Why Haven't Other Operators Followed Trulieve?
Trulieve has already restructured portions of its business. Most operators have not.
The difference comes down to the cost and complexity of reorganization. Separating medical and adult-use operations can require changes to corporate structures, accounting systems, licensing arrangements, reporting practices, and operational workflows across multiple states. For large operators, those changes represent a significant investment of time and capital.
The DEA hearing may provide additional clarity on how medical cannabis businesses and state-licensed adult-use markets fit within a Schedule III framework. Those details carry practical implications for how companies organize assets, allocate resources, report revenue, and plan future expansion.
Management teams have largely chosen to preserve flexibility while the federal process continues. Existing structures remain in place, capital remains available for operations and growth, and companies retain the ability to adapt once the regulatory picture is more fully developed.
Trulieve elected to move ahead with restructuring before the process reaches its conclusion, including executing a reverse stock split as part of its effort to position for a potential uplisting. While reverse splits have been used by other operators in the past, most have not paired them with broader diversification of their medical segments or undertaken comparable structural separation ahead of regulatory clarity. Instead, many appear to be monitoring developments and waiting for the outcome of the DEA hearing before committing to similar changes.
Preserving optionality is often less expensive than reorganization. Until key questions surrounding the treatment of medical and adult-use cannabis are resolved, many operators appear content to keep that flexibility intact.