Cannabist is the retail identity created by Columbia Care in 2021 and later adopted as the name of its public parent company. Its dispensaries sell both third-party products and the operator's own flower, pre-roll, vape, concentrate and edible lines. Since March 2026 The Cannabist Company has been in Canadian court-supervised restructuring while arranging asset sales and wind-downs.
From Columbia Care to Cannabist
Michael Abbott and Nicholas Vita co-founded Columbia Care in 2012. The business began in medical cannabis and grew into one of the early U.S. multistate operators, combining cultivation, manufacturing and dispensary licenses. In May 2021 it introduced Cannabist as a national retail concept intended to replace a patchwork of local store identities with one customer-facing system. The parent company completed the name change from Columbia Care Inc. to The Cannabist Company Holdings Inc. in September 2023.
Founders and leadership
Vita served as chief executive from the 2012 founding until January 2024, when David Hart became chief executive and Jesse Channon became president.
House brands
Seed & Strain spans flower, pre-rolls and vapes. Triple Seven is positioned around top-shelf flower, Amber covers concentrates and cartridges, Hedy covers edibles, Dreamt covers gummies and tinctures in select markets, and Classix fills out the rest of the shelf.
Retail and loyalty
Stash Cash is the chain's loyalty program: one point per dollar spent, 100 points redeemable for $5 off anywhere in the network, run through iOS and Android apps with a Forage browsing feature and an upgraded in-app shopping tier on iOS in select states.
Footprint
At the March 2026 announcement the company operated 58 facilities — 43 dispensaries and 15 cultivation and manufacturing sites — a count that includes locations subject to pending sale or wind-down.
The 2026 restructuring
On March 24, 2026 the company and a Canadian affiliate began voluntary proceedings under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. It announced a $47 million sale of its Ohio operations to Holistic Industries, a $16.5 million sale of its Delaware operations to Parma Holdco, a non-binding memorandum covering Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland, and an orderly wind-down in New York and Pennsylvania. Its $130 million Virginia sale had closed on February 5, 2026.
The company then obtained Chapter 15 recognition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The CCAA is a Canadian restructuring process; Chapter 15 governs U.S. recognition of a foreign proceeding.
The restructuring announcement describes proposed transactions and court-supervised steps, not a promise that every contemplated sale had already closed. The official monitor's site is the primary place for later orders and transaction documents. U.S. Chapter 15 recognition, granted in May 2026, allows the Canadian proceeding to receive specified protection and assistance in the United States; it does not turn Chapter 15 into a separate liquidation of every retail location.
Shopping during a changing footprint
The March facility count is a dated snapshot because it includes locations involved in sales or wind-downs. The retail site remains the practical source for a store that is currently open, its hours, local eligibility rules and its live menu. Menus combine Cannabist-owned lines with third-party brands, and each state controls which formats, doses and products may be sold. A familiar house-brand name therefore does not guarantee that the same product is available in every Cannabist market.
Brand and company names
Cannabist can refer to the customer-facing dispensary banner, while The Cannabist Company is the corporate parent name adopted in 2023. Columbia Care remains part of the historical and legal record. Keeping those names separate helps explain why older licenses, court papers or transaction documents may use Columbia Care or a subsidiary name even when the store sign says Cannabist.
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