Author: CannabisNewsWire (CNW)

About CannabisNewsWire CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge. To receive SMS text alerts from CannabisNewsWire, text “CANNABIS” to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only) For more information please visit https://www.CannabisNewsWire.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

US President, Producers Envision ‘Green Acres’ with Signing of Historic Hemp-Legalizing Farm Bill

CannabisNewsWire Editorial Coverage: Moments prior to signing a historic 2018 Farm Bill and effectively legalizing industrial hemp, President Donald Trump tweeted out a video of his performance at the 2005 Emmy Awards, singing the song “Green Acres.” Having already passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate, the bill was met with much fanfare across nearly the entire cannabis sector, including benefactors such as Green Growth Brands (CSE: GGB) (OTCQB: GGBXF) (GGB Profile), Cronos Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) (TSX: CRON), Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED), Harvest Health and Recreation (CSE: HARV) and MedMen Enterprises Inc. (CSE: MMEN) (OTC: MMNFF).

To view an infographic of this editorial, click here.

Trump’s signature was the last hurdle for the $867 billion bill. Now the market is gearing up for the massive potential of hemp-derived cannabinoids hitting stores. Among the benefactors of the passage is Green Growth Brands (CSE: GGB) (OTCQB: GGBXF), whose goal it is to become the leading retailer of cannabis and CBD products in North America. Under its Seventh Sense brand, the company is about to market its own line of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) personal care products.

Back in September 2018, the market research firm Brightfield Group published a 2018 market overview and analysis on hemp-derived CBD. Among the observations made in the report was the possibility that the CBD market could eclipse the cannabis market. Less than three months after the report’s release, the Farm Bill’s passage significantly improved this possibility.

According to the Brightfield Group’s analysis, the CBD market is expected to annually grow by 147 percent, from $591 million in 2018 to an estimated $22 billion by 2022.

A ‘Monumental Policy Shift’

Upon the passing of the bill on December 20, 2018, the cannabis retail innovators at Green Growth Brands saw the timing as nearly perfect for their company. Having passed just ahead of the launch of its hemp-derived CBD personal care product line under the Seventh Sense brand, Green Growth Brands announced its goal to become North America’s leading retailer of cannabis and CBD products.

“The new bill is a significant step in America’s acceptance of CBD and the benefits it can provide consumers,” said Peter Horvath, CEO of Green Growth Brands, in the company’s corresponding press release. “This development dramatically accelerates our ability to grow our North American retail network. This piece of legislation provides clarity on how we can build out our operations and logistics, reassures those investing with us in this new, exciting industry and gets us closer to the ultimate goal of giving customers high-quality, CBD-infused personal care products at affordable prices.”

According to an AMA (Ask Me Anything) interview, Horvath expressed his excitement over the company’s current selling of test quantities of the Seventh Sense CBD brand in a couple of national retailers’ stores already. “The selling is surprisingly good for products in the personal care category, exceeding our sell-through expectations,” said Horvath. “These are products never before seen, in a brand that’s totally new, and without any marketing.”

Green Growth Brands expects to roll out bulk orders for the product in 2019 and will announce the wholesale partners it is working with when appropriate. Already the expectation is for the launch of a web store and CBD kiosks, which Horvath deems are a “category killer,” in February 2019.

The company expects to derive up to 39 percent of its annual revenues from the CBD segment in 2019, with the potential for that figure to rise to 43 percent by 2021. Current company estimates place the dollar figure of the annual revenue from this segment at roughly $59 million for fiscal year 2019.

Due to Green Growth Brand’s overwhelming amount of c-level retail sector experience, Horvath and his team have a healthy degree of authority on their expectations. The company roll call includes expertise from several household names, including Victoria’s Secret, Designer Shoe Warehouse, American Eagle Outfitters, Bath & Body Works and more.

Branding is a quintessential aspect of Green Growth Brands’ future success. The team’s strategy is focused around being the best brand, coming from what it calls an “emotional brand” perspective. The company has an array of brands — including Camp, Meri+Jayne, Seventh Sense and Green Lily — all of which will be utilized for both CBD and cannabis purposes.

