The large Multi-State Operator (MSO) Ayr is shutting down some of its operations across the legal cannabis states, according to MJ Biz Daily.
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“Certain assets” will be purchased in 8 states, including New Jersey.
Heady NJ has heard rumors from two cannabis operators that Ayr is closing its New Jersey cultivation operations.
An Ayr representative did not respond to a request for comment on the rumor by the time of publication.
The Ayr growing team will likely need to find new jobs very soon. Given that the industry in New Jersey overall is fine, this should not be a problem; it would have been in years past when there were far fewer cultivators open.
Ayr bought Garden State Dispensary (GSD), which operated one of the first New Jersey medical cannabis dispensaries in Woodbridge in Middlesex County.
Their cultivation operations were in the building that housed their main dispensary.
GSD later opened up in Union Township in Union County and Eatontown in Monmouth County.
They were among those who went into adult-use cannabis before any local or minority owned companies could.
Ayr operates the Kynd brand of cannabis products as well. They also have a deal with the local Black owned Mudd Brothers brand of concentrates. Mudd Brothers told Heady NJ that they believe their deal with Ayr, utilizing the manufacturing capacity and their New Jersey dispensaries, won’t be shut down.
However, they did not deny the cultivation rumor.
Mudd Brothers has sought to be at the forefront of equity in the industry. Co-owner Brendon Robinson is the Chair of the NJ Cannabis Chamber of Commerce launched earlier this year.
Ayr Wellness Scaling Back
According to a recent press release, “AYR will commence proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in British Columbia to facilitate a court-supervised liquidation…”
“AYR’s subsidiaries may commence certain state law proceedings in various states in the United States to wind down the remainder of their operations,” they added.
Ayr has a lot of debt totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. It has made it necessary to wind it down, it seems.
It is a publicly traded company whose stock has plummeted.
Ayr already announced closing down their dispensaries in Massachusetts and laying off 157 people. Their operations in Illinois were also wound down as 4 dispensaries were sold.
It dismissed rumors it was shutting down in Connecticut cannabis operations in June.
Earlier this year, they were working with a New Jersey-based head-hunting firm to replace their CEO in January 2025. That was likely a reflection of their mismanagement.
Ayr has had some issues in the past since it laid off workers in 2023.
Arguably, Ayr has done some good partnerships with minorities and sponsored expungement clinics to help people with records.
They also secured some press with NJ Biz announcing some profits going to charities during the holiday season last year.
MSO Chads Crumbling?
Some casual cannabis market observers will see this as a sign of trouble in the industry.
Others will see it as a sign of mismanagement by men who probably did not sell underground legacy weed, did not serve time, did not organize protests, and just want to make money. These suits are widely known as Chads.
Companies run by Chads often treat their workers poorly while putting out overpriced cannabis products with a range of serious issues. Their mediocre cannabis is often devoid of the love and care often found among underground legacy operators.
Thus, many advocates and consumers will celebrate what they see as heartless Chads failing.
Ayr is not the only MSO with a lot of debt that might pull it under. Some of the faithful in the cannabis community would enjoy seeing them fall apart.
Regardless of corporate failures, cannabis legalization is an idea whose time has come. While the landscape is difficult, the movement has bipartisan political support across racial, generational, and class lines. This is true not only in New Jersey but across the United States.
