Mixed Marijuana Messages from Trump Administration Make Diversification Imperative
March 22 2017 - 8:30AM
InvestorWire
New York, New York (NetworkNewsWire) – Deciphering marijuana
policy under the Trump Administration can be difficult, given
differing statements by White House officials. Federal laws are at
odds with a number of states that have legalized marijuana for
medical and/or recreational use, and businesses like
SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) (SING
Profile), Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings,
Inc. (CRBP), Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MJNA), Cannabis Science, Inc.
(CBIS) and ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX)
(CIIX
Profile) operate in a manner that
hedges them against certain risks of federal prohibition.
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump said of
medical marijuana on Fox News: “I'm in favor of it a hundred
percent.” With regard to the recreational use of marijuana, his
stated preference was to leave it up to each state. At a briefing
on February 23, however, Press Secretary Sean Spicer noted that
President Trump sees “a big difference” between the use of
marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, leaving many
wondering about a federal crackdown.
Additionally, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on March 15, 2017,
at a meeting of law enforcement personnel in Virginia, said: “I
reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is
sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people
suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing
marijuana.”
The AG went on to say that marijuana was “only slightly less
awful” than heroin, leaving cannabis companies that do touch the
plant in limbo of what may come next. Particular defensive tactics
vary, but most fall under a broad strategy of diversification and
operations that involve servicing the broader industry by means of
providing accessories, technological solutions, financial services
and real estate, among others.
Case-in-point is SinglePoint, Inc. (SING)
(SING
Profile), a company that specializes
in the acquisition of small to mid-sized companies. Through its
wholly owned SingleSeed.com
subsidiary, which several years ago geared up to offer
payment-processing services to marijuana dispensaries, SinglePoint
continues to explore ways to provide financial services to
marijuana establishments.
The provision of payment services is part of SinglePoint’s
“no-touch” strategy, an approach best demonstrated by its
acquisition of a portion of Jacksam Corp., dba Convectium, a
profitable California-based provider of equipment, branding, and
packaging solutions for the cannabis industry. Singlepoint recently
announced it had closed the first round of funding for the
acquisition (http://nnw.fm/oS8U5).
"We have evaluated numerous investment prospects in the cannabis
space, and found there is nothing that compares to this opportunity
we have with Convectium. With this transaction, we will acquire a
stake in a cannabis business that never touches a marijuana plant.
This is the strategy we will use as we move forward to hedge us
against changing federal and state laws,” SinglePoint CEO Greg
Lambrecht states in the press release.
Convectium has developed the world’s first oil-filling system
for cartridges and disposable vape pens for wholesale distribution
to dispensaries. The company’s 710Shark and 710Seal system can fill
and package 100+ cartridges or disposable vape pens in 30 seconds,
making it the fastest filling and sealing system of its kind. With
a market that extends to over 52 countries, Convectium expects 2017
revenues to be about $3.5 million. This would represent an increase
of 150 percent over 2016 revenues of $1.4 million.
The route taken by Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings
(CRBP) is also likely to escape any cannabis clamp-down
since the company is developing a synthetic drug that will be
screened as it goes through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulatory process. Its lead candidate, Anabasum, is a pioneering,
synthetic oral endocannabinoid-mimetic drug that resolves chronic
inflammation and halts fibrotic processes, which is currently being
evaluated in four phase II clinical trials.
Endocannabinoid-mimetics are substances that stimulate the body’s
natural production of cannabinoids. One of the most popular and
widely used drugs for the treatment of pain and fever, called
variously paracetamol or acetaminophen, is thought to work this
way.
Also likely to be excluded from any crackdown on cannabis is
Medical Marijuana (MJNA), which on its website
states that its “operations in the federally legal hemp cannabidiol
(CBD) market are unaffected by recent statements from Trump
administration officials hinting at a crackdown on recreational
marijuana. Medical Marijuana, Inc.’s hemp-based CBD products are
unaffected by recreational laws or current political stances. The
Company’s products are legal and if necessary will eventually be
brought through the FDA approval process.” Medical Marijuana, it
appears, focuses its operations to products derived from legal CBD
hemp oil.
ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX) (CIIX
Profile) is also taking the high road
with hemp. Late last month, the company announced it was launching
the world's first CBD health products online store in the Chinese
language under the domain name www.ChineseCBDoil.com. CIIX will use the site
to sell CBD oil products to customers in Chinese mainland where
hemp oil-derived products are legal and Chinese speakers in U.S.
and Canada.
Another marijuana player is Cannabis Science
(CBIS), which conducts research into cannabinoids to
develop therapies for the treatment of multiple critical ailments
from cancer and infections to age-related illnesses and
neurobehavioral disorders. Over 60 cannabinoids are to be found in
cannabis. Some, like CBDs, are legal; others, like
tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), are subject to various legal
restrictions. Nevertheless, a broad-based cannabinoid platform
seems likely to offer opportunities to shift strategy as the new
administrations continues to huff and puff about marijuana.
For more information on Singlepoint, Inc. (SING) please visit:
Singlepoint,
Inc. (SING)
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