Green Dragon to shut down Denver marijuana cultivation facility

Marijuana operator Green Dragon is shutting down its Denver cultivation facility, resulting in 45 workers losing their jobs.Colorado’s lackluster cannabis market is the primary reason for the closure, according to Cory Azzalino, CEO of Green Dragon’s California-based parent company, Eaze.

ADVERTISEMENT “It’s not economical despite our team’s best effort to improve yields,” Azzalino told Denver-based news outlet BusinessDen.“At the end of the day, the facility costs substantially more to run than to buy product in the market.

“You’d either have to double yield or have the market price double for it to make sense.” The average price for a pound of flower is $655, down from roughly $1,300 in October 2021, BusinessDen reported, citing Colorado Department of Revenue data.Denver’s minimum wage increases also contributed to the company’s financial struggles, and the facility was on the verge of undergoing union contract negotiations, which likely would have increased costs, Azzalino said.

Texas-based Don Ball, who purchased the property in October, told BusinessDen he doesn’t know whether Green Dragon will continue to pay the $145,000 monthly rent.“The first time I talked to Cory, he said, ‘My intention is to pay you on time for a long time,’” Ball told BusinessDen.

“But he said business has declined sharply over the last few months.” ADVERTISEMENT Last November, Eaze – which acquired Green Dragon about three years ago – announced a $10 million cash infusion and a rebrand.Then, in January, the company said it had planted its first crop in a recently expanded grow facility in Florida.

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