ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Business Development
We were incorporated in the State of Colorado on May 9, 1996, with an authorized capital of 55,000,000 shares, comprised of 50,000,000 shares of common stock, and 5,000,000 shares of non-voting preferred stock, both with no par value per share. We were formed for the primary purpose of engaging in the business of marine transportation and to provide ocean going shipping of goods internationally.
In May of 1996, we issued restricted securities (common stock) at our inception, and conducted an offering under Rule 504 of Regulation D of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). This offering was also conducted in accordance with Section 11-51-308(1)(p) of the Colorado Revised Statutes that allowed public solicitation of accredited investors. Our proposed business operations were unsuccessful, and we had no material business operations from March 7, 1997 through December 31, 2018.
Copies of our Articles of Incorporation and our By-Laws were attached to our Form 10-SB Registration Statement that was filed with the SEC on June 7, 2006, and were attached to our Form 10-K Annual Report for the period ended December 31, 2013. See Part IV, Item 15.
We voluntarily filed our Form 10-SB Registration Statement so that we could become a reporting issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act).
On December 31, 2018 (the Closing Date or Closing), we entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the Agreement) with High Sierra Technologies, Inc., a Nevada corporation (High Sierra) and all of the shareholders of High Sierra, pursuant to which we acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of High Sierra (the Share Exchange or Acquisition). The Acquisition of High Sierra was consummated on the same date, and High Sierra is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The names of the shareholders of High Sierra are listed in the Agreement, a copy of which is attached to our Form 8-K Current Report filed with the SEC on January 2, 2019 as Exhibit 2.1. As consideration for the Share Exchange, we issued a total of 15,433,025 shares of our common stock to the High Sierra shareholders.
The Share Exchange was treated as a recapitalization of the Company for financial accounting purposes. High Sierra is considered the acquirer for accounting purposes, and our historical financial statements before the Share Exchange will be replaced with the historical financial statements of High Sierra.
The issuance of shares of the Companys common stock to holders of High Sierras capital stock in connection with the Share Exchange was not registered under the Securities Act, in reliance upon the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act, which exempts transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering, and Regulation D and/or Regulation S promulgated by the SEC under that section. These securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement.
In connection with the Acquisition of High Sierra, we also issued 1,087,525 shares of our common stock to Michael Vardakis, the former President and director of the Company, for a cash payment of $21,750.50, 120,000 shares of our common stock to Melissa Ladakis, the former Secretary and director of the Company, for services rendered which were valued at $0.02 per share, 30,000 shares of our common stock to Lynette Kelch, for services rendered which were valued at $0.02 per share; and 1,800,000 shares of our common stock to Biored, N.V., a Belgian corporation (Biored). Biored loaned the Company $500,000 in early June 2018 at five percent (5.0%) interest per annum. Biored converted the principal amount of its loan ($500,000) and accrued interest of approximately $14,500 to the 1,800,000 shares of our common stock which it received, at a conversion price of approximately $0.2858 per share.
Similarly, the issuance of our shares of common stock to Biored, Mr. Vardakis, Ms. Ladakis and Ms. Kelch was not registered under the Securities Act, in reliance upon the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act, which exempts transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering, and Regulation D and/or Regulation S promulgated by the SEC under that section. These securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement.
Under the terms of the Agreement, as consideration for the Acquisition, the shareholders of High Sierra who collectively owned 15,433,025 shares of common stock of High Sierra, received one (1) share of our common stock for each one (1) share of High Sierra common stock exchanged in the transaction. As a result, the High Sierra shareholders, as a group, received 15,433,025 shares of our common stock in the exchange, which represented
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approximately 76.44% of the 20,189,642 issued and outstanding shares of our common stock immediately following the Acquisition.
The Agreement provided that at the Closing the Company would cause its Board of Directors to elect Vincent C. Lombardi to the Companys Board of Directors to serve together with Michael Vardakis, that the pre-Closing officers of the Company (Michael Vardakis and Melissa Ladakis) would resign, and that the Board of Directors would appoint Vincent C. Lombardi as Chief Executive Officer and President, and Gregg W. Koechlein as the Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of the Company. Mr. Koechlein was also appointed as the Chief Operating Officer. This all occurred on the Closing Date.
