ITEM 1A RISK FACTORS

Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the risks described below as well as other information provided to you in this document, including information in the section of this document entitled “Forward-Looking Statements.” The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we are facing. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected, and our shareholders may lose all or part of their investment in our company.

The business, financial condition and operating results of Andina Gold can be affected by several factors, whether currently known or unknown, including, but not limited to, those described below. Any one or more of these factors could directly or indirectly cause our actual results of operations and financial condition to vary materially from past or anticipated future results of operations and financial condition. Any of these factors, in whole or in part, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and stock price.

Because of the following factors, as well as other factors affecting our financial condition and operating results, past financial performance should not be considered to be a reliable indicator of future performance, and investors should not use historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

There is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a Going Concern

The Company believes that there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company at the time of filing this report does not have sufficient cash balances to fund its anticipated level of operations for at least the next twelve months. The Company believes that, at the present time, its ability to continue operations depends on the sale of assets as well as its ability to access capital markets when necessary to accomplish the Company’s strategic objectives. The Company believes that the Company will continue to incur losses for the immediate future. The Company expects to finance future cash needs from the results of operations and, depending on the results of operations, the Company will need additional equity, debt financing or assets sales until the Company can achieve profitability and positive cash flows from operating activities, if ever. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to attract needed financing or be able to sell assets on reasonable terms, if at all.

The Company is in transition selling assets of one business while purchasing assets of another business

Company has been reporting the assets and results of operations of its Colorado business as held for sale since the period ending June 30, 2021. It has entered into Letters of Intent from three potential buyers of these assets as of the date of this filing, and one such Letter of Intent has been replaced with an Asset Purchase Agreement, while the other two are still in negotiation. There can be no assurance that these potential asset sales will be completed in a timely manner on favorable terms, or at all. At the same time, the Company has entered into a Letter Of Intent to purchase the assets of a business that has operations in a different sector of the cannabis business, However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in purchasing these assets in a timely manner, on favorable terms, or at all.

The Company is reliant on sale of assets and financing from external sources to be able to transition into the intended new business

While the company transitions from one business to another, it is reliant on the sale of assets of its Colorado business and its ability to raise capital from external sources including bridge loans and equity financing. The proceeds from asset sales represent a significant portion of the working capital needed to sustain operations, including parent company operating costs and expenses relating to being a publicly-traded entity. Similarly, substantial external capital will be needed to complete the purchase of the assets of CryoCann Inc. along with providing working capital until the new business becomes self-sustaining, if it ever does. There are many components to the transition from one business to another. However, there can be no assurance that asset sales will be completed in a timely manner on favorable terms, or at all. In addition, there can be no assurance that there will be sufficient capital available from external sources to purchase the assets of CryoCann, or that the Company will be successful in operating the assets to the point of self-sustainability.

We have a limited operating history in the cannabis industry and no history in the agricultural equipment industry, which makes it difficult to accurately assess our future growth prospects.

We have a limited operating history upon which investors may base an evaluation of our potential future performance. Assessing the future prospects of our business is challenging in light of both known and unknown risks and difficulties we may encounter. Growth prospects in our industry can be affected by a wide variety of factors including:

We may not be able to successfully address these factors, which could negatively impact our growth, harm our business and cause our operating results to be worse than expected. Any forecasts we make about our operations may prove to be inaccurate. Our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in the early stage of development.

We have a history of losses and may not achieve profitability in the future.

We generated net losses of approximately $11,815,907 and $3,057,534 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, and 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $15,729,194 and $3,913,287, respectively. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenues in future periods in order to become profitable, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase any such level of profitability.

We will likely need additional capital to sustain our operations and will likely need to seek further financing, which we may not be able to obtain on acceptable terms, or at all.

We have limited capital resources and operations. To date, our operations have been funded primarily from the proceeds of equity financings. We expect to require substantial capital in the near future to continue as a going concern. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all. In particular, because marijuana is illegal under federal law, we may have difficulty attracting investors.

If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership held by our existing stockholders will be reduced and our stockholders may experience significant dilution. In addition, new securities may contain rights, preferences, or privileges that are senior to those of our common stock. If we raise additional capital by incurring debt, this will result in increased interest expense. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of securities, market fluctuations in the price of our shares of common stock could limit our ability to obtain equity financing.

