Digipath Receives Recreational Testing License and Renews Medical License as Retail Cannabis Market Launches in Nevada
PR Newswire
LAS VEGAS, July 10, 2017
LAS VEGAS, July 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Digipath, Inc. (OTCQB: DIGP), an independent testing laboratory and media firm focused on the burgeoning cannabis market, is pleased to announce that it has both received its recreational testing license and renewed its existing medical testing license alongside the launch of the highly anticipated retail cannabis market in Nevada which began on July 1, 2017.
Nevada’s medical cannabis market currently serves just over 28,000 patients that use the plant and its derivative products for the treatment of a variety of maladies. However, with the launch of the retail marijuana market, anyone over the age of 21 with valid identification can purchase cannabis products. This opens the market to a much larger portion of Nevada’s 2 million residents over the age of 21, as well as a significant segment of the more than 42 million tourists and convention goers that visit the state annually.
The Nevada Dispensary Association estimated that statewide adult-use sales were between $3 to $5 million in the first weekend. As sales continue to rise, suppliers of cannabis products will be moving rapidly to meet the increased demand, necessitating a much larger demand for the laboratory testing of these products. Similar market shifts occurred with the launch of adult-use cannabis markets in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State, and Nevada is expected to be one of the largest adult-use markets in the United States by the end of 2018.
Todd Denkin, President of Digipath, commented, “It’s really exciting to be a part of history as Nevadans get what they voted for in 2016. The entire medical marijuana community has been working overtime to satisfy this new retail customer base. With the highest capacity and the fastest turnaround time of any lab in Nevada, Digipath Labs is ready for the onslaught of both retail and medical cannabis and cannabis based products.”
Greengro Technologies Signs $17 Million Purchase Contract for PV Solar Glass Hydroponic Vegetable Greenhouse
ANAHEIM, Calif., July 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greengro Technologies, Inc. (OTC:GRNH), one of the fastest growing companies in the emerging indoor agriculture technology industry, today announced that its majority-owned subsidiary Biodynamics, LLC, Akron, Ohio, has been awarded a contract to sell a branded photovoltaic (PV) solar glass hydroponic vegetable greenhouse as part of a $17 million purchase agreement with GH Farms Group, LLC, an Ohio-based greenhouse company.
Under terms of the agreement, Biodynamics will construct a 254,528 sq. ft. PV solar glass hydroponic vegetable greenhouse for GH Farms Group, with construction expected to start in the third quarter of 2018. The project, incorporating Biodynamics’ industry-leading fully automated off-grid greenhouse technology, will cultivate vegetables hydroponically using Biodynamics’ proprietary controlled environment agriculture (CEA) growing systems and techniques.
“We welcome this opportunity to show that our greenhouses are the market’s best – climate-controlled by a positive pressure HVAC system with water and nutrients managed by an IBM Watson AI computer-automated irrigation system,” noted Trisha Madden, CEO of Biodynamics.
“We are very pleased to be moving forward with the vegetable-growing sector of our operations,” said Greengro Technologies CEO James Haas. “Our indoor growing technologies have enormous potential across many types of agriculture applications and we expect to become a major competitor in the space.”
Haas noted that Biodynamics’ unique PV solar glass hydroponic greenhouses are an environmentally beneficial and economically lucrative alternative to traditional farming methods that are stressful to the environment and present growers with significant operational and economic challenges.
Separately, Greengro Technologies announced progress with a $25 million project signed in February 2017 with Global Renewable Resources LLC (GRR), Shaker Heights, Ohio. The City of Warren, Ohio’s Mayor William D. Franklin recently committed the needed land to develop the project. “The backers of this project are not shy about their intentions to confront the disturbing trend of population decline in this region,” said Franklin. “With careful attention paid to the realities of our current commercial environment, this project helps to inject new opportunities in the community because it has the capability to create exceptional produce and services for a growing market. I support this development and look forward to working with GRR to realize the full potential of this project through land assembly and other supports.”
GRR is a startup specializing in sustainable technologies and renewable energy. After securing the land for the greenhouse project from the City of Warren, GRR management is currently working on completing the project’s capital raise, expected to be closed by the end of second quarter of 2018.
In other news, Greengro has completed all project planning for the Foodraiser Project in Columbus, Ohio as contracted, and is currently waiting for Foodraiser management to respond with a timeline for the completion of land acquisition and financing.
According to a 2016 report published by Markets and Markets Research, the indoor farming market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.8% from 2016 and reach USD $5.80 billion by 2022. Based on detailed analysis of all factors impacting the vertical farming market, expected growth will reach the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022.