To move its CBD products to market, the company will have three separate strategies: wholesale, e-commerce and kiosks. The latter strategy is an indication of Horvath and his team’s extensive retail knowledge, as they work to grow their brand. Kiosks help to reduce leasing costs for retail exposure while selling brand-specific emotional brands at a relatively inexpensive price. One executive on the team had significant success with this strategy as a former executive of Sunglasses Hut.

By the end of 2019, Horvath’s company expects to have approximately 1,400 SKUs on the market. Should it reach this goal, Green Growth Brands would have a strong case for dominating the CBD products market. The timely passing of the 2018 Farm Bill may only serve to speed up the process.

Additional Benefactors of the Hemp Bill

Prior to the final signing of the Farm Bill, Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) (TSX: CRON) grabbed headlines by entering into a subscription agreement with tobacco company Altria Group, Inc. Altria agreed to make an equity investment in Cronos of approximately $2.4 billion. The strategic partnership provides Cronos Group with additional financial resources, product development and commercialization capabilities. Cronos is one of the few Canadian producers listed on a major U.S. exchange, while not having any current operations in the country.

Another company that’s been keeping its eye on U.S. regulatory changes is Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED). The company wasted no time in commending the passing of the Farm Bill by announcing that “Canopy Growth will participate in the American market now that there is a clear federally permissible path to the market. Consistent with the spirit of the Farm Bill, Canopy Growth will participate in ways that support American farmers.” Canopy already has a deep hemp-specific portfolio of intellectual property through a previous acquisition of Colorado-based ebbu, Inc. In addition, much speculation has surrounded the potential for the company’s ongoing partnership with Constellation Brands to develop new cannabinoid-infused products, which will likely include a line (or multiple lines) of CBD drinks.

Following the closing of a reverse takeover of RockBridge Resources, Inc., vertically integrated Harvest Health & Recreation (CSE: HARV) announced the acquisition of Colorado-based CBx Enterprises, a producer of cannabis products and technologies for extraction and processing. Harvest’s footprint spans across 10 states, including California, Colorado and Massachusetts. The company reported revenue of $29 million in 2017 and has made $18 million in investments resulting in 40 permits and licenses across the United States. Having focused its attention solely in the United States, Harvest has no immediate plans for international expansion. With each regulation change in the Farm Bill, the company’s fortune appears to look brighter.

However, the Farm Bill’s passing may not please companies solely focused on the dispensary side of the sector. After already going through a rigorous process to be licensed in the states that it operates in, groups such as MedMen Enterprises, Inc. (CSE: MMEN) (OTCQX: MMNFF) gained exclusivity to carry and sell legalized cannabis products. Upon hemp-derived CBD becoming legal and available, the door to more open competition in the space could open widely. MedMen doesn’t seem to be fazed by the passing, having recently announced the finalization of the acquisition of Chicago-based PharmaCann, one of the largest medical cannabis providers in the United States, with ten retail stores and three production facilities across multiple states.

Whether or not federal legalization is in the cards for the United States is up in the air. However, the unfettering of CBD could be seen as the first step. Now with the anti-cannabis stance of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions out of the way, the path to legalization starts to get a little bit clearer. With the majority of Americans, including Republicans, now in favor of legalization and a bevy of CBD-infused products on the way, the days of cannabis prohibition may be on their way out. With a soon-to-be-launched line of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) personal care products, Green Growth Brands is poised to enter the potential billion-dollar CBD market opened up by the Farm Bill’s passage.

For more information on Green Growth Brands, visit Green Growth Brands (CSE: GGB) (OTCQB: GGBXF). Please also visit PotStockNews.com.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW – Arkansas Delays Issuing Medical Cannabis Cards

Patients who applied and got approval to join the medical cannabis program in Arkansas will have to wait until February to receive their medical cannabis cards from the state. The delay comes amidst the inability of cultivators to provide medical cannabis to the licensed dispensaries.

Arkansas residents voted to change the constitution in 2016 so that medical cannabis could become legal in the state. However, the process of implementing that change has taken longer than was expected.