On March 25, 2019 a Special Meeting of the Companys Stockholders was held at which the stockholders voted to change the Companys name to High Sierra Technologies, Inc., and to approve certain other changes in the Companys Articles of Incorporation which are described in the Companys Definitive Proxy Statement. These changes became effective on April 1, 2019. A copy of our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation is attached to the Companys Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2018 as Exhibit 3.2.
On March 25, 2019 following the shareholder meeting, Michael Vardakis resigned as a director of the Company. On March 26, 2019, Vincent C. Lombardi, as the only remaining director of the Company, appointed Gregg W. Koechlein as a director of the Company to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Vardakis resignation.
Description of Business
The Companys business is now focused on the business of its wholly-owned subsidiary, High Sierra Technologies, Inc. (High Sierra). High Sierra was incorporated in the State of Nevada in August of 2018. It was formed with the intention that it would become the assignee, owner and licensor of certain Intellectual Property that was, prior to assignment, the property of Vincent C. Lombardi, Ph.D. (the Intellectual Property) who is an officer, director and co-founder of High Sierra. High Sierra was further formed with the goal that it would continue to develop and expand its intellectual property portfolio with an emphasis on the recreational cannabis industry as well as the industrial hemp industry.
The current Intellectual Property portfolio consists of all of the rights, title and interest that Dr. Lombardi had in certain two Provisional Patent Applications (collectively, the Applications). Assignments of both of these applications, which assign their ownership to High Sierra, have been filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. The Applications have since been incorporated into and converted into two all-encompassing Utility Patent Applications which have been filed with numerous governmental agencies in the United States, Canada and multiple other countries in Europe as is discussed below (collectively the Utility Patent Applications). As of the date hereof, there have been two United States Patents issued based on the Utility Patent Application as is also discussed below.
The Intellectual Property
High Sierra now owns two provisional patent applications which it acquired from Dr. Lombardi. The first Application describes a new and novel cannabis product that is produced by removing or significantly reducing the naturally occurring compliment of volatile organic molecules from cannabis, which primarily consist of terpenes, and are collectively known as the essential oils. This new and novel cannabis product embodies any product produced from any of the flowering plants of the genus Cannabis, using any convenient method for removing or significantly reducing the naturally occurring compliment of essential oils, and, which at the same time, generally preserves the naturally occurring compliment of cannabinoids in a product that retains the naturally occurring physical structure of cannabis plant material that is normally consumed by way of smoking (combustion and subsequent inhalation) and also leaves the modified harvested cannabis plant material undamaged and still in a condition that it can be smoked in the same manner as before it was modified by the process and/or processes described herein. As used herein, the term cannabis includes industrial hemp which is defined as the plant Cannabis sativa L. having a Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis (Hemp).
The second Application describes a new and novel cannabis product that is produced by further modifying a cannabis product based on the first Application containing cannabis plant material that has been previously modified by removing or significantly reducing the naturally occurring compliment of volatile organic molecules, which primarily consist of terpenes, and are collectively known as the essential oils, so as to create a low, or no, odor and reduced flavor form of cannabis product. The previously modified cannabis product is then subjected to additional modification, or modifications, consisting of the addition of volatile organic molecules, either naturally occurring or synthetically produced, including, but not limited to, essential oils, flavorings or terpenes and terpenoids so as to cause it to have new and unique odors and flavors.
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By using the techniques and processes covered by the two Applications, High Sierra can create a low, or no, odor and reduced flavor form of cannabis, which can be used in that state or modified to have new and unique odors and flavors.
High Sierras Intellectual Property encompasses the dried cannabis plant material, or flower, that is intended to be smoked, as well as any dried cannabis plant material that is intended to be smoked and to which flavoring is added. It should be noted that this technology is also applicable to the use of hemp-based products that are to be smoked both in non-flavored and flavored forms.
