Invest in MJ Blog

Boulder, Colorado-based Tradiv is raising a $1 million round as it gears up to launch its B2B marketplace for cannabis cultivators, marijuana infused product companies, and dispensaries.

That’s right: The B2B pot ecosystem is unfolding right before our eyes.

Backed by Cannabis accelerator CanopyBoulder and accelerator partner Micah Tapman, Tradiv revealed the raise in a public filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The weed startup has so far raised $650,000, according to the filing — at least $20,000 of which likely came from CanopyBoulder, in exchange for a whopping 9.5 percent equity stake. The filing also lists Emily Paxhia, partner of Cannabis-only fund Poseidon Asset Management; and former Microsoft Surface manager, Nick Hofmeister.

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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.

Economy of Scale - The cost advantage that arises with increased output of a product. Economies of scale arise because of the inverse relationship between the quantity produced and per-unit fixed costs; i.e. the greater the quantity of a good produced, the lower the per-unit fixed cost because these costs are shared over a larger number of goods. Economies of scale may also reduce variable costs per unit because of operational efficiencies and synergies. Economies of scale can be classified into two main types: Internal – arising from within the company; and External – arising from extraneous factors such as industry size. – “Investopedia”

I am constantly asked “how can I expand my cannabis business across state borders?”  I am then forced to explain how the U.S. system of federalism works.  Even though medical and/or recreational use of cannabis may be legal in your state, it is not legal on a federal level.  Why?  This boils down to the same issue concerning banking for the cannabis industry – the Schedule I Classification of cannabis makes its possession, use, cultivation and/or sale a federally illegal activity.  Then logically following, from a federal perspective, the proceeds of activities involving Schedule I “drugs” are the proceeds of illegal activities. 

Constitutional law then forces us to examine two important issues – (i) Preemption and (ii) Interstate Commerce.  The “Supremacy Clause” states that state laws which conflict or contradict federal law, are null and void.  Federal law is