The Department of Health in the State is reluctant to give residents medical cannabis cards when medical cannabis supplies aren’t available. The authorities feel that patients would incur an unnecessary cost since the cards are only valid for a year and one must renew the card before accessing medical cannabis. Getting the card several months before dispensaries are ready to sell products would therefore mean that a portion of the card’s validity was wasted.

However, many patients view their desire to have the medical cannabis cards in a different light.

The cards issued by the health authorities in Arkansas can allow the cardholders to acquire temporary licenses from the nearby state of Oklahoma. These temporary cards can be used to buy or grow medical cannabis from the Oklahoma medical cannabis dispensaries. Federal law doesn’t permit marijuana to be moved across state lines, so anyone interested in buying or growing medical cannabis from out of state has to be ready to stay in that state until what they purchased is used up.

The temporary licenses are only valid for 30 days, so there is no chance that an applicant will buy medical marijuana in more than one state. The verification process done before the temporary card is issued confirms that the applicant resides in a state where a medical cannabis program is legal but medical cannabis isn’t available as yet.

Some Arkansas residents have attempted to use the approval letters issued after their medical cannabis applications were processed, but the Oklahoma authorities have rejected those letters.

The stance of the Medical Marijuana Authority in Oklahoma is understandable because the approval letters may not have vital details, such as the medical marijuana card numbers that can be used to track the activities of the cardholders.

For now, Arkansas residents may have to wait until the state prints their cards. That may give those who are badly in need of medical cannabis one month within which to take advantage of the temporary licenses issued in Oklahoma. In case the Arkansas program delays even further, the patients can continue renewing their Oklahoma permits.

Green Hygienics Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: GRYN) and Golden Developing Solutions, Inc. (OTC: DVLP) sympathize with the patients in Arkansas and hope that a viable solution for their plight is found soon.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW – Marijuana Justice Initiative Could Wipe Off Some Cannabis Convictions in Washington

Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, issued a statement on Friday (January 4) announcing a “marijuana justice initiative” which will help residents with a single cannabis misdemeanor conviction on their record to apply for clemency.

The initiative is intended to reflect the current change regarding the status of marijuana in the state. The Democratic Governor felt that it was unfair for state residents to continue being adversely affected by a minor marijuana possession conviction long after the substance became legal to consume.

Under the initiative, approximately 3,500 people would be eligible for clemency. This estimate was arrived at after looking at the records of the misdemeanor convictions between January 1998 and December 2012.

The initiative will only be open to individuals who are residents of the state and they were prosecuted within the state. Those with more than one conviction aren’t eligible under this plan.

Similar plans to expunge marijuana criminal records in other jurisdictions have been dogged by complaints that the process is slow and expensive, sometimes not worth the effort expended. However, Washington State will process the clemency applications online, and this should expedite the process and make it affordable.

Speaking at a marijuana industry conference, the Governor said it was unfair for people to continue finding it hard to secure financing, get jobs or even accompany their kids on some excursions just because a given individual has a marijuana conviction dating way back. Wiping such convictions from the criminal record of the affected people would allow them to have as much of a normal life as possible in light of the way marijuana law has evolved in the state.

The website through which eligible individuals can apply for clemency has a form that one must fill out. It is not clear at this point what else will be required once someone has filled that form. It is also not known how long the clemency application will take before an applicant knows the outcome of the application.

For now, everyone in the industry, including Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE) and Generation Alpha, Inc. (OTCQB: GNAL) are glad that the past will no longer unjustifiably haunt people who were found guilty of possessing small amounts of a substance that is now legal.

Those who aren’t directly affected by such a blot on their history may think that the marijuana justice initiative is too little and too late, but tell that to someone who wants to buy a home and his or her financier rejects the mortgage application after doing a background check on the person. The initiative may just be what a person needs to hope and believe in a better future.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW – Want to Make Money in 2019? Think About These 3 Cannabis Trends

As the year comes to an end, many investors are evaluating their portfolios and are planning how to reallocate funds from losing investments to other avenues where the earning potential is higher. If you plan to make money from the cannabis industry, read on and discover the three trends that you can consider as you make your 2019 investment allocations.