Freedom Leaf To Open CO2 Supercritical Extraction Facility In Las Vegas for CBD Oil Production From Local Hemp Farmers Under Nevada’s New Law; State Cultivation Expected to Double Next Year; A Showcase for NuAxon Equipment
Freedom Leaf Anticipates Strong Revenue Streams from CBD Oil Production and NuAxon CO2 Supercritical Extraction Equipment Sales
LAS VEGAS, NV–(Marketwired – Jul 10, 2017) – Freedom Leaf, Inc. (OTCQB: FRLF) The Marijuana Legalization Company, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to purchase CO2 Supercritical Extraction equipment for legal hemp CBD extraction from NuAxonTech, the producer of world class, large capacity Co2 Supercritical Extraction equipment.
Clifford J. Perry, Freedom Leaf CEO, explained, “As part of our strategic business model, the equipment will be installed in Las Vegas this week and will be used by Freedom Leaf to process locally grown raw (low THC, less than .03) industrial hemp from this year’s harvest into cannabinoid (CBD) extracts for the booming Nevada cannabis/hemp market. It may also be used to process EU Certified rare cannabinoid Hemp from Freedom Leaf’s own newly acquired production facilities in Spain.”
In a previous press release, Perry stated, “With this transformative acquisition in Spain, Freedom Leaf has become a major participant not only in the booming CBD (cannabidiol) industry, but in many other aspects of the global hemp industry. Current product development projects include research into rare cannabinoids, CBD drinks, phytocannabinoid oil, hemp seed oil, hemp fabric for footwear and furniture, etc…”
In addition, the facility will also be used as a showcase for NuAxon’s CO2 Supercritical Extraction equipment. Freedom Leaf is NuAxon’s exclusive global distributor for the cannabis/hemp industry, and it expects prospective buyers from around the world to come to Las Vegas to see how the equipment works.
The Las Vegas Sun reported Friday July 7th that Russell Wilhelm, the Nevada Department of Agriculture Industrial Hemp Program Manager, says the state is setting up the new industrial hemp regulations and hemp production is expected to double in Nevada this year and is projected to keep growing with the Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 396, which allows for industrial hemp farming, testing and selling. Last year, Nevada had only 250 acres in production, while Colorado had over 9,000 acres.
“With the passing of SB396, we actually have the opportunity to now start producing industrial hemp seed in the state of Nevada, one, and then two, the other significant opportunity after that is going to be the ability to sell industrial hemp-based products in retail venues in the state,” Wilhelm said.
The Sun quotes a local hemp farmer saying that Nevada needs to beef up its industrial-level processing. Much of last year’s yield went unused, or had to be sent out of state to be processed.
NuAxon Tech, the manufacturer of large capacity CO2 Supercritical Extraction units, has 17 years of experience in extraction process technology and manufacture of large capacity extraction units over other comparable units, which will serve as a huge plus for Freedom Leaf Inc.
According to NuAxon Tech, CO2 extraction is “the best method of extracting therapeutic compounds from a plant. When CO2 is captured and compressed it becomes a lipophilic solvent. It is exceptional and efficient at retrieving the oils and fats from plants, some herbal extractions are as concentrated as 250 to 1.” With proprietary “high flow rate pump” reducing processing time to “as low as 90 minutes per batch”, NuAxon’s CO2 Supercritical Extraction unit can deliver a much higher output than competitive brands.
SinglePoint Signs Deal to Manufacture CBD Hemp Oil Patches — CFN Media
SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwired – Jul 10, 2017) – CFN Media Group (“CannabisFN”), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article that will take a look at SinglePoint Inc.’s (OTC PINK: SING) recent agreement with Premier Biomedical Inc. to begin manufacturing Premier’s newly designed CBD Hemp Oil Patch products in high volume.
The cannabis industry is projected to exceed $50 billion by 2026, according to Cowen & Co., driven by the ongoing legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. While recreational marijuana has drawn a lot of attention, tetrahydrocannabinol’s (THC) non-psychoactive cousin, cannabidiol (CBD), has been experiencing tremendous growth as researchers continue to unlock its potential across a wide range of medical conditions.
Generating Revenue
SinglePoint recently announced a deal with Premier Biomedical to mass-manufacture its CBD Hemp Oil Patch and potentially future products. The deal provides the company with a consistent stream of revenue while it continues to execute organic growth initiatives and make strategic acquisitions in the cannabis industry. In addition, the potential to add future products to the mix opens the door to scaling these revenue streams higher.