The Applications and the Utility Patent Applications are based on the premise that cannabis (also known as marijuana) which is a preparation of the cannabis plant that encompasses at least three genera of flowering plant in the family of Cannabaceae including Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis has a distinct odor and flavor, primarily as a result of several volatile small molecules known as terpenes. These terpenes are also present in the genus of the flowering plant commonly known as hemp. Although the odor and flavor that results from the presence of these terpenes is desirable to many users of cannabis and/or hemp, the strong and pungent odor, as well as the distinctive flavor, is undesirable by others especially due to the fact that the odor lingers after use of cannabis and/or hemp. Additionally, the characteristic odor makes it obvious that a given individual has recently used cannabis and/or hemp. Since a user of hemp is doing so for solely medicinal purposes, High Sierra believes this negative characteristic is of even greater importance to a user of a hemp-based product. Furthermore, the strong and pervasive odor, as well as the distinctive flavor, that results from the presence of these terpenes represents an obstacle for creating a flavored form of cannabis and/or hemp which High Sierra believes to be desirable.
High Sierra has engaged the law firm of Oliff PLC to prosecute its Provisional Patent Applications and its Utility Patent Applications. In January 2019, the two provisional patent Applications were combined into one broad and all-encompassing Utility Patent Application which was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and under the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which will afford High Sierra additional temporary protection in an additional 152 other countries.
High Sierras current Intellectual Property Applications are specific to the dried cannabis plant material where the characteristic odor and flavor have been removed or significantly reduced as well as products that utilizes the first product. High Sierra believes that its intellectual property may be able to be expanded to include other opportunities in the cannabis and industrial hemp markets. High Sierra is currently attempting to develop such products, independently, and through joint venture arrangements. However, the Company can offer no assurance that High Sierra will be successful in this effort.
High Sierra believes that it is likely that its Provisional Patent Applications and the Utility Patent Applications will be converted into full Utility Patents in due course in both the United States, Canada and numerous countries in Europe. During the time allowed under the provisions of the PCT, High Sierra intends to determine in which foreign countries it will be appropriate to file additional utility patent applications.
The Companys Patent Pending products and the processes by which they are generated are specific to modified forms of cannabis which have little or none of the characteristic odors common to cannabis, as well as any modified or flavored products produced with the previously modified cannabis products. The Company believes that these products and processes may also be applicable to industrial hemp as defined in the Hemp Farming Act of 2018.
On March 25, 2020, the Company received an International Preliminary Report of Patentability for its Patent Cooperation Treaty Application Number PCT/US2019/014778, CANNABIS PRODUCTS MODIFIED BY REMOVING VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND ADDING VOLATILE UNSATURATED HYDROCARBONS, in which Claims Numbered 1-84 were characterized as novel and Claims Numbered 1-17, 63-70, 83 and 84 were characterized as inventive steps.
On June 5, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, by way of an Office Action dated May 29, 2020, notified the Company that Claims Numbered 1-17, 63-70 and 83-84 of Patent Application Number 16/255,157, CANNABIS PRODUCTS MODIFIED BY REMOVING VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND ADDING VOLATILE UNSATURATED HYDROCARBONS, were now allowed. These are four of the seven main claims in Patent Application Number 16/255,157. In response to this, the Companys outside Patent Counsel, Oliff PLC, has filed an Amendment to Patent Application Number 16/255,157 so that these Claims can be issued a formal Notice of Allowance which would then lead to the issuance of a Utility Patent for these Claims. As a result of this action by our attorneys at Oliff PLC, on June 19, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a formal Notice of Allowance and Fee(s) Due which will allow the Utility Patent to be issued once the fees are paid. This Patent was issued as United States Patent Number 10,737,198 on August 11, 2020. The Companys attorneys at Oliff PLC also prepared a Continuation Application for Claims Numbered 18-62 and 71-82 so that the Company can continue to prosecute these Claims separately. This Continuation Application has resulted in the issuance of United States Patent Number 10,835,829 on November 17, 2020.