Think Small

Seasoned investors know that the worst time to acquire interests in an entity is when the price is at its peak, because that means that a market correction will soon happen and latecomers will lose out.

Similarly, people who are planning to invest in the marijuana industry need to move away from the large-cap companies and examine the small-cap companies. There is logic in this approach because many of the large-cap entities are most likely to have partnered with a large entity in the past year (2018), so their shares are likely to have hit an all-time high.

Instead, think of smaller companies, such as those valued at less than a billion dollars. Such companies may have better prospects going forward because you will be positioned to get a slice of any gains they make when big players come knocking to acquire a stake in those companies.

However, you also need to be cautious and avoid very small companies, such as those valued at less than $200 million because the long-term survival of those companies may not be certain as yet.

Look to Auxiliary Companies

It may also be a smart move for investors to put some money in companies that complement the companies involved with the cannabis plant directly. For example, a good place to start would be the companies that provide packaging materials to the cannabis industry. These auxiliary companies are a good investment choice because they will grow as the industry grows, and they often have a foot in other industries, so they are a smaller risk when compared to the companies which “touch the plant.”

Slot CBD In

Cannabis drinks are likely to take the world by storm, and many of them will not cause a high. That means investing in a company that has interests in CBD (from industrial hemp, for example) may line your pockets as the popularity of CBD oils and drinks reaches feverish level in the years to come. Current trends point in this direction, especially after hemp was legalized by the federal government and more states are legalizing either medical or adult-use cannabis.

As always, do your due diligence before making an investment decision. You can start by watching the journey of Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF) and ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) in order to get an idea of the historical trends for cannabis companies, and then branch out in the direction that you think holds most promise to you as an investor.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW – The Shameful Cannabis Irony: Everyone, Except Scientists, Can Easily Access Marijuana

The difference between U.S. federal marijuana laws and the legal framework in many states around the country has created an ironical situation in which everyone can easily access marijuana in state-legal and states where cannabis is still illegal, but scientists who desperately need high-quality cannabis for research purposes cannot get it.

This situation is very frustrating for the scientists because they know that the private sector in states where cannabis is legal has made available cannabis of very high quality, but scientists can’t lay a finger on it due to federal restrictions.

Instead, the scientists are made to jump through endless hoops in order to get an often inadequate supply of cannabis from the Mississippi University facility authorized to grow cannabis for research purposes.

That cannabis is so inferior in quality that it would never get a buyer if it was put on the open market and buyers compared it to what is available for medical or recreational use in jurisdictions where cannabis is legal.

It is also disturbing that the federal authorities claim that there isn’t sufficient research to back the claims that cannabis is medicinal, and yet the very authorities have made it hard for cannabis research to be conducted. In essence, a catch-22 situation has developed.

These legal roadblocks aren’t likely to end soon, given that the two houses (Congress and the Senate) are unlikely to agree on anything related to marijuana since one is largely Democrat while the other is controlled by Republicans who are renowned for their opposition to any reforms aimed at relaxing cannabis laws.

However, not all is lost. The federal government recently invited qualified entities to apply and grow cannabis for the different research programs that will be approved in 2019. This may break the monopoly held by Mississippi University, but it may not be time to celebrate just yet because issues of quality may still arise in case the selected firms don’t come with the mindset that what they produce must be at par with what the commercial entities are providing to the public.

The other factor that brings hope is the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. With hemp now legal, it is likely to get easier to study cannabinoids since hemp also contains some limited amounts of THC. The feds may therefore be compelled to ease restrictions since the people studying CBD will also be interested in looking at THC and other cannabinoids.

The entire cannabis industry, including FinCanna Capital Corp. (CSE: CALI) (OTCQB: FNNZF) and Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTCQB: ETST) long for the time when the scientific community in the U.S. will find it as easy to get cannabis for research reasons as ordinary people get the product for medical or recreational use.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW – Marijuana Law Changes in Mexico and Canada May Finally Change Texas Attitudes

The legalization of marijuana in Canada, and the impending legal change to marijuana laws in Mexico now leaves Texas isolated as the only jurisdiction in that area where cannabis isn’t legal. This “engulfment” is likely to generate sufficient pressure to cause a change in Texas sooner rather than later.

