HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Medbox, Inc.
(OTC Markets: MDBX) (www.medboxinc.com), a leader in providing
industry specific consulting services and patented systems to
various medical and retail related industries worldwide, seeks to
be the standard bearer of corporate governance
and transparency in the mushrooming legal marijuana
industry and has issued a progress report to its shareholders
concerning the status of past, present, and future projects.
Company CEO, Dr. Bruce
Bedrick, added, "Without a doubt the filing of our Form
10 is the most significant milestone for the company since its
acquisition of Medicine Dispensing Systems and its related
patent. In less than 60 days, our filing will be deemed
effective and Medbox, Inc. will be a fully reporting company,
subject to both the burdens and benefits thereof." Bedrick added,
"Management welcomes the increased scrutiny and accountability that
comes with our share registration. Doing so sets us apart from some
of the more questionable groups in our industry, both in the minds
of the investment community and the public at large."
The company has generated considerable public goodwill from
hosting free educational seminars to discuss community concerns
about marijuana dispensaries, to meeting with state legislators and
regulators on how best to achieve legal compliance in new medical
marijuana territories, to being an outspoken opponent of other
companies offering consumer accessed marijuana vending machines,
which Medbox feels is not a proper use of the medicine dispensing
technology the company has developed. The company has compared its
technology as the equivalent of the equipment hospitals use to
track sensitive medications. In addition, Medbox has achieved its
success and leadership role in the legal marijuana industry while
deriving no direct revenue from the cultivation or sale of
marijuana.
Dr. Bruce Bedrick explained, "The
very same capacity for creating transparency that has made Medbox
the gold standard in terms of tracking inventory from seed-to-sale
and dispensing in real time is the same level of transparency that
will now be implemented internally. Going forward, Medbox will
literally be an open book, with verifiable contracts, revenue, and
share count information, in stark contrast to other companies in
our sector.
"Our new status as the sole fully-reporting company in the
'Green Rush' solidifies our role as an industry leader. Medbox
investors now have the security of knowing management has
voluntarily put the company in the position of demonstrating the
highest level of transparency in the industry. Moving to
fully-reporting status was a natural step in our evolution as a
company. It will afford us access to the capital we need to grow
Medbox to the next level. Wall Street wisely wants in on the legal
marijuana boom, through a safe and reliable conduit. As a
fully-reporting SEC-registered company, we will be in a unique
position to fill that role."
The company also has issued a progress report on any and all
outstanding matters. The following is a summary as reported by the
company:
- Medbox has resolved, to its satisfaction, the federal patent
infringement case against Dispense Labs LLC that the company
believes was violating its federal patent. In a "Statement of
Facts" prepared by a lawyer for the Defendant, it stated that
Dispense Labs "has only one (1) machine that has been placed into
service anywhere and that machine is a beta-test machine that has
been placed into service in Santa Ana,
California." The Founder of Dispense Labs, Joe DeRobbio, also said in a statement signed
under penalty of perjury that "[n]o other Autospense machine or
other product of Dispense Labs has been sold or
distributed."
Medbox has reserved the right to re-engage litigation if Dispense
Labs overcomes the barriers to entry in the marketplace and/or
adopts Medbox's business model, before refilling, as is Medbox's
legal right to do. The discovery was in stark contrast to the
promotional materials Dispense Labs had distributed to media
outlets and advertised in consumer periodicals. Seeing as Dispense
Labs has failed to gain any type of acceptance for their machine
due to social intolerance of customer-accessed and/or 24-hour
accessible marijuana vending machines, Medbox feels that it says it
would be a waste of company capital to pursue the matter any
further given the circumstances.
- Medbox has engaged consultants in Nevada, Oregon, and California regarding SB374, HB3460, and AB473,
respectively. These bills are all aimed at finally creating a
regulatory framework for a legal dispensary system in those states
that have existing medical marijuana laws with no distribution
system in place. Medbox has engaged the help of consultants to
establish a rapport with lawmakers in the jurisdictions and to
ensure that Medbox clients are given access to information and
licensing requirements as soon as the same is available. Medbox
anticipates being a first-mover in these new states.
- Hiring of full-time CFO, Thomas
Iwanski, as of April 15, 2013.
Mr. Iwanski is a CPA with over 10 years of public company
accounting experience. According to Iwanski and backed by his
impeccable resume, he is well versed in accounting, auditing,
forecasting, corporate strategic development, legal, HR, and IT
disciplines. Accordingly, his diverse background touches virtually
every aspect of business.
- The company has furnished and begun operations in an additional
office within its headquarters in Hollywood, CA. The office is 3,000 square feet
in addition to the company's current office and will accommodate
some existing employees, the newly appointed CFO, as well as
additional marketing and sales staff.
- Medbox is developing a dispensary management division aimed at
allowing new and existing dispensary operators to engage Medbox to
handle all aspects of day-to-day dispensary operations at a monthly
rate of $10,000 per location.
Services to include all phases of personnel, security, accounting,
legal compliance, and management functions. Medbox has had interest
from many of its new and existing clientele with regards to this
service and believes it is a viable and perpetual revenue stream
for the future.
- Medbox is proud to report that Q1 2013 was its highest revenue
quarter in the company's history at more than $2 million booked as revenue and over
$1.5 million booked as deferred
revenue. The company paid down existing debts from $869,038 to $415,000. The company also reduced
its receivables of $2,052,000 million
dollars at year end 2012 and collected on $1,867,000, leaving a balance of $185,000 as of 4/15/2013. The company also
reported that although aggressively targeting and executing on 3
acquisitions during Q1 2013, cash on hand remained at over
$1 million dollars at 4/1/13.
About Medbox, Inc.:
Medbox is a leader in the development, sales and service of
automated, biometrically controlled dispensing and storage systems
for medicine and merchandise. Medbox has offices throughout the
world, including New York,
Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tokyo, London
and Toronto, and has their
corporate headquarters in Los
Angeles.
Medbox provides their patented systems, software and consulting
services to pharmacies, dispensaries, urgent care centers, drug
rehab clinics, hospitals, prison systems, hospice facilities, and
medical groups worldwide.
Medbox, Inc. is a publicly traded company, and is quoted on the
OTC Markets, ticker symbol MDBX.
For more information on Medbox, please contact the Medbox
Investor Relations Department at (800) 762-1452 or go online to
www.medboxinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: The statements in this press
release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
federal securities laws. Such statements are based on our
current beliefs and expectations and are inherently subject to
significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and
contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. In
addition, such forward-looking statements are subject to
assumptions with respect to future business strategies and
decisions that are subject to change. Potential risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, technical advances
in the industry, political conditions and economic conditions in
the states considering such legislation. We do not take any
obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect
events or developments after a forward-looking statement was
made.
SOURCE Medbox, Inc.