CLEVELAND —
Harvest of Ohio, Harvest Grows and Harvest Processing (the Harvest of OH Companies) announced today that they will aggressively contest a lawsuit filed against them in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas by Harvest Health & Recreation (HHR), a Florida-based company. The Harvest of OH companies are the only Black woman-owned vertically integrated companies in Ohio’s cannabis industry.
“We launched our companies, in partnership with HHR, because we saw an opportunity to help women and people of color access and succeed in the emerging cannabis industry in Ohio,” said Ariane Kirkpatrick, a Black, highly accomplished businesswoman who is majority owner of the Harvest of OH Companies. “HHR’s pledge to support diversity, equity, and inclusion was an integral part of our decision to enter the industry and was the basis for the Harvest of OH Companies receiving licenses from the State of Ohio.”
Today, 57% of the Harvest of OH companies’ 88 employees are diverse, of whom 50% are Black and 37% are female. Eighty percent of the leadership team are Black women. The Harvest of OH Companies’ successes in diversifying the cannabis industry in Ohio is at risk as a result of the HHR’s actions. Harvest of OH Companies acknowledge that:
HHR advanced funds to the Harvest of OH Companies to help establish and grow its cultivation and dispensary businesses at a time that conventional commercial financing was difficult to secure.
HHR was acquired by a public company, Trulieve, which assumed HHR’s obligations and now owns the debt owed by it to HHR.
The Harvest of OH Companies voiced concerns regarding agreements between them and HHR/Trulieve including the correct amount of the debt that HHR/Trulieve alleges is owed. The parties were in active negotiations to restructure their business relations and to “right size” the amount of the debt.
Negotiations were ongoing when HHR/Trulieve, abruptly and without notice, terminated the discussions and filed its lawsuit.
“HHR/Trulieve’s decision to take these actions coincides with its opening its first dispensary in Ohio, which is now a competitor to our Harvest of OH Companies’ dispensaries,” said Kirkpatrick. She added, “Despite this added pressure, we will continue to fight for the businesses we built and to strengthen diversity in the cannabis industry.”
