Atlantic Medicinal Partners shuts Massachusetts operations amid $6.1m debt disputes

Atlantic Medicinal Partners (AMP), a vertically integrated medical and recreational cannabis company, has abruptly ceased operations at its three Massachusetts locations. The shutdown of its Fitchburg, Salem, and Brockton sites follows two legal actions seeking a combined $6.11 million in damages related to alleged unpaid debt and loan obligations. The closure underscores the intensifying financial pressures facing legal cannabis operators as the industry contends with deflationary pricing and rising compliance costs.

AMP is currently facing a lawsuit from a landlord seeking $3.54 million in damages. The claim includes $112,000 in unpaid rent and more than $64,800 in water and sewer bills owed to the City of Fitchburg. The landlord alleges that AMP’s management misrepresented the company’s financial stability. A judge has ordered AMP to post a $300,000 bond specifically to cover its unpaid taxes and water bills in Fitchburg.

A second legal action involves investor Victoria Waters, who filed a suit in Middlesex Superior Court on 6 May 2026 to enforce a $2.57 million arbitration award. The dispute stems from a $1 million loan provided to AMP in 2019, which carried a 15% annual compounding interest rate and matured in March 2024. Waters alleges the company defaulted by failing to repay the principal and accumulated interest.

The collapse of AMP, founded in September 2020 by CEO Steve Perkins, COO Jeff Perkins, and business partner Frank Cieri, occurs against a backdrop of declining industry revenues. According to the First Citizens February 2026 State of the Cannabis Industry report, 2024 sales reached $30.1 billion, but 2025 revenues are estimated to have dipped to between $28.6 billion and $29.6 billion. Despite stable unit volumes, deflationary pricing pressures have driven down average prices, causing revenue drops for one-third of operators and triggering widespread cost-cutting measures.

AMP’s troubles reflect a wider regional crisis. As of April 2026, the Cannabis Control Commission reported that 31 cannabis licenses in central Massachusetts were under receivership. Economists note that illicit networks can weather macro-deflationary pressures by dropping prices to outcompete legal entities, potentially driving consumers toward untested black market products and posing public health risks.