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Columbia Care specializes primarily in medical marijuana cultivation, but touts itself as a leader in intellectual property related to the cannabis plant. The company operates in 13 U.S. states including California, as well as in the District of Columbia.

Cannabis companies with U.S. assets looking to access Canadian public markets are not allowed to list on exchanges operated by the TMX due to cannabis not being legal on a federal level south of the border. That rule has transformed the Canadian Securities Exchange into the primary pot exchange for American companies, especially over the last year.

But the NEO Exchange appears to be emerging as an alternative to the CSE for American cannabis companies or Canadian cannabis firms with U.S. assets — it is home to 70 listings, five of which are cannabis-related, including two cannabis-only ETFs.

“Because the NEO is a senior exchange, unlike the CSE, this was a transaction reviewed by the Canadian regulators, and required us to have three years of audit according to IFRS and US GAAP standards,” said Columbia Care’s chief executive Nicholas Vita. “We thought it was important investors knew everything about us.”

NEO Exchange CEO Jos Schmitt places his exchange on par with the TSX in terms of regulatory oversights and stringent listing requirements. “Companies listed on us are subject to governance requirements that are very different and much more stringent than the Venture exchange and the Securities Exchange. That’s our appeal,” Schmitt said.