Company: VREOF
Filing Date: 2025-03-21
Form Type: DEFM14C
Source: 0001140361-25-009815
Chunk: 197

Company: Vireo Growth Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-21
Form: DEFM14C
Chunk 197
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 are in material compliance with all applicable state laws, regulations and licensing requirements, they remain subject to federal law. If the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) were to aggressively pursue debt or equity owners of cannabis-related business and if U.S. Attorneys acted accordingly, the Company could face: (i) seizure of its cash and other assets used to support, or derived from, its cannabis subsidiaries; and (ii) the arrest of its employees, directors, officers, managers and investors, who could face charges of ancillary criminal violations of the Controlled Substances Act for aiding, abetting, and conspiring to violate the Controlled Substances Act by virtue of providing financial support to state-licensed or permitted cultivators, processors, distributors and/or retailers of cannabis. Additionally, as affirmed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, non-citizen employees, directors, officers, managers, and investors in cannabis-related businesses face the risk of being barred from entry into the U.S. for life.

**U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Memorandums**

In August 2013, then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole authored a memorandum (the “Cole Memorandum”) addressed to all United States district attorneys acknowledging that, notwithstanding the designation of cannabis as a controlled substance, several states had enacted laws relating to cannabis for medical purposes.

The Cole Memorandum outlined DOJ enforcement priorities, noting that in jurisdictions with robust regulatory and enforcement systems, conduct in compliance with state laws was less likely to trigger federal prosecution. However,

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the memorandum did not provide specific guidelines for what constituted sufficient regulatory oversight. Rather, DOJ provided eight enforcement priorities which, if implicated, justified federal intervention in state-legal cannabis activities. In light of limited investigative and prosecutorial resources, the Cole Memorandum concluded that the DOJ should be focused on addressing only the most significant priorities related to cannabis (for example, preventing the distribution of cannabis to minors, and preventing revenue from the sale of cannabis from going to criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels). In March 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions again noted limited federal resources and acknowledged that much of the Cole Memorandum had merit. However, on January 4, 2018, Mr. Sessions issued a memorandum rescinding and superseding the Cole Memorandum effective immediately (the “Sessions Memorandum”). The Sessions Memorandum stated, in part, that current law reflects Congress’ determination that cannabis is a dangerous drug and cannabis activity is a