We cannot give you any assurance that any additional financing will be available to us, or if available, will be on terms favorable to us. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be materially adversely affected, and we could be forced to reduce or discontinue our operations.

Our future success depends on our key executive officers and our ability to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel.

Our future success largely depends upon the continued services of our executive officers and management team. If one or more of our executive officers are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them readily, if at all. Additionally, we may incur additional expenses to recruit and retain new executive officers. If any of our executive officers joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose some or all of our customers. Finally, we do not maintain “key person” life insurance on any of our executive officers. Because of these factors, the loss of the services of any of these key persons could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and thereby an investment in our stock.

Our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel will also be critical to our success because we will need to hire and retain additional personnel as our business grows. There can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain highly qualified personnel. We face significant competition for skilled personnel in our industries. In particular, if the marijuana industry continues to grow, demand for personnel may become more competitive. This competition may make it more difficult and expensive to attract, hire, and retain qualified managers and employees. Because of these factors, we may not be able to effectively manage or grow our business, which could adversely affect our financial condition or business.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property, our business could be adversely affected.

Our viability will depend, in part, on our ability to develop and maintain the proprietary aspects of our intellectual property to distinguish our products from our competitors’ products. We rely on copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and confidentiality provisions to establish and protect our intellectual property. We may not be able to enforce some of our intellectual property rights because cannabis is illegal under federal law.

Any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property could damage its value and limit our ability to compete. We may have to engage in litigation to protect the rights to our intellectual property, which could result in significant litigation costs and require a significant amount of our time.

Competitors may also harm our sales by designing products that mirror our products or processes without infringing on our intellectual property rights. If we do not obtain sufficient protection for our intellectual property, or if we are unable to effectively enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitiveness could be impaired, which would limit our growth and future revenue.

We may also find it necessary to bring infringement or other actions against third parties to seek to protect our intellectual property rights. Litigation of this nature, even if successful, is often expensive and time-consuming to prosecute and there can be no assurance that we will have the financial or other resources to enforce our rights or be able to enforce our rights or prevent other parties from developing similar products or processes or designing around our intellectual property by utilizing technologies that are similar to those developed or licensed by us.

Although we believe that our products and processes do not and will not infringe upon the patents or violate the proprietary rights of others, it is possible such infringement or violation has occurred or may occur, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are not aware of any infringement by us of any person’s or entity’s intellectual property rights. In the event that products we sell or processes we employ are deemed to infringe upon the patents or proprietary rights of others, we could be required to modify our products or processes or obtain a license for the manufacture and/or sale of such products or processes or cease selling such products or employing such processes. In such event, there can be no assurance that we would be able to do so in a timely manner, upon acceptable terms and conditions, or at all, and the failure to do any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect upon our business.

There can be no assurance that we will have the financial or other resources necessary to enforce or defend a patent infringement or proprietary rights violation action. If our products or processes are deemed to infringe or likely to infringe upon the patents or proprietary rights of others, we could be subject to injunctive relief and, under certain circumstances, become liable for damages, which could also have a material adverse effect on our business and our financial condition.

We operate in a highly competitive industry.

The markets in the medical marijuana and recreational marijuana industries, as well as in the agricultural processing equipment are competitive and evolving. There is no material aspect of our business that is protected by patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade names, and we face strong competition from larger companies that may offer similar products and services to ours. Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources and larger client bases than us, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete against these or other competitors.

Given the rapid changes affecting the global, national and regional economies generally and the medical marijuana and recreational marijuana industries, in particular, we may not be able to create and maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Our success will depend on our ability to keep pace with any changes in our markets, particularly, legal and regulatory changes. Our success will also depend on our ability to respond to, among other things, changes in the economy, market conditions and competitive pressures. Any failure by us to anticipate or respond adequately to such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A drop in the retail price of medical and adult use marijuana products may negatively impact our business.

The demand for products depends in part on the price of commercially grown marijuana. Fluctuations in economic and market conditions that impact the prices of commercially grown marijuana, such as increases in the supply of such marijuana and the decrease in the price of products using commercially grown marijuana, could cause our revenues and margins to decrease, which would have a negative impact on our business.

Any potential growth in the cannabis industry continues to be subject to new and changing state and local laws and regulations.

