Invest in MJ Blog

A historic deal between the Suquamish Tribe and the State of Washington was recently signed and entered into.  It allows a Native American Tribe to cultivate, process, and sell marijuana within a state’s highly regulated marijuana system.  While the Tribe’s own marijuana regulations have not been disclosed to the public, this does set a precedence and we expect more Native American tribes will follow suite in various States around the US and in other countries like Canada.

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board negotiated the compact with the Suquamish Tribe on behalf of the state. In the compact, the state gives its own interpretation of the Wilkinson statement, writing that “[t]hat memo effectively treats tribal governments the same as state governments in the decision to legalize marijuana.”

Hilary Bricken’s provides her analysis, “The Suquamish Marijuana Compact: First in the State, First in the Nation”:  http://www.cannalawblog.com/the-suquamish-marijuana-compact-first-in-the-state-first-in-the-nation/

August 5, 2015 

Pennsylvania drugmaker Zynerba Pharmaceuticals ($ZYNE) is making its way to Wall Street with some cannabis-derived treatments for central nervous system disorders, raising $42 million in an IPO.

The company priced 3 million shares at $14 each, the middle of its range, and set aside another 450,000 shares for its underwriters to line up for as much as $51.8 million in total.

With the proceeds, Zynerba will press forward with a pair of early-stage transdermal patches that mete out cannabinoid chemicals to treat a host of CNS ailments. ZYN002, slated to enter clinical trials in the second half, has shown promise in refractory epilepsy, Fragile X syndrome and osteoarthritis pain, the company said. And ZYN001, in line for Phase I next year, targets fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathic pain.

The promise of cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals has drawn a slew of companies to the field over the past few years, including GW Pharmaceuticals ($GWPH) and Insys Therapeutics ($INSY). But unlike its further-along competitors, Zynerba's treatments are synthetically manufactured and don't require growing and maintaining cannabis plants, which the company bills as a practical and financial advantage. Furthermore, Zynerba's transdermal therapies get their active ingredients straight into the circulatory system, avoiding the bioavailability issues that can plague oral treatments that must first navigate the stomach and liver.

Zynerba is led by CEO Armando Anido, appointed in 2014 after stints at the helm of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Endo Pharmaceutical ($ENDP) for about $2.6 billion, and NuPathe, which went to Teva ($TEVA) for $144 million last year.

Meanwhile, biotech's ongoing IPO boom has continued unabated into the second half of 2015, marked by a record debut for Patrick Soon-Shiong's NantKwest ($NK). And the queue of drug developers angling to go public remains full, as Zynerba joins a group including gene therapy outfit Gensight Biologics and food allergy biotech Aimmune Therapeutics.

The original post can be seen here.

These days it’s harder than ever to break through, especially in an industry whose bandwagon is quickly filling up like the SF cable car. There is so much noise, everyone is screaming and trying to get their message across, staking their claim in the green rush. It’s great in the sense that without gatekeepers more people are able to express their ideas, but the downside is that it’s harder than ever to actually be heard. I, personally, like when the best ideas win.

So, how do you find your breakthrough idea? Many people know generally where they want to go, but it takes more than that. There are five major ways to get to your “idea destination”. You don’t even have to do all five. Pick one and execute it well. That’s enough to make your name in the cannabis industry. 

Start with a niche strategy then expand strategically outward

You can’t just say I’m going to be the expert in something. In that category, you will compete with the entire world. You have to narrow it down. The secret to that however, is that you don’t want to be pigeonholed doing that. You need to move into new territory from there. It’s all about circling the area around a niche. A good niche is one that you can become the master of, because the big players in the industry only talk about it periodically. Where do you get the seed for finding a niche? Well, solving your own problem is one way. If you are in a situation, others are too. Also, draw from your personal experiences. Notice needs and find a solution. 

BOULDER, Colorado and SAN DIEGO, California—June 16, 2015—Shift Cannabis Company and Innovative Solutions today announced a dynamic alliance that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform the medical cannabis industry. Through the use of the Puradigm cutting edge technology, used to manage and control microbial, mold, and pathogen growth during indoor cultivation, these two companies are tackling head-on one of the most prominent and pertinent issues facing the commercial cannabis industry today.

The alliance aims to redefine the way medical cannabis growers produce product using the advanced Puradigm technology to purify the air and surfaces in the grow environment. Working together Shift Cannabis Co. and Innovative Solutions will be able to address key cannabis industry cultivating challenges including:

• Controlling microbial and pathogens throughout the production facility
• Purifying air and surfaces in grow rooms for clean flower development
• Managing the dry and cure process by attacking gray mold and botrytis
• Providing a clean process for packaging and storage of clean product

Shift Cannabis Co. is involved in all core markets of the cannabis industry from seed to sale providing professional business services to retailers and producers alike. With over a decade of commercial, regulated cannabis cultivation expertise, and over fifteen years of combined experience in cannabis organizational management including Lean and Six-Sigma Processing, their leadership team only utilizes products that work. When asked about his corporate culture Travis Howard, Founder and General Manager of Shift, had this to say, “As a former attorney I was used to being able to test theories against long-standing case law so I made sure our team had test gardens, places where they could break and fix, infect and clean, really put inventions to work under real-life demanding circumstances. If we haven’t used it, effectively, we don’t consult it. Period.”

Naturally Splendid Enters into Definitive Securities Purchase Agreement to Acquire 51% interest in POS BPC Manufacturing Corp. 

Vancouver, British Columbia - June 15, 2015 - Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. ( “Naturally Splendid” or “NSE”) (FRANKFURT:50N) (TSX VENTURE:NSP) (OTC:NSPDF) is pleased to announce it has entered into a definitive securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with POS Management Corp. (“POS Management” or “POS Bio-Sciences”), a wholly owned subsidiary of POS Holdings Corp. (“POS”), whereby POS Management will sell 51 Class A shares of POS BPC Manufacturing Corp. (“BPC”) to Naturally Splendid and, in consideration of which, Naturally Splendid has agreed to pay CAD $1,750,000 (the “Cash Payment”) to POS Management and will issue 367,647 common shares of Naturally Splendid (the “Consideration Shares”) at a deemed price of $0.68 per share to POS Management. POS Management also agreed that the Consideration Shares will be subject to a trading restriction for a period of 12 months from the date of issue.