CULTIVATED: Cyclica raises $17 million for drug discovery — Aurora Cannabis lays off workers — Barr holds up cannabis mergers

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Happy Friday readers,

In perhaps the most shocking news this week – at least in my little corner of the cannabis world — a Justice Department whistleblower alleged that Attorney General William Barr misused department resources to deliberately hold up ten marijuana mega-mergers because he doesn't like pot.

It's not Barr's fault the market tanked, nor is it his fault that mismanagement on the operators' part led to some of these deals failing to close. But wielding the might of DOJ, and not to mention the time, resources, and dozens of employees that these types of investigations take because of a personal vendetta is a dangerous precedent indeed.

I wouldn't say this is surprising, though. Cannabis companies exist at the margins of what will be tolerated by the US federal government. Sources who know a thing or two about this have told me this past week that the cannabis industry should remember that the Feds are not your friend — and they won't be until your business is protected by an act of Congress, or the de-scheduling of cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

-Jeremy

Here's what we wrote about this week:

Cyclica is already using AI to discover new medicines based on psychedelics. Here's the presentation the biotech startup used to raise a fresh $17 million.

Toronto-based biotech Cyclica on Wednesday closed a $17 million Series B funding round, led by Drive Capital.

Cyclica CEO Naheed Kurji provided the pitch deck his team used to close the round exclusively to Business Insider. The startup uses machine learning to "flip the problem of drug discovery on its head," Kurji told me.

Aurora Cannabis is laying off 30% of its workers and shutting 5 facilities as the cannabis industry reels from a capital crunch

Aurora Cannabis is cutting approximately 700 workers and shutting five production facilities, a company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. Aurora previously laid off 500 workers in February.

Executive moves

• Acreage Holdings CEO Kevin Murphy is stepping down. He'll be replaced on an interim basis by Bill Van Faasen, the former CEO of The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
• Former Milwaukee Bucks player Larry Sanders is joining Click, a California cannabis company, as an investor and strategic advisor.

Deals, deals, deals

• Canopy Growth is repricing its blockbuster deal with Acreage Holdings. Canopy will pay Acreage shareholders $37.5 million, on top of the previously announced $300 million. Canopy will also loan Acreage's US hemp division $100 million. The deal is expected to close when a "federally permissible pathway" emerges in the US, Canopy Growth CEO David Klein previously told me.
• Hemp company Entoura is acquiring Atalo Holdings, a Kentucky-based industrial hemp company.

What we're reading

Psychiatrist explores possible benefits of treating PTSD with ecstasy or cannabis (NPR)

Two independent watchdogs investigating DOJ leaders in cannabis probe, whistleblower says (CNN)

We know how George Floyd died (New York Times)

L.A. proposes overhaul of ailing legal marijuana market, including social-equity programs (Associated Press)

Marijuana advocates race to qualify for the ballot (Politico)