Continued development of the cannabis industry and its adjacent industries, including the agricultural processing equipment business, is dependent upon continued legislative legalization of cannabis at the state level, and a number of factors could slow or halt progress in this area, even where there is public support for legislative action. Any delay or halt in the passing or implementation of legislation legalizing cannabis use, or its cultivation, sale and distribution, or the re-criminalization or restriction of cannabis at the state level could negatively impact our business. Additionally, changes in applicable state and local laws or regulations, including zoning restrictions, permitting requirements, and fees, could restrict the products and services we offer or impose additional compliance costs on us or our customers.

Violations of applicable laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our operations. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations or applications, and it is possible that regulations may be enacted in the future that will be materially adverse to our business.

Our ability to grow our business depends on state laws pertaining to the cannabis industry.

Continued development of the cannabis industry depends upon continued legislative authorization of cannabis at the state level. The status quo of, or progress in, the cannabis industry is not assured, and any number of factors could slow or halt further progress in this area. While there may be ample public support for legislative action permitting the manufacture and use of cannabis, numerous factors impact the legislative process. For example, many states that voted to legalize medical and/or adult-use cannabis have seen significant delays in the drafting and implementation of industry regulations and issuance of licenses. In addition, burdensome regulation at the state level could slow or stop further development of the medical-use cannabis industry, such as limiting the medical conditions for which medical cannabis can be recommended by physicians for treatment, restricting the form in which medical cannabis can be consumed, imposing significant registration requirements on physicians and/or patients or imposing significant taxes on the growth, processing and/or retail sales of cannabis, which could have the impact of dampening growth of the cannabis industry and making it difficult for cannabis businesses to operate profitably in those states. Any one of these factors could slow or halt additional legislative authorization of cannabis, which could harm our results of operations, business and prospects.

The cannabis industry faces significant opposition, and any negative trends will adversely affect our business operations.

We are substantially dependent on the continued market acceptance, and the proliferation of consumers, of medical and recreational cannabis. We believe that with further legalization, cannabis will become more accepted, resulting in growth in consumer demand. However, we cannot predict the future growth rate or future market potential, and any negative outlook on the cannabis industry may adversely affect our business operations.

Federal regulation and enforcement may adversely affect the implementation of cannabis laws, and regulations may negatively impact our revenues and profits.

Currently, there are 35 states plus the District of Columbia that have laws and/or regulations that recognize, in one form or another, legitimate medical and adult uses for cannabis and consumer use of cannabis in connection with medical treatment. Many other states are considering similar legislation. Conversely, under the CSA, the policies and regulations of the federal government and its agencies are that cannabis has no medical benefit and a range of activities including cultivation and the personal use of cannabis is prohibited. Unless and until Congress amends the CSA with respect to medical marijuana, as to the timing or scope of any such potential amendments there can be no assurance, there is a risk that federal authorities may enforce current federal law, and we may be deemed to be producing, cultivating, or dispensing marijuana in violation of federal law. Active enforcement of the current federal regulatory position on cannabis may thus indirectly and adversely affect our revenues and profits. The risk of strict enforcement of the CSA in light of congressional activity, judicial holdings, and stated federal policy remains uncertain. 

In recent years, there have been “positive” discussions about the Federal Government’s approach to cannabis. The DOJ has not historically devoted resources to prosecuting individuals whose conduct is limited to possession of small amounts of marijuana for use on private property but has relied on state and local law enforcement to address marijuana activity. With the appointment of a new attorney general, the DOJ has not signaled any change in their enforcement efforts. In the event the DOJ reverses its stated policy and begins strict enforcement of the CSA in states that have laws legalizing medical marijuana and/or recreational marijuana, there may be a direct and adverse impact to our business and our revenue and profits. Furthermore, H.R. 83, enacted by Congress on December 16, 2014, provides that none of the funds made available to the DOJ pursuant to the 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act may be used to prevent certain states, including Colorado, from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.

Variations in state and local regulation, and enforcement in states that have legalized cannabis, may restrict cannabis-related activities, which may negatively impact our revenues and prospective profits.

Individual state laws do not always conform to the federal standard or to other states’ laws. A number of states have decriminalized marijuana to varying degrees, other states have created exemptions specifically for medical cannabis, and several have both decriminalization and medical laws. As of December 2020, 35 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of cannabis in some form. Variations exist among states that have legalized, decriminalized, or created medical marijuana exemptions. For example, certain states have limits on the number of marijuana plants that can be homegrown. In most states, the cultivation of marijuana for personal use continues to be prohibited except for those states that allow small-scale cultivation by the individual in possession of medical marijuana needing care or that person’s caregiver.

