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COVID-19 shuts down North Dakota marijuana dispensary

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A medical marijuana dispensary that opened in North Dakota’s largest city a year ago was shut down Friday because of slow sales and regulatory delays due to the coronavirus, the facility’s operators said in a statement.

New York-based Acreage Holdings said it’s temporarily closing The Botanist in Fargo and one of its dispensaries in Maryland because of the “significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors that have greatly shifted the cannabis landscape.”

In addition to the closures, the company said it has furloughed 122 employees and closed wholesale operations in Iowa and form factory operations in California, Oregon and Washington. It also converted its dispensary in Queens, New York, to a delivery hub, the release said.

“Although we are facing difficult times, I remain optimistic about the U.S. cannabis industry and Acreage in particular,” company chairman and CEO Kevin Murphy said in a statement. He said Acreage Holdings made other moves meant to strengthen the company.

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