“We have been working very hard on making acquisitions and inside sales to boost revenue,” said SinglePoint CEO Greg Lambrecht in a press release announcing the partnership. “This new business will contribute significantly to our revenue goals.”
Premier Biomedical benefits from the mass manufacture of its topical pain relief products, which will help the company aggressively expand its distribution network through retail outlets, health care facilities, pharmacies, and various online shopping platforms.
“We are excited that we found a volume supplier for our products,” said Premier Biomedical President & CEO William Hartman in the same press release. “This significantly increases the company’s initiatives and enables us to grow revenues through expansion of sales volumes in both domestic and foreign markets. We look forward to working with SinglePoint to continue bringing current and future planned new products [to market].”
Horizontal Market Strategy
SinglePoint has evolved from a mobile technology provider to a diversified cannabis holding company with a presence in several industry segments. Management’s horizontal market diversification strategy involved acquiring portfolio companies, leveraging economies of scale, and unlocking incremental value through synergies. For example, the company’s recent acquisition of 90% of DIGS provided it with an online, retail, and consulting arm.
At the center of the so-called “hub-and-spokes” business model, SingleSeed has become a supplier of products and services to the cannabis industry. The company’s strong historical presence in the cannabis industry — cultivated over several years through its payment offerings — provides a strong base for growth, while SingleSeed is designed to connect various portfolio companies by sharing customers and synergies.
The company has also established partnerships designed to enable its entry into other market segments. For instance, the company recently raised $1 million from an institutional investor to close deals in the cryptocurrency market. The company’s new funding and partnership with First Bitcoin Capital is designed to expedite the development of effective payment solutions for the cannabis industry.
Looking Ahead
SinglePoint Inc. (OTC PINK: SING) represents a compelling and diversified opportunity within the cannabis industry. While its primary focus is on payments, the company’s agreement with Premier Biomedical to manufacture CBD products opens the door to near-term revenue opportunities that could help finance its ongoing growth and future acquisitions.
MassRoots Updates Investors on Recent Progress and Upcoming Milestones
PR Newswire
DENVER, July 10, 2017
DENVER, July 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — MassRoots, Inc. (OTCQB:MSRT), one of the leading technology platforms for the cannabis industry, is pleased to release the following update. MassRoots’ latest corporate overview deck is accessible here.
Dear MassRoots Shareholders,
Last week, MassRoots entered into an agreement and plan of merger with Odava, Inc., a leading compliance and point-of-sale system for cannabis-related businesses. The closing of the merger is subject to various closing conditions as we have detailed in our Current Report on Form 8-K filing, dated July 5, 2017. Upon effectiveness of the merger, MassRoots can offer clients a complete set of solutions to operate their business: advertising to cannabis consumers, reporting to state regulatory systems, and streamlined management of their supply chain. This acquisition, along with other recent developments, further solidifies MassRoots as one of the leading technology companies in the regulated cannabis industry, which ArcView Market Research projects to grow from $6 billion to $22 billion over the next five years.
Our main focus is expanding market share in states where Odava is able to report to state regulators via Franwell, Inc.’s METRC system, currently Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado. Just a few days ago, it was announced that California will be utilizing METRC, enabling us to enter the largest regulated cannabis market in the U.S. with minimal integration modifications. With more than 1,000 dispensaries expected to be subject to California state regulations for the first time, this presents a unique growth opportunity for MassRoots to on-board these dispensaries to the Odava system as well as our other offerings.
Our main engineering priority is integrating MassRoots’ community of over a million cannabis consumers with Odava, enabling consumers to view pricing and inventory data in real-time, identifying the best strains and products through community-driven reviews, and empowering dispensaries to implement customer loyalty and deal programs to boost retention. We believe the seamless integration of our systems will give us a unique value proposition to dispensaries by consolidating the most important functionality and data collection in one central platform.
Four years ago, I invested my life savings to start MassRoots and since then, purchased stock on two occasions at $0.50 per share, to take advantage of three core opportunities in the cannabis marketplace:
- Patients and consumers need an app to find the best products and, as state and App Store regulations permit, order cannabis directly from their smart phones;
- Cannabis-related businesses are in need of result-driven advertising and customer loyalty systems to boost sales. An online community of over a million of the world’s most passionate cannabis consumers is their target audience; and
- Dispensaries need reliable software to streamline their operations and manage their compliance reporting to state regulators in an efficient manner.
