PHOENIX — An Arizona company will become one of the biggest medical marijuana companies in the country.
Arizona-based Harvest Health and Recreation said it will buy Verado Holdings, another multi-state medical marijuana company, for $850 million.
After the sale, Harvest will have 123 medical marijuana licenses and 200 facilities in 11 states, company officials said.
"There are still some people in Arizona who think this is an industry for 18-year-old guys who are looking to get high," Harvest CEO Steve White said. "The industry is a serious industry. The players in Arizona are serious players."
Harvest began as a small company with two medical marijuana licenses when the state legalized medical marijuana in 2010, White said.
"There aren't too many people that got to where we are with one license in Arizona," White said.
The US government still considers medical marijuana illegal but has not prosecuted medical marijuana companies who have followed state rules.
Because of this and other restrictions, Harvest is publicly traded, but only in Canada. The company's stock is also available via over-the-counter trades.
The Verano sale is pending regulatory approval.