Depending on the laws of each particular state, we may not be able to fully realize our potential to generate profit. For example, some states have residency requirements for those directly involved in the cannabis industry, which may impede our ability to contract with cannabis businesses in those states. Furthermore, cities and counties are being given broad discretion to ban certain cannabis activities. Even if these activities are legal under state law, specific cities and counties may ban them.

Laws and regulations affecting the medical and adult use marijuana industry are constantly changing, which could detrimentally affect our cultivation, production and dispensary operations.

Local, state and federal medical and adult use marijuana laws and regulations are broad in scope and subject to evolving interpretations, which could require us to incur substantial costs associated with compliance or alter certain aspects of our business plan. In addition, violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt certain aspects of our business plan and result in a material adverse effect on certain aspects of our planned operations. In addition, it is possible that regulations may be enacted in the future that will be directly applicable to certain aspects of our cultivation, production and dispensary businesses, and our business of selling cannabis products. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations or applications, nor can we determine what effect additional governmental regulations or administrative policies and procedures, when and if promulgated, could have on our business.

We are not able to deduct some of our business expenses.

Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code prohibits marijuana businesses from deducting their ordinary and necessary business expenses, forcing us to pay higher effective federal tax rates than similar companies in other industries. The effective tax rate on a marijuana business depends on how large its ratio of non-deductible expenses is to its total revenues. Therefore, our marijuana business may be less profitable than it could otherwise be.

Conditions in the economy, the markets we serve and the financial markets generally may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our business is sensitive to general economic conditions. Slower economic growth, volatility in the credit markets, high levels of unemployment, and other challenges that affect the economy adversely could affect us and our customers and suppliers. If growth in the economy or in any of the markets we serve slows for a significant period, if there is a significant deterioration in the economy or such markets or if improvements in the economy do not benefit the markets we serve, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks or other health crises could disrupt business and result in lower sales and otherwise adversely affect our financial performance.

The occurrence of one or more natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks or other health crises (including but not limited to the COVID-19 outbreak), could adversely affect our business and financial performance. If any of these events result in the closure of one or more of our dispensaries, extended sick leave involving our personnel, or impact key suppliers, our operations and financial performance could be materially adversely affected through an inability to provide other support functions to our stores and through lost sales. These events also could affect consumer shopping patterns or prevent customers from reaching our dispensaries, which could lead to lost sales and higher markdowns, the temporary lack of an adequate work force in a market, the temporary or long-term disruption of product availability in our dispensaries and the temporary or long-term inability to obtain technology needed to effectively run our business.

In addition, other factors include: our need to raise substantial funds in order to continue as a going concern; our lack of operating history in the exploration business in Colombia; the risk of loss of title to our properties and other interests; the risk of not completing our plan to identify suitable exploration opportunities in Colombia; political and economic uncertainties characteristic of doing business in Colombia; the costs of compliance with government regulations and environmental laws; the competitiveness of the mineral exploration business; our vulnerability to fluctuations in commodity prices; the risk that we may be unable to bring our properties into commercial production; our dependence on key management; our dependence on a single exploration region; the high degree of physical and financial risk characteristic of mineral exploration and mining; the risks inherent in estimating mineral resources and future production; potential conflicts of interest of our directors and officers; the risk that Colombia may institute restrictions on the repatriation of earnings; our vulnerability to fluctuations in currency exchange rates; the risk that we may fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls; the costs of compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including its effect on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; uncertainties relating to the expected costs of our exploration program; the possibility that our properties will ultimately prove not commercially viable; the impact of market conditions on the volatility of our share price; our expectation not to pay dividends in the foreseeable future; the volatility of our share price; and the potential effect of “Penny Stock” perception and rules on the level of trading activity in our stock.

We may not be able to divest the assets owned or operated by our Colorado GoodMeds subsidiary or obtain the necessary permits and authorizations to operate the medical and adult use marijuana business.

We may not be able to divest the assets owned or operated by our Colorado GoodMeds subsidiary and/or may not be able to obtain or maintain the necessary licenses, permits, authorizations, or accreditations for our cultivation, production and dispensary businesses, or may only be able to do so at great cost. In addition, we may not be able to comply fully with the wide variety of laws and regulations applicable to the medical and adult use marijuana industry. Failure to comply with or to obtain the necessary licenses, permits, authorizations, or accreditations could result in restrictions on our ability to operate the medical and adult use marijuana business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may have difficulty accessing the service of banks, which may make it difficult for us to operate.

