Hashish chain La Mota continues to falter in Oregon, not too long ago shutting down considered one of its latest Portland shops, vacating the ability the place it extracted hashish for a lot of of its dabs, vapes and extracts, and trying to promote two properties it owns in Salem.
La Mota’s lease on the 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Northeast Portland, the place it created most of its merchandise, expired final summer time; on the finish of November, in line with the owner, La Mota left the constructing and eliminated all its extraction gear.
By now you understand La Mota’s story: Its founders, Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, turned outstanding Democratic donors in Oregon in recent times, piled up tax liens and lawsuits, and employed Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan for a consulting job—till a WW report of her moonlighting compelled her resignation.
It’s unclear whether or not Mitchell and Cazares have discovered a brand new processing facility; associates say they aren’t certain of the couple’s whereabouts.
The departure is prone to be a major blow to the corporate and its numerous product manufacturers, together with Nuggies, Caked and Dab Society. With out an extraction facility, these merchandise are unimaginable to make.
In the meantime, the couple is trying to promote at the least three of their properties in Oregon: two in Salem (considered one of which operated as a dispensary and one other which Mitchell bought simply final 12 months) and one other property in Portland that operated as a La Mota dispensary till it shuttered this spring.
When reached by cellphone, La Mota’s dealer, Kidder Matthews’ Kevin Murphy, mentioned that the sale of properties the corporate owns is “enterprise as normal.” La Mota’s house owners are electing to promote property, Murphy says, that aren’t worthwhile or aren’t of their “long-term plan.”
“The hashish business is a money business. To go do another transactions, or develop in different markets, you gotta have money,” Murphy mentioned. (Many hashish companies in Oregon are allowed to financial institution by way of a restricted variety of credit score unions, and the entire comparably giant hashish chains use banks.)
Murphy didn’t specify what number of Oregon properties Mitchell and Cazares are trying to promote. The couple has opened quite a few dispensaries in New Mexico this 12 months.
“No matter has been written about them, I’ve actually loved working with them. I’m actually cautious who I do enterprise with,” Murphy mentioned. “They’re doing simply nice…notion doesn’t all the time equal actuality.”
Mitchell and Cazares owe greater than $59,000 in property taxes, each for the present 12 months and for delinquent previous years, on the three properties they’re attempting to dump, in line with property data.
In the meantime, Nuggies, a dispensary the couple opened simply this spring in Northeast Portland’s Cully neighborhood, not too long ago shut down.
Correction: A earlier model of this story mentioned that Disco Dabs is a La Mota model. That’s incorrect. Disco Dabs shouldn’t be affiliated with La Mota. WW regrets the error.