Already, public opinion in the state has shifted in favor of lesser punishment for those found in possession of small amounts of cannabis.

Moreover, Kim Ogg, the Harris County District Attorney, entered office in 2017 and started a new program in which small-time cannabis offenders would avoid jail time and a criminal record if they enrolled for a drug education class and stayed clear of re-arrest on similar charges.

This “diversion program” has also been replicated in at least one other Texas county. Ogg reasoned that it wasn’t helpful to devote badly needed resources to hunting down, prosecuting and incarcerating people on minor drugs charges and yet those resources could be put to better use to make communities safer by dealing with other pressing law enforcement issues, such as stemming the growth of child sex abuse online.

In a parallel measure that shows where Texan law is going, the state legislature passed a law in 2015 enabling doctors to prescribe CBD oil for patients whose conditions were unresponsive to the existing conventional drugs.

That law in effect shows that medical marijuana isn’t far off from being legally available as a complementary treatment beyond the narrow description provided as that bill was passed.

Interestingly, Texas also has the distinction of having the cities where the highest amount of cannabis is consumed despite the existence of prohibitionist laws. Research has it that Houston consumes approximately 21 metric tons of marijuana annually. This makes the city rank at number four on the list of the top ten cities in terms of marijuana consumption around the country.

Dallas is also in the top 10, coming in at number seven with an annual consumption of approximately 15 metric tons of cannabis.

So, where is all that weed coming from if no cultivation is allowed in Texas?

In the past, smugglers met the demand by moving cannabis from Mexico to the Lone Star state. However, the relaxation of cannabis laws in the states neighboring Texas has provided a domestic (U.S.) source for the Texas cannabis black market.

In fact, consumers now prefer the superior quality of marijuana produced within the U.S. rather than the crop from Mexico that doesn’t conform to any quality standards. It is now known that licensed growers in the states where medical marijuana is allowed produce much more than what can be consumed within those states. The excess product finds its way into the black market, and this reality has been causing federal prosecutors sleepless nights.

Wouldn’t it be wiser for Texas, and the federal government to legalize cannabis in order to end this cat and mouse game with the black market? Such a decision would ease many of the legal minefields in the way of Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV), Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and the entire cannabis industry.

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420 with CNW – Cannabis is More Potent than it was a Decade Ago, Study Finds

Researchers who collected and analyzed data taken from at least 28 European countries have discovered that the potency and price of cannabis has increased significantly over the last decade.

The researchers from King’s College London and University of Bath found that the strength of cannabis has doubled from what it was 11 years ago. The data used in this study was taken from the data collected by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

The researchers looked at cannabis from two perspectives or categories. One was herbal cannabis and the other was resin cannabis.

The concentration of THC doubled from five percent to 10 percent between 2006 and 2016 in herbal cannabis. Similarly, cannabis resin had its THC content jump from eight percent to 17 percent between 2006 and 2017.

The price of herbal cannabis and cannabis resin also rose steadily during the years analyzed by the researchers. For example, the price of a gram of herbal cannabis rose from 7.36 Euros ($8.41) to 12.22 Euros ($13.97) between 2006 and 2016.

The researchers also observed that while the THC content of cannabis was increasing with time, there was no commensurate rise in the CBD content of cannabis over the same duration covered in the study.

This increase in the concentration of THC raises many concerns since users are more likely to show the psychoactive (and potentially harmful) side-effects of using marijuana. In contrast, a higher CBD content moderates the psychoactive elements of cannabis, so it would be beneficial to see CBD rising in tandem with any increase in THC content.

However, the seizures made by British police show that cannabis resin has stable or reducing levels of CBD and yet the THC content has been growing. This is in contrast to herbal cannabis whose CBD level has been relatively constant even if THC has increased.

Globally, approximately 192 million people use cannabis either for medicinal or recreational purposes. However, these numbers are likely to increase as more jurisdictions pass laws ending prohibition or allowing medical marijuana.

