Soon after, the Levines were fired from their executive roles at Eaze and subsequently resigned from the board. They fired back in a lawsuit, calling Eaze a sham company and alleging that its leaders “raided Green Dragon for their own personal gain.” A month before they were terminated, the three sent letters to Eaze’s HR department complaining of a hostile work environment, intimidation, and gender discrimination, according to the lawsuit, which was later dismissed. 

Without prospects for a major sales recovery, Eaze defaulted on the loan from Clark, and he foreclosed. In August 2024, he purchased Eaze’s assets at a public auction for $54 million — but not before the Levines filed another lawsuit claiming they were improperly denied access to company records, an allegation that Eaze denies. 

Last month, the company declared bankruptcy, listing zero in assets — Clark had purchased the entirety — against $3.6 million in liabilities. The $350 million that Eaze raised over its decade of existence was gone, its promises to employees and vendors declared null and void. 

But Eaze isn’t dead. In a move the Levines allege has “allowed the new company to dodge prior business debts and obligations,” its assets have been packaged in a new form. 

Eaze Inc., a reincarnated version, has operations as a retail and delivery service in California, Colorado, and Florida, with $10 million in funding from Clark. Azzalino, CEO of the new entity, denies the Levines characterization of the transfer of assets. Clark’s loan, he said, was unanimously approved by the board and all classes of shareholders.

He said the original company failed because of a combination of internal missteps and California’s overregulation and overtaxation of cannabis. 

“What happened is we raised way too much money at way too high valuations on the premise of growth that couldn’t come because of the regulatory framework,” he said. 

The new Eaze, Azzalino said, will have a different trajectory. 

“This is a put-your-head-down-and-grind situation,” he said. “This is not a hyperbolic growth story.”

That pitch won’t excite investors chasing meteoric growth. But it might just be the clearheaded mindset needed in an industry that bears little resemblance to a fun escape.