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On July 23, 2020, the Company received an Issue Notification from the United States Patent and Trademark Office stating that, on August 11, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will issue United States Patent Number 10,737,198 to the Company as assignee of Application Number 16/255.157, CANNABIS PRODUCTS MODIFIED BY REMOVING VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND ADDING VOLATILE UNSATURATED HYDROCARBONS, filed by Vincent Lombardi, one of the founders of the Company and its current President and Chief Executive Officer.
Now United States Patents Numbers 10,737,198 and 10,835,839 have been formally issued, the Company intends to begin actively marketing and licensing its patented technologies in both the cannabis and hemp market spaces as well as pursuing its own uses of its patented technologies in relation to various end user products that can benefit from its patented technologies. In regards to the issuance of United States Patents Numbered 10,737,198 and 10.835,839, Vincent C. Lombardi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has stated that we believe the effect of the issuance of Patents Numbered 10,737, 198 and 10, 835,839 is that it will allow the Company to be able to effectively control the marketplace for low, or no, odor cannabis and hemp products in the United States which will allow the Company to start generating licensing revenue from the technology disclosed in United States Patents Numbered 10,737,198 and 10,835,839.
The Company has received a First Office Action on its Canadian Patent Application Number 3,031,123, CANNABIS PRODUCTS MODIFIED BY REMOVING VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND ADDING VOLATILE UNSATURATED HYDROCARBONS, and its attorneys at Oliff PLC and Bereskin & Parr in Canada have responded to it. The Company has also recently amended its Canadian Patent Application so that it accurately reflects the claims embodied in United States Patents Numbered 10, 737, 198 and 10,835,839 as well as the Continuation Application Number 17,098/539 filed on November 16, 2020.
The Companys outside Patent Counsel, Oliff PLC has completed the Application to the European Patent Office (EPO) based on Patent Cooperation Treaty Application Number PCT/US2019/014778, CANNABIS PRODUCTS MODIFIED BY REMOVING VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND ADDING VOLATILE UNSATURATED HYDROCARBONS. It has been filed as European Patent Office Application Number 19743904.5. The Company has also recently amended its EPO Application so that it accurately reflects the claims embodied in United States Patents Numbered 10, 737, 198 and 10,835,839 as well as the Continuation Application Number 17,098/539 filed on November 16, 2020. This EPO Application, as amended, will allow the Company to simultaneously prosecute its PCT Application in a total of 38 different countries in Europe and the surrounding areas as well as Hong Kong.
Marketing Plans to License the Intellectual Property
High Sierra is now marketing the licensing of its technology in states in the U.S. where cannabis and/or hemp has been legalized both for medicinal and/or recreational use. It also plans to use a similar marketing strategy in all provinces in Canada which has legalized both the medicinal and recreational uses of cannabis as of October 17, 2018. Hemp has long been legal in Canada. High Sierra is targeting entities that are licensed to produce, process and/or manufacture cannabis and/or hemp related products. High Sierra also believes that its technology will be of interest to tobacco companies in the United States, Canada and other places if those companies choose to enter the cannabis and/or hemp marketplaces as the legalization of cannabis and/or hemp progresses.
High Sierra considers every manufacturer of cannabis and/or hemp products a potential customer. Because each is registered with its respective State and are of public record, High Sierra has begun to identify each manufacturer for a direct marketing campaign. High Sierra plans to aggressively exploit what it believes to be niche areas of the cannabis and/or hemp markets that are not currently being addressed.
Presently, manufacturers of cannabis and/or hemp products are limited to selling low-odor cannabis and/or hemp for smoking, as an extract, and are limited to selling flavored product either as an extract for smoking or edibles. While it is possible to produce a flavored dried plant form without first removing the natural complement of terpenes, High Sierra believes that the strong natural smell and flavor makes it impractical to add additional flavoring other than additional terpenes.