Since the use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, many banks will not accept for deposit funds from businesses involved with the marijuana industry. Consequently, businesses involved in the marijuana industry often have difficulty finding a bank willing to accept their business. The inability to open or maintain bank accounts may make it difficult for us to operate our medical and adult use marijuana businesses. If any of our bank accounts are closed, we may have difficulty processing transactions in the ordinary course of business, including paying suppliers, employees and landlords, which could have a significant negative effect on our operations.

Our reputation and ability to do business may be negatively impacted by the improper conduct by our business partners, employees or agents.

We depend on third-party suppliers to produce and timely ship our orders. Products purchased from our suppliers are resold to our customers. These suppliers could fail to produce products to our specifications or quality standards and may not deliver units on a timely basis. Any changes in our suppliers to resolve production issues could disrupt our ability to fulfill orders. Any changes in our suppliers to resolve production issues could also disrupt our business due to delays in finding new suppliers.

We cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems will always protect us from acts committed by our employees, agents or business partners in violation of U.S. federal or state laws. Any improper acts or allegations could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations and related shareholder lawsuits, could lead to substantial civil and criminal monetary and non-monetary penalties, and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees.

Due to our contracts in the cannabis industry, we may have difficulty obtaining various insurance policies that are desired to operate our business, which may expose us to additional risks and financial liabilities.

Insurance that is otherwise readily available, such as workers’ compensation, general liability, and directors’ and officers’ insurance, is more difficult for us to find and more expensive, because of our involvement in the cannabis industry. There are no guarantees that we will be able to find such insurance in the future, or that the cost will be affordable to us. If we are forced to go without such insurance, it may prevent us from entering into certain business sectors, may inhibit our growth, and may expose us to additional risk and financial liabilities.

Litigation may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

From time to time in the normal course of our business operations, we may become subject to litigation that may result in liability material to our financial statements as a whole or may negatively affect our operating results if changes to our business operations are required. The cost to defend such litigation may be significant and may require a diversion of our resources. There also may be adverse publicity associated with litigation that could negatively affect customer perception of our business, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are ultimately found liable. Insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations. Furthermore, ongoing litigation against our largest business partner, CMI, may result in a default or adverse judgment, which in turn would adversely affect our assets, our business and the results of our operations.

Some of our lines of business rely on our third-party service providers to host and deliver services and data, and any interruptions or delays in these hosted services, security or privacy breaches, or failures in data collection could expose us to liability and harm our business and reputation.

Some of our lines of business and services, including our dispensaries, rely on services hosted and controlled directly by third-party service providers. We do not have redundancy for all of our systems, many of our critical applications reside in only one of our data centers, and our disaster recovery planning may not account for all eventualities. If our business relationship with a third-party provider of hosting or software services is negatively affected, or if one of our service providers were to terminate its agreement with us, we might not be able to deliver access to our data, which could subject us to reputational harm and cause us to lose customers and future business, thereby reducing our revenue.

We hold large amounts of customer data, some of which is hosted in third-party facilities. A security incident at those facilities or ours may compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of customer data. Unauthorized access to customer data stored on our computers or networks may be obtained through break-ins, breaches of our secure network by an unauthorized party, employee theft or misuse or other misconduct. It is also possible that unauthorized access to customer data may be obtained through inadequate use of security controls by customers. Accounts created with weak passwords could allow cyber-attackers to gain access to customer data. If there were an inadvertent disclosure of customer information, or if a third party were to gain unauthorized access to the information we possess on behalf of our customers, our operations could be disrupted, our reputation could be damaged and we could be subject to claims or other liabilities. In addition, such perceived or actual unauthorized disclosure of the information we collect or breach of our security could damage our reputation, result in the loss of customers and harm our business.

