A fast-growing e-commerce platform for cannabis businesses is entering the Maryland medical market, through some local dispensaries with a national presence.
Maryland will be the first state on the East Coast to have access to LeafLink, a business-to-business wholesale platform that allows cannabis dispensaries to purchase product from local growers and processors. The company is already active in six legal-marijuana states in the West, and CEO Ryan Smith said he wants to grow to 15 states by the end of the year.
LeafLink is backed by roughly $14 million in venture funding, including a $10 million Series A round raised last year. The funds are being used to help the company with its expansion and sales growth goals, Smith said. More than 600 nationwide brands now use the platform, selling products ranging from marijuana flowers and concentrates to cannabis-infused chocolates and drinks.
LeafLink has already signed five brands in Maryland to its platform, and is hoping to quickly become a recognizable name among the more than 100 medical cannabis dispensaries set to open up shop in the state. Two of the brands, Green Thumb Industries and Culta, also have a presence in other marijuana-legal states across the country. They aided in the selection of Maryland as LeafLink’s newest expansion location, Smith said.