Because low odor or no odor cannabis and/or hemp plant material products for smoking are novel and currently do not exist, it is High Sierras goal to create a market for such products by demonstrating their utility and desirability. Low-odor cannabis and/or hemp plant material allows one to smoke cannabis and/or hemp without its use being apparent due to the residual smell on the user. It also allows the user the convenience of smoking cannabis and/or hemp in the form of a rolled cigarette or a pipe. Because low-odor and flavored cannabis and/or hemp plant material can be conveniently made into cigarettes, it is High Sierras belief that as cannabis and/or hemp gain acceptance according to local and Federal laws, that the large tobacco companies will want to enter the cannabis and/or hemp
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market spaces and will rely on their present business model of selling cigarettes that are pre-packaged. These companies are all potential clients to license High Sierras technology.
On October 14, 2020, we entered into an exclusive Letter Agreement with Artemis Holdings, LLC pursuant to which Artemis Holdings, LLC is to assist us in maximizing the value of our patents and patents pending for odorless cannabis. Artemis is to provide a detailed market analysis of the patents and to assist with any licensing or sale of the patents. The agreement is for a period of nine months, and then it automatically renews for additional one month periods until either party terminates it. The Company will pay Artemis a fee of $5,000 per month during the term, and a transaction fee of 7.5% of the gross proceeds of any transaction (sale, license, etc.) arranged by Artemis. A copy of the Letter Agreement is attached to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2020 as Exhibit 10.22.
Consulting Agreement
On August 14, 2020, we entered into a non-exclusive Consulting Agreement with Stanley Berk/Steven Leatherman (SBSL Consultants) and Jeff Baclet/Tom Prutzman (Consultants) pursuant to which the SBSL Consultants and other Consultants agreed to review short term and long term business forecasts for the Company, review documents for due diligence purposes, seek out private and public funding for the Company, and seek out potential licensing partners and potential buyers of the Companys intellectual property. They referred the Company to Artemis Holdings, LLC. See above. The term of the Agreement was for six months. The Company agreed to pay a consulting fee of $7,500 per month (to be deferred until the Company has raised at least $500,000), and 5.0% of funds raised from any source brought to the Company by the Consultants. The Consultants were also granted warrants to purchase 5.0% of the securities sold in such fundraising at the same price, which is exercisable for a period of 5 years. This August 14, 2020 Consulting Agreement was amended on December 28, 2020 to now be effective as of January 1, 2021. Under the terms of this amendment the term of the Agreement became one year ending on December 31, 2021. The consulting fees were reduced to $1,200.00 per month, a potential bonus of $45,000 was incorporated, the referral fees were reduced to 2% and the warrants to be issued were set at to 2.5% of the value of certain transactions caused by Admiral Investment Banking and 2% of the value of certain transactions caused by Artemis Holdings Group, LLC. A copy of this Amended Consulting Agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.8.
Admiral Investment Banking Agreement
On December 28, 2020 the Company entered into an Agreement with Admiral Investment Banking (Admiral) to market our Private Placement Offering of 2,000,000 shares of common stock to accredited investors. The Agreement is for the period of one year and has certain renewal provisions. The Agreement provides for commissions of 8% of monies generated by Admiral to be paid to Admiral. It also provides for an override of 2% to be payable to Admiral in the event of the inclusion of another broker/dealer in a transaction. The Agreement also provides for the issuance of warrants to Admiral or its principals in certain instances if so designated by Admiral. The warrants are exercisable at $0.01 per share for a period of five (5) years after the issuance date and cover a total of 50,000 shares.
Failure of Industrial Hemp Farming Crop and Activities
In 2019 High Sierra entered into a Lease Agreement for the use of 200 acres of land in McDermitt, Nevada to be used as an experiment for determining the viability of operating a large-scale hemp farming concern. Concurrently with the execution of the Lease Agreement, High Sierra also entered into a Consulting Agreement with the owner of the land for his services in managing the farming activities. In approximately November 2019, management determined that it was not in the best interest of High Sierra to continue to spend money on the farm due to the failure of the crop. The failure of the crop was, largely due to inconsistencies in the quality of seeds that are commercially available as well as logistical issues with respect to managing farming activities. The hemp seeds purchased and planted by the Company had the following three basic problems: (a) too many male plants were produced and male plants produce little or no CBD; (b) one-third of the crop was too high in its THC content and had to be destroyed; and (c) the resulting crop that could be harvested had very little biomass with a very low CBD content.