Because of the large amount of data we collect and manage using our hosted solutions, it is possible that hardware or software failures or errors in our systems (or those of our third-party service providers) could result in data loss or corruption, cause the information that we collect to be incomplete or contain inaccuracies that our customers regard as significant or cause us to fail to meet committed service levels. Furthermore, our ability to collect and report data may be delayed or interrupted by a number of factors, including access to the Internet, the failure of our network or software systems or security breaches. In addition, computer viruses or other malware may harm our systems, causing us to lose data, and the transmission of computer viruses or other malware could expose us to litigation. We may also find, on occasion, that we cannot deliver data and reports in near real time because of a number of factors, including failures of our network or software. If we supply inaccurate information or experience interruptions in our ability to capture, store and supply information in near real time or at all, our reputation could be harmed and we could lose customers, or we could be found liable for damages or incur other losses.

Loss of access to our data could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations. In particular, the states in which we operate require that we maintain certain information about our customers and transactions. If we fail to maintain such information, we could be in violation of state laws.

Disruptions to cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of cannabis in Colorado may negatively affect our access to products for sale at our dispensaries.

Colorado laws and regulations require us to purchase products only from licensed vendors and through licensed distributors. To date, a relatively small number of licenses have been issued in Colorado to cultivate, manufacture and distribute cannabis products. We have obtained a license to distribute products from our cultivation and manufacturing facilities to our dispensaries; however, we currently do not cultivate and manufacture enough of our own products to satisfy customer demand. In addition, we carry products cultivated and manufactured by third parties. As a result, if an insufficient number of cultivators, manufacturers and distributors are able to obtain licenses our ability to purchase products and have them delivered to our dispensaries may be limited and may impact our sales. 

High tax rates on cannabis and compliance costs may limit our customer base.

The State of Colorado imposes an excise tax on certain products sold at licensed cannabis dispensaries. Local jurisdictions typically impose additional taxes on cannabis products. In addition, we incur significant costs complying with state and local laws and regulations. As a result, products sold at our dispensaries will likely cost more than similar products sold by unlicensed vendors and we may lose market share to those vendors. 

Federal income tax reform could have unforeseen effects on our financial condition and results of operations.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, was enacted on December 22, 2017, and contains many changes to U.S. federal tax laws. The Tax Act requires complex computations that were not previously provided for under U.S. tax law and significantly revised the U.S. tax code by, among other changes, lowering the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, requiring a one-time transition tax on accumulated foreign earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creating new taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has completed its accounting for the tax effects of the 2017 Tax Act. However, additional guidance may be issued by the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, the Department of the Treasury, or other governing body that may significantly differ from our interpretation of the law, which may result in a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations or financial conditions.

Failure to execute our strategies could result in impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets, which may negatively impact profitability.

As of December 31, 2019, we had goodwill of $4,663,514 and other intangible assets of $2,869,247, which represented 48% of our total assets. During 2020, we determined that goodwill was fully impaired and therefore recognized an impairment loss of $4,663,514. During 2020, we determined that other intangible assets were impaired and therefore recognized an impairment loss of $361,218. As of December 31, 2020, we had goodwill of $0 and other intangible assets of $2,481,128, which represents 32% of our total assets. We evaluate goodwill for impairment on an annual basis or more frequently if impairment indicators are present based upon the fair value of each reporting unit. We assess the impairment of other intangible assets on an annual basis, or more frequently if impairment indicators are present, based upon the expected future cash flows of the respective assets. These valuations include management’s estimates of sales, profitability, cash flow generation, capital structure, cost of debt, interest rates, capital expenditures and other assumptions. Significant negative industry or economic trends, disruptions to our business, inability to achieve sales projections or cost savings, inability to effectively integrate acquired businesses, unexpected significant changes or planned changes in use of the assets or in entity structure and divestitures may adversely impact the assumptions used in the valuations. If the estimated fair value of our assets change in future periods, we may be required to record an impairment charge related to goodwill or other intangible assets, which would reduce earnings in such period.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The price of our common stock is volatile, which could negatively affect stockholders’ investments.

The trading price of our common stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, it is difficult to forecast the future performance of our common stock. The market price of our common stock may be higher or lower than the price one pays, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock.

In addition, if the market for cannabis company stocks or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results or financial condition. The trading price of our common stock might decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry, even if these events do not directly affect us. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. If our stock price continues to be volatile, we may become the target of securities litigation, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources from our business. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Trading and listing of securities of cannabis-related businesses, including our common stock, may be subject to restrictions.