It is therefore necessary to conduct thorough research about the likely impact of this highly potent cannabis on the market. Similarly, regulators need to find ways to regulate the potency of the cannabis released into the market in a way that is similar to how alcohol potency is controlled. For now, consumers should take a cautious approach and remember that a gram of cannabis today may be the equivalent of more than two grams of cannabis a decade ago, so less can be consumed while still offering the same ‘high’.

TransCanna, Therma Bright, Inc. (TSX.V: THRM) (OTC: THRBF) and other industry players have been calling for the relaxation of prohibitionist laws in the U.S. so that the scientific community there can study marijuana and facilitate the growth of the industry without exposing users to avoidable risks.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Will Bring Cannabis Visionaries and Investors Together

  • Presented by Benzinga, the upcoming cannabis conference will be held at the Eden Roc in Miami Beach, Florida; it is the go-to source event for investors who want the latest news and opportunities from the burgeoning sector
  • The conference will kick off on January 15 with an invite-only C-Suite retreat for cannabis operators; the audience will be just 100 C-Suite executives; a pre-retreat reception will be held the night prior
  • The conference will feature company presentations, networking receptions and an all-star lineup of knowledgeable keynote speakers talking about the global opportunities for cannabis

Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference (CCC) will offer attendees a fast-paced comprehensive lineup of speed networking, a specially selected lineup of keynoters, corporate presentations for investors and a look at the future of cannabis internationally. It will be held January 15-16 at the Eden Roc in Miami Beach (www.BenzingaCannabisConference.com).

The attendee mix is expected to consist of 25 percent institutional investors, 20 percent retail investors, 40 percent public cannabis companies, 10 percent private cannabis companies and five percent media.

Reserve your place and book hotel rooms for CCC now at http://cnw.fm/42sPg. Be sure to learn more about how you can qualify for special discounted tickets and hotel rooms.

“Benzinga’s Cannabis Capital Conference brings together the crème de la crème of the cannabis world,” Neal Hamilton, vice president of marketing for Benzinga, stated in a recent press release. “Benzinga has long presided as a financial media leader, offering broad coverage relative to the cannabis space. We now bring that standout expertise to a live setting where entrepreneurs and investors can network, forge deals and learn from today’s top cannabis influencers, policymakers and innovators.”

CCC will showcase the following public and private companies:

  • AmeriCann Inc. (OTCQB: ACAN)
  • Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX: ACB) (NYSE: ACB)
  • Cannex Capital Holdings Inc. (CSE: CNNX) (OTCQX: CNXXF)
  • Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. (CSE: HARV)
  • CEDR HR Solutions
  • CuraLeaf Holdings Inc. (CSE: CURA)
  • DionyMed Brands Inc. (OTC: HMDEF)
  • Growcentia
  • iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc. (CSE: IAN) (OTCQX: ITHUF)
  • InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCQX: IMLFF) (TSX: IN)
  • KushCo Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: KSHB)
  • LGC Capital Ltd. (TSX.V: LG)
  • Liberty Health Sciences Inc. (OTCQX: LHSIF)
  • MariMed Inc. (OTCQB: MRMD)
  • Medicine Man Technologies Inc. (OTCQX: MDCL)
  • Medipharm Labs Corp. (TSX.V: LABS)
  • MJ Freeway
  • New Frontier Data
  • Newstrike Brands Ltd. (TSX.V: HIP)
  • Plus Products Inc. (CSE: PLUS)
  • Pure Global Cannabis Inc. (OTC: PRCNF) (TSX.V: PURE)
  • Radicle Inc./Gage Cannabis
  • Starbuds/Compass Cannabis
  • Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTC: TCNNF)
  • Valens GroWorks Corp. (OTCQB: MYMSF)
  • Wayland Group Corp. (OTCQB: MRRCF) (CSE: WAYL)
  • High Tide Inc. (CSE: HITI)

For more information, visit the event’s website at www.BenzingaCannabisConference.com

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

CannabisNewsWire is at the epicenter of the Cannabis Revolution.