High Sierra is now in the process of determining the best use of the equipment that was purchased for use in the farming activities.
High Sierra has identified a growing market place for hemp cigarettes especially those that can benefit from High Sierras patented and patent pending technologies. It is the intention of High Sierra to enter into this market place as soon as possible after it receives sufficient funding from its Private Placement Offerings. The Company can offer no assurance that it will successfully raise the funds needed to enter into this market place.
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General Information Concerning Cannabis and Hemp and Related Regulatory Laws
Currently, cannabis is consumed in three forms. The dried plant material that is smoked, extracts of cannabis that are smoked using devices such as e-cigarettes, and cannabis consumables. Hemp based products may also be consumed by these same three methods as well as being used as a topical application to the skin. High Sierras Intellectual Property is currently specific for dried cannabis plant material, including hemp, which is intended to be consumed by smoking which High Sierra believes to be the largest segment of the cannabis related market.
Recreational cannabis is now currently legal in eleven states and the District of Columbia and medicinal cannabis is legal in 33 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Thirteen states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have passed laws decriminalizing cannabis in some form. In addition, Canada has legalized both medicinal and recreational cannabis in all provinces as of October 17, 2018. Hemp, which is defined as cannabis, with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of less than 0.3%, has long been legalized in Canada. It should be noted that cannabis continues to be illegal at the Federal level in the United States. It should be further noted that, with the Presidents signature on the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 that was passed overwhelmingly by Congress, the non-psychoactive components of cannabis, such as cannabidiol will become legal in all states and will cease to be controlled substances that come under the authority of the Food and Drug Administration.
With the enactment on December 20, 2018 of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, hemp and/or cannabidiol based products are no longer classified as controlled substances. High Sierra believes that its technology will also be readily applicable to hemp and/or cannabidiol based products that may be consumed via combustion and subsequent inhalation and/or ingestion in various forms. Because there are currently known uses of hemp and/or cannabidiol products that use combustion and subsequent inhalation as a method of consumption, High Sierra believes that such producers and users of these products will see a similar advantage to the use of High Sierras technologies as do the producers and users of medical and recreational cannabis products that are consumed via combustion and subsequent inhalation and/or ingestion in various forms.
Because High Sierras business model is based on (1) the licensing of its technology, and (2) the production and marketing of hemp cigarettes using its various patented and patent pending technologies, it is not necessary for High Sierra to handle, sell or distribute cannabis in order to benefit from the rapidly expanding cannabis market. Accordingly, High Sierra is not directly subject to the limitations imposed by these existing Federal laws in the United States as they may relate to cannabis. With the enactment on December 20, 2018 of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, hemp-based products have ceased to be controlled substances that come under the authority of the Drug Enforcement Administration thus providing High Sierra an opportunity in a new marketplace that is not subject to the same level of Federal regulation as is the marijuana form of cannabis. This puts High Sierra in a unique position to benefit from the rapidly expanding cannabis and hemp industries, while at the same time, not being directly subject to the Federal controlled substance laws of the United States.
Market Place Overview
According to a report by the Brightfield Group, the global cannabis market is currently estimated to be worth $7.7 billion and will likely experience a compound annual growth rate of 60 percent as other countries liberalize their marijuana laws. It should also be noted that Wall Street analysts have projected that the change in the laws related to cannabis in Canada could create as much as $5 billion in additional sales. The international market for cannabis is projected to hit $31.4 billion by 2021, according to a report from the Brightfield Group. Cowen & Co. has estimated that U.S. cannabis sales could reach $75 billion by 2030. Furthermore, a report by the European investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co., projects legal global cannabis market will grow by more than 1,000% over the next decade and could reach $140 billion by 2027.