We believe MassRoots is uniquely positioned to solve these problems. First, we estimate our market-share of cannabis consumers on our mobile applications is among the top three in the country and the MassRoots brand is one of the most recognized in the industry. Second, we have a top-tier engineering team, made up of some of the world’s top technologists that enables us to build better products and move faster than anyone else in the space. Third, MassRoots has one of the largest data sets in the cannabis space, giving us knowledge on the sector very few people have – and giving us the necessary insight to build products that drive immediate value for dispensaries. Lastly, with over 25,000 shareholders, $17 million raised to date through equity financings and warrant exercises, and no long-term debt on our balance sheet, we believe we have access to the capital necessary to rapidly grow our platform.
In late 2016, we began leveraging MassRoots’ stock as a strategic currency, allowing us to acquire Whaxy and, now, Odava, which extends our platform’s reach into retail dispensaries. We are currently evaluating several other synergistic and technology-focused opportunities that we expect would expand MassRoots’ revenue channels and cross-selling opportunities.
As is the case with many companies operating in a dynamic environment, MassRoots’ execution has not been perfect – we spent too much money advertising to consumers, over-expanded the size of our staff and overhead, and did not effectively listen to our clients to better solve their needs. The Odava integration plan has given our leadership team an opportunity to re-evaluate our strategy and the following changes have gone into effect:
- We have significantly reduced our advertising budget and staff devoted to marketing and community-outreach. MassRoots already has one of the largest user bases in the industry and going forward, we expect our brand growth to be primarily-driven by dispensaries on-boarding their customers as part of a consumer loyalty program.
- In an effort to expedite the development of MassRoots’ new business portal for dispensaries, we retained one of the most reputable development firms in Silicon Valley to supplement our in-house development team. With the work on this portal nearly complete, we decided not to renew this contract, under which we have paid approximately $100,000 per month since the beginning of 2017. It is important to note that we have not capitalized any of the over $5 million MassRoots has spent on development-related salaries and expenses over the past several years; we believe that by immediately expensing these costs rather than spreading them out over time, it will enable us to reach profitability more rapidly.
- While our current Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Hunt, has been instrumental in helping MassRoots grow to this point, we have both recognized it is time to bring in a more seasoned operator to lead our team on a day-to-day basis. Over the past several weeks, our leadership team and I have interviewed several candidates with the experience necessary to bring MassRoots to the next level. We expect to announce a new Chief Operating Officer in the near-future.
Collectively, the changes we have implemented are expected to reduce MassRoots’ expenses by more than $1.5 million annually while still enabling us to deliver on our core business objectives. Despite the challenges we have encountered over the past few years, MassRoots has succeeded in establishing one of the most recognizable brands in cannabis with one of the largest market shares of cannabis consumers and extensive sets of data – uniquely positioning our company to dominate the cannabis technology space.
Going forward, the MassRoots team is going to be focused on two core metrics: the number of dispensaries utilizing our platform and the monthly recurring revenue we have contracted with dispensaries. While we utilize a number of other data points to analyze and adjust our strategies, fundamentally, these two metrics best reflect the health of our business. We look forward to regularly updating investors on these metrics and our progress.
With California, Nevada, and several other new markets coming online in the near-future, we are in an incredible position to leverage our brand’s equity and capabilities to seize this opportunity. We are grateful for your continued trust in our company and look forward to updating you on our progress.
Regards,
Isaac Dietrich
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
MassRoots, Inc.
First Harvest Aims to Become a Leader in Cannabis Media and Mobile Gaming — CFN Media
SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwired – Jul 10, 2017) – CFN Media Group (“CannabisFN”), the leading creative agency and digital media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces the publication of an article taking a closer look at fully-reporting First Harvest Corp.’s (OTC PINK: HVST) mobile gaming app, Hemp Inc, and why it’s more than just a cannabis-focused game — it’s a compelling advertising platform that fills a gaping hole in the cannabis industry for targeted advertising.
The cannabis industry is expected to be worth upwards of $50 billion by 2026, according to Cowen & Co., driven by the ongoing legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. While there are many different ways for investors to capitalize on the market, the media and advertising space may be the most compelling given the lack of entrenched competitors and the significant pent-up demand to reach targeted consumers.
Build a Cannabis Empire
First Harvest’s Hemp Inc is a top-rated, as well as top-trending, game in both the App Store and Google Play that lets users build their very own cannabis empire. By choosing the correct strains, using top notch talent, and buying the latest equipment, users can compete against others in a social game that has rapidly gained traction among the cannabis consumer community. The company continues to add new features to the game to make it even more compelling over time. The game has achieved rankings as high as #1 in both on-line stores.
