding Co., a single-state operator that already owns eight other cannabis shops around rural Colorado. Those five stores – located in Aurora, Boulder, Denver, and Longmont – will still operate under the Terrapin brand.

The sixth dispensary, also located in Aurora, along with a cultivation operation, was sold as of April 1 to Best Buds, said Terrapin spokesman Peter Marcus.

With the exit, Terrapin plans to put its focus on the medical-only marijuana market of Pennsylvania, though its corporate headquarters will remain in Boulder, Colorado.

“We’re very much looking forward to our next era in this industry focused on expanded cannabis reform in Pennsylvania,” Terrapin founder and CEO Chris Woods said in a release.

Sun Theory CEO Connor Oman said the acquisition deal is “a perfect complement to Sun Theory’s existing portfolio,” which includes dispensaries in mountain towns and ski resort destinations such as Aspen, Basalt, Durango, Edwards, Gunnison, Leadville, and Vail.

“This expansion in Colorado underscores our objective of aligning with businesses that have demonstrated sound business management, a commitment to customers, solid financials and an expanding market share potential,” Oman said.

Terms of both sales by Terrapin were not disclosed, but the exit underscores the wider downturn in the Colorado cannabis market.

Other Colorado brands that have quit the state include edibles brands Coda Signature and 1906, Westword reported, which follows a major downturn in marijuana sales since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Last year was the worst cannabis sales year since 2017, with Colorado marijuana companies hitting just $1.5 billion in sales for 2023, down from a peak of $2.2 billion in 2021, Westword noted. That decline has also led to market contraction in Colorado, with cultivation permits down by 21% from December 2022 to December 2023.

Sun Theory, however, has been one of the beneficiaries of the downturn, having also acquired retail chain Roots RX and edibles maker Dialed In.