According to 2016 statistics reported by the State of Washington, sales of cannabis flower represented 61% of total cannabis product sales. Because of the new and novel nature of High Sierras product, its difficult to estimate the potential market; however, if one assumes that cigarette sales statistics are a reflection of potential cannabis sales, methanol cigarette sales are estimated to represent 30% of total tobacco sales (Lorillard, Inc. 2012 Form 10-K, p. 40. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). High Sierra believes that cannabis products that employ its technology (with respect to utilizing unflavored product as the starting material to make a flavored product) will create a significant addition to the existing cannabis markets. High Sierra further believes that it is reasonable to project a similar percentage of flavored cannabis sales as opposed to non-flavored cannabis sales. If trends for tobacco cigarettes are an indication of future cannabis cigarette sales, flavored cannabis cigarettes could represent a market of $1.4 billion (based on $7.7 billion total 2016 cannabis sales, 61% cannabis flower sales, and 30% flavored cannabis sales). High Sierra believes that it may earn significant licensing revenue from licensing its existing technology, based on its proposed 10% licensing fee. If large tobacco companies enter the cannabis marketplace, they are likely to represent a new and highly significant licensing revenue source for High Sierra.
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Of the five Western states that have legalized cannabis, the first-year sales for each state were significant. Nevada had first year sales of approximately $425 million (based on only 6 months of sales in 2017), Colorado had first year sales of approximately $303 Million, Washington had first year sales of approximately $259 million and Oregon had first year sales of approximately $241 million. According to BDS Analytics, it is projected that California will have sales in excess of $3.7 billion it its first year of legalization (2018). Additionally, Colorado reported 2017 sales of approximately $1.5 billion, Washington reported 2017 sales of approximately $1.3 billion and Oregon reported 2017 sales of approximately $500 million (based on recreational dispensary sales only. According to projections by BDS Analytics and Acrview Market Research, the market for cannabis-based products approached nearly $10 billion in 2017 which represents a 33% increase over 2016. Both companies indicate that this percentage of annual increase will continue to grow based on more states legalizing cannabis for recreational use and the recent change in the laws in Canada that went into effect on October 17, 2018.
Currently, companies such as Canopy Growth, Cronos Group and Tilray which are based in Canada have begun to be traded both on the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange. Constellation Brands has recently invested $4 billion in Canopy Growth based on its belief in the strong future for the market place for cannabis.
It should be noted that none of these statistics or projections include products based on the non-psychoactive components of cannabis, such as hemp and/or cannabidiol. These are markets that Statista has estimated will grow from $108 million in 2014 to $1.5 billion in 2022. In 2016, Forbes predicted that these markets are likely to grow 700% by 2020. High Sierra believes that its opportunities will be increased with its proposed entrance into the non-psychoactive components of cannabis, such as hemp and/or cannabidiol marketplaces.
Competition
High Sierra is not aware of any other companies that are working on similar technology that can be applied to cannabis and/or hemp flower products to remove or significantly reduce the odor and flavor of such products which are consumed by smoking and/or ingestion. However, High Sierra believes that eventually there may be competitors. High Sierra believes that it will have an early competitive advantage being the first to enter this line of business and file for patent protection as has been discussed in other places herein. It believes that its Provisional Patent Applications and its Utility Patent Applications, if granted, will give High Sierra some significant protection from competing companies.
There are numerous other companies and individuals that compete in the hemp cigarette market place. Some of those companies are substantially larger than we are and some may have much greater financial resources than we do. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully against our competitors in this line of business.
