Following legalization, high-profile Canadian marijuana startup goes public

One month ago, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana use. Forecasters expected that would bring out an onslaught of cannabis-involved startups and companies looking to cash in on the newly legalized industry.

They may have been right in the case of Acreage Holdings, the marijuana startup that is supported in part by former U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner. The U.S.-based company has gone public in Canada, according to a report from Bloomberg, after having raised more than $300 million in private funding efforts.

The report notes that the startup is currently valued at nearly $3 billion.

The startup already has dozens of dispensaries across the United States. Acreage is run by a Wall Street banker and backed by other conservatives, like Canada’s former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who acts as an advisor for the high-profile company.

According to Bloomberg, Acreage Holdings will be competing with fellow U.S. companies that already have stakes in the marijuana industry up north like Curaleaf, MedMen and Green Thumb Industries.

“We’ll be lock step in competition with the Canadians,” CEO Kevin Murphy told Bloomberg. “The one huge advantage we have is local knowledge of the business here in the U.S.”