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420 with CNW – Cannabis Drinks Likely to Be a Big Hit in 2019

As calls for marijuana legalization sweep across the U.S., many companies are gearing up to provide yet another way to get your high, by sipping marijuana. Cannabis-infused drinks are poised to be a big thing in 2019 and beyond if the undertones surrounding the cannabis industry are to be believed.

First, industrial hemp is now legal to grow after the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law. This means that companies will have a huge source of CBD (the non-psychoactive cannabinoid in hemp and marijuana) to use when making cannabis beverages.

Such drinks may be the first to become popular since name-brand giants like Coca-Cola have expressed an interest in making them. Those beverage giants have massive experience in building a brand from scratch and distributing it to all corners of the world cost-effectively, skills that will be crucial in getting the cannabis drinks to as many people as possible without affecting their cost.

Secondly, the medical use of marijuana is growing rapidly and more states are due to pass legislation or vote on ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana. This sector will also provide huge opportunities for cannabis drinks to take root and thrive. Already, one brewer has put a non-alcoholic cannabis beverage on the shelves of medical marijuana dispensaries. You can bet that more such drinks are in the offing, and consumers may be spoilt for choice by the end of 2019.

A number of craft beer makers have also gotten in on the action and it is now easy to find “cannabis beer” in states where recreational cannabis is legal. However, that beer just contains terpenes that give the beer flavors similar to cannabis flavors. Consequently, you aren’t likely to get a double-high (drunk on beer and high on marijuana). So, don’t be fooled when you see the image of a marijuana leaf or plant slapped on a beer can.

There’s a major reason why you are unlikely to find an alcoholic drink that contains THC. The existing laws in the country don’t allow any maker of alcohol to include THC among the ingredients used to make that alcoholic drink.

This legal provision has a firm foundation in logic, for you wouldn’t want to learn the hard way what a concoction of different intoxicating substances can do your body and mind.

If you didn’t know about that provision of the law, then you need to be first in line to get your ticket to the upcoming Cannabis Drinks Expo in San Francisco so that you can interact with different players in the cannabis industry, such as Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) and VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF) as you sip on the different drinks available.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW – Malawi Drafts Bill to Legalize Marijuana Farming

The parliament in Malawi has drafted a bill that will make it legal to grow marijuana and hemp both medicinally and industrially. The bill comes at a time when the country’s export earnings have taken a huge hit as tobacco sales decline year by year.

Tobacco sales have been bringing in at least 60 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, but the sustained anti-smoking efforts spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other groups have triggered a downward trend in the number of people who smoke. Malawi is feeling the effects of those efforts.

Moreover, the estimated value of the largest tobacco companies in the world, such as Altria (makers of Marlboro) and British American Tobacco (BAT) has declined by at least 20 percent.

In the U.S. alone, there has been a 67 percent reduction in the number of smokers from 1965. Today, approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population smokes tobacco cigarettes, and this number continues to reduce year by year.

The cannabis and hemp industry has therefore been lobbying the Malawi government to pass enabling legislation so that the country can diversify its sources of foreign currency earnings. Their campaigns are bolstered by the global trends which show that cannabis and industrial hemp are on the rise as huge commercial crops.

For example, an acre of land on which 2,500 hemp plants are grown fetches approximately $60,000 annually in the U.S., while a similar number of tobacco plants on an acre of land brings a paltry $5,000 annually to Malawi. Making the switch to hemp and cannabis would therefore be a no-brainer when these statistics are considered.

Additionally, the cost of growing hemp and cannabis is likely to be much lower in Malawi given that the country has favorable climate that can allow outdoor grows throughout the year. This is unlike the climate of Canada and the U.S. where indoor facilities have to be used to have supplies of cannabis and hemp all year round.

If the bill is passed, then Malawi will join the ranks of South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe where cannabis prohibition has ended. The question on everyone’s mind is, when will the U.S. federal government finally see the errors of continuing to prohibit marijuana while the rest of the world is legalizing marijuana and allowing researchers and entrepreneurs to understand and commercialize the plant? The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF), The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and other cannabis industry players are also asking themselves that question.

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CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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For more information please visit https://www.CannabisNewsWire.com

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