Why U.S. MSOs Are Looking To Invest In Germany And Europe

For many years, the emerging legal cannabis industry in the United States has operated in siloed markets, with each jurisdiction having its own laws and regulations. While that is still largely the case from a public policy standpoint, in recent years, larger cannabis companies in the U.S. have expanded to multiple state-level markets.

Multistate operators (MSOs), as they are known, are gaining a larger market share of the cannabis industry in the U.S., with Cresco Labs being one of the most prominent and successful MSOs. Led by CEO Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs is a publicly traded, vertically integrated MSO that produces the U.S. industry’s #1 portfolio of cannabis brands. The company also operates licensed dispensaries under the Sunnyside brand.

Mr. Bachtell was named one of Chicago’s most visionary and accomplished business leaders in the Chicago Titan 100 Awards and received the Captains of the Industry Award from the American Trade Association for Cannabis Hemp. Through his leadership of Cresco Labs, the company has been recognized as a Best-Led American Company by Inc. Magazine. Currently, Mr. Bachtell is the Chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable and is also an adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, teaching a course on legal and regulatory issues in the cannabis industry.

Charlie Bachtell provided the keynote address at the recent International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin, focusing on the topic of why U.S. MSOs are looking to invest in Germany and Europe. The cannabis industry is going global, and multistate operators in the U.S. are increasingly identifying expansion opportunities in Europe. Below is an embedded video of Mr. Batchtell’s insightful presentation.