The company plans to monetize the ‘freemium’ game through in-app purchases that range in price from $0.99 to $9.99 depending on the item. In addition, the company plans to introduce branding and ad-placement within the game as well as celebrity affiliate agreements for revenue sharing via in-app purchases. This mirrors the strategy used by many other successful game developers, such as Activision Blizzard and Tencent Holdings.
Cannabis Social Network
First Harvest’s CannaVoices is a member-based social media platform for subscribers to participate in an open forum with other pro-cannabis supporters. The platform consists of a digital magazine — CannaVoices Lifestyle Magazine — that showcases leading researchers, patients, enthusiasts, startups, and more, as well as a social media platform where users can interact with each other and discuss issues that matter to them.
The company plans to monetize CannaVoices through a traditional advertising model with a tie-in to its mobile gaming app. Social media has proven to be an extremely cost-effective way to reach customers since referrals from a friend and face-to-face recommendations carry the highest weight. As a result, the company may be able to charge premium prices for advertisements on the site, particularly given the lack of ad supply for the cannabis industry to leverage.
Advertising Platform
The cannabis industry struggles when it comes to advertising given the negative stigma attached to the drug. Many popular social media platforms, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+, don’t provide the ability to tap into a segmented cannabis audience due to restrictive protocols within their terms of service. And it’s unlikely that these trends will change until cannabis is legalized on a federal level – and even then it may not be permitted.
First Harvest aims to transform its Hemp Inc. game and CannaVoices network into a valuable platform for advertisers to reach engaged audiences of cannabis consumers and enthusiasts. The platform provides a brand-safe environment to reach a large, self-identified, socially-active, web-savvy, niche audience with targeted advertisements that are uniquely matched to the user’s social engagement habits to maximize return on investment.
HempMeds Opens Office in Mexico with Leading Advocate — CFN Media
SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwired – Jul 10, 2017) – CFN Media Group, the leading creative agency and digital media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces the publication of an article on Medical Marijuana Inc.’s (OTC PINK: MJNA) new HempMeds® office in Mexico and why it’s a significant development for the company.
Mexico’s Progressive Stance
Mexico has been historically opposed to marijuana legalization thanks to the United States’ War on Drugs since the 1970s. Since the 1990s, Mexican drug cartels have grown in power following the demise of the Colombian Cali and Medellin cartels. Analysts estimate that wholesale earnings from illicit drug sales range from $13.6 billion to $49.4 billion each year, which is on par with multinational tobacco companies that earn about $30 billion per year.
After many US states began taking a more progressive approach by legalizing marijuana, Mexico’s Senate passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in December 2016. The country’s lower house in parliament followed suit by passing the bill in late-April with an overwhelming 374-7 vote. President Enrique Pena Nieto officially signed the bill into law last month, which makes medical marijuana available and legal throughout the country.
The Health Ministry will now be tasked with creating regulations around the use of medical marijuana, including the production of cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals. In the meantime, consumers will be permitted to legally purchase cannabinoid products that contain 1% or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), while companies will be permitted to cultivate cannabis for medical and scientific purposes without being punished by law.
Establishing a Footprint
Medical Marijuana Inc. has been a pioneer in Mexico’s cannabinoid industry. Last year, the company secured the first import permit for RSHO-X™ — a non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil for patients suffering from severe seizures — from COFEPRIS — the country’s health authority. Many other patients have since secured import rights for the CBD oil that has shown tremendous promise in helping patients overcome severe seizures.
Earlier this year, the company began groundbreaking new studies of its RSHO-X™ in Mexico under the direction of pediatric neurologist Dr. Saul Garza Morales. The results of these studies showed a 50% or greater reduction in seizures in 33 of 39 patients, while over half of patients achieved an overall 75% reduction in seizures. But, perhaps the most striking result was the 100% seizure relief experienced by about 17% of patients in the study.
HempMeds® is expanding its presence with the opening of its first office in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, as demand continues to grow for RSHO-X™. The new office will be managed by medical cannabis activist and Por Grace Foundation founder Raul Elizalde and act as a hub for the sales, marketing, and distribution of RSHO-X™ to patients in Mexico. The company also aims to further its efforts to push for cannabis reform in the country. Major news outlets attended the inauguration including Forbes Mexico, HuffPost, and El Financiero among others.
Mr. Elizalde’s daughter, Grace, was the first Mexican patient to gain legal access to CBD oil, for the control of her seizures. He is recognized throughout the country for his determined efforts to expand access for more patients, and even joined President Nieto on stage in April as he announced the country’s intentions to legalize medical marijuana. His tireless dedication to the cause, and the resulting renown, should benefit the company as it grows its footprint throughout Mexico.