In the United States, many clearing houses for major broker-dealer firms have refused to handle securities or settle transactions of companies engaged in cannabis related business. This means that certain broker-dealers cannot accept for deposit or settle transactions in the securities of cannabis related businesses. Further, stock exchanges in the United States, including Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, have historically refused to list certain cannabis related businesses, including cannabis retailers, that operate primarily in the United States. Our existing operations, and any future operations or investments, may become the subject of heightened scrutiny by clearing houses and stock exchanges, in addition to regulators and other authorities in the United States. Any existing or future restrictions imposed by clearing houses, stock exchange or other authority, on trading in our common stock could have a material adverse effect on the liquidity of our common stock.

Our common stock is currently considered a “penny stock”, therefore, U.S. broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock.

Broker-dealers are generally prohibited from effecting transactions in “penny stocks” unless they comply with the requirements of Section 15(h) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and the rules promulgated thereunder. These rules apply to the stock of companies whose shares are not traded on a national stock exchange, trade at less than $5.00 per share or who do not meet certain other financial requirements specified by the SEC. Trades in our common stock are subject to these rules, which include Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act, which imposes certain requirements on broker/dealers who sell securities subject to the rule to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. For transactions covered by the rule, brokers/dealers must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for purchasers of the securities and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction prior to sale.

The penny stock rules also require a broker/dealer, prior to effecting a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document prepared by the SEC that provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. A broker/dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the relevant penny stock and information on the compensation of the broker/dealer and its salesperson in the transaction. A broker/dealer must also provide monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in a customer’s account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker/dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer’s confirmation.

Our securities have in the past constituted “penny stock” within the meaning of the rules. Were our common stock to again be considered penny stock, and therefore become subject to the penny stock rules, the additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares and impede their sale in the secondary market.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

We do not currently anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on our earnings and financial condition, as well as on other business and economic factors affecting our business, as our board of directors may consider relevant. Our current intention in the foreseeable future is to apply net earnings, if any, to increasing our capital base and our development and marketing efforts. There can be no assurance that we will ever have sufficient earnings to declare and pay dividends to the holders of our common stock and, in any event, a decision to declare and pay dividends is at the sole discretion of our board of directors. As a result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our common stock if the market price of our common stock increases compared to the price at which you purchased our common stock, which may never occur.

Our stockholders may experience significant dilution.

We may issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock in the future in connection with a financing or an acquisition. Such issuances may not require the approval of our stockholders. In addition, certain of our outstanding rights to purchase additional shares of common stock or securities convertible into our common stock are subject to full-ratchet anti-dilution protection, which could result in the right to purchase significantly more shares of common stock being issued or a reduction in the purchase price for any such shares or both. Any issuance of additional shares of our common stock, or equity securities convertible into our common stock, including but not limited to, preferred stock, warrants, and options, will dilute the percentage ownership interest of all stockholders, may dilute the book value per share of our common stock, and may negatively impact the market price of our common stock. We may also grant options to purchase shares of our common stock to our directors, employees and consultants, the exercise of which would also result in dilution to our stockholders.

We may face continuing challenges in complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and any failure to comply or any adverse result from management’s evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting may have an adverse effect on our stock price.

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, we are required to evaluate our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Section 404”). Section 404 requires us to include an internal control report with our Annual Report on Form 10-K. The report must include management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the fiscal year. This report must also include disclosure of any material weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that we have identified.

Failure to comply, or any adverse results from such evaluation, could result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports and have an adverse effect on the trading price of our equity securities. Achieving continued compliance with Section 404 may require us to incur significant costs and expend significant time and management resources. We cannot assure you that we will be able to fully comply with Section 404 or that we will be able to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective at fiscal year-end. As a result, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have an adverse effect on the trading price of our securities, as well as subject us to civil or criminal investigations and penalties. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm may not agree with our management’s assessment or conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is operating effectively.

We may fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls. We face high costs of compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including its effect on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel/

Our results of operations might be affected by adverse publicity related to vaping.

Recent notices from the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration as well as news reports have cautioned persons to avoid e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges due to reported deaths and illness related to these products. The CDC has preliminarily concluded that these deaths and illnesses related to the addition of vitamin E acetate to the cartridges. While none of Good Meds’ cartridges are prepared with vitamin E acetate, publicity associated with possible health risks of vaping products may have an adverse effect on our operating results as sales of vaping cartridges reflect a significant percentage of our sales in the Good Meds business.