Employees
As of the date of this Report, we have only four part-time employees who are our officers Vincent C. Lombardi, Gregg W. Koechlein, Jeffrey M. Pogol and Glenn C. Miller, and no full time employees. Mr. Lombardi, Mr. Koechlein and Mr. Pogol each devote approximately sixteen (16) hours per week to the business of the Company, and Mr. Miller devotes approximately eight (8) hours per week to the business of the Company. They may be compensated for their part time services on an as needed basis. For example, on February 26, 2021, we issued 10,000 shares of our restricted common stock to Jeffrey M. Pogol and 10,000 shares of our restricted common stock to another service provider for services rendered valued in the amount of $2,000 each, and on January 1, 2021 Gregg W. Koechlein was paid $7,500 for services. We have no written employment agreements. We have never experienced a work stoppage and believe our relationship with our employees is good.
Effect of Existing or Probable Governmental Regulations on our Business
We are subject to the following regulations of the SEC and applicable securities laws, rules and regulations:
Smaller Reporting Company
We are subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 of the Exchange Act, and subject to the disclosure requirements of Regulation S-K of the SEC, as a smaller reporting company. That designation will relieve us of some of the informational requirements of Regulation S-K applicable to larger companies.
Sarbanes/Oxley Act
We are also subject to the Sarbanes/Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes/Oxley Act created a strong and independent accounting oversight board to oversee the conduct of auditors of public companies and strengthen auditor independence. It also requires steps to enhance the direct responsibility of senior members of management for
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financial reporting and for the quality of financial disclosures made by public companies; establishes clear statutory rules to limit, and to expose to public view, possible conflicts of interest affecting securities analysts; creates guidelines for audit committee members appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of public companies auditors; management assessment of our internal controls; auditor attestation to managements conclusions about internal controls; prohibits certain insider trading during pension fund blackout periods; requires companies and auditors to evaluate internal controls and procedures; and establishes a federal crime of securities fraud, among other provisions. Compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes/Oxley Act will substantially increase our legal and accounting costs.
Exchange Act Reporting Requirements
Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act requires all companies with securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act to comply with the rules and regulations of the SEC regarding proxy solicitations, as outlined in Regulation 14A. Matters submitted to stockholders at special or annual meetings thereof or pursuant to a written consent will require us to provide our stockholders with the information outlined in Schedules 14A or 14C of Regulation 14; preliminary copies of this information must be submitted to the SEC at least 10 days prior to the date that definitive copies of this information are forwarded to our stockholders.
We are also required to file Annual Reports on SEC Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on SEC Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and will be required to timely disclose certain material events (e.g., changes in corporate control; acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary course of business; and bankruptcy) in a Current Report on SEC Form 8-K.
Emerging Growth Company
We are and we will remain an emerging growth company as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012(the JOBS Act), until the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year during which our total annual revenues equal or exceed $1 billion (subject to adjustment for inflation), (ii) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this primary offering, (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt securities, or (iv) the date on which we are deemed a "large accelerated filer" (with at least $700 million in public float) under the Exchange Act.
As an "emerging growth company", we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:
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only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced Managements Discussion and Analysis disclosure;
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reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;
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no requirement that we hold non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and
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exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting.
We have taken advantage of some of these reduced burdens, and thus the information we provide stockholders may be different from what you might receive from other public companies in which you hold shares. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we are choosing to opt out of such extended transition period, and as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.
Notwithstanding the above, we are also currently a smaller reporting company, meaning that we are not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a smaller reporting company and have a public float of less than $75 million and annual revenues of less than $50 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. In the event that we are still considered a smaller reporting company, at such time as we cease being an emerging growth company, the disclosure we will be required to provide in our SEC filings will increase, but will still be less than it would be if we were not considered either an emerging growth company or a smaller reporting company. Specifically, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosures in their filings; are exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requiring that
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independent registered public accounting firms provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting; and have certain other decreased disclosure obligations in their SEC filings, including, among other things, only being required to provide two years of audited financial statements in annual reports.
Start-up Stage
The Company is in the start-up stage and has generated no revenue as of the date hereof. In the past three (3) years, we have been funded primarily through loans from non-related third parties, our officers, directors and our shareholders.
Cost and Effects of Compliance with Environmental Laws
Our current business operations are not subject to any material environmental laws, rules or regulations that would have an adverse material effect on our business operations or financial condition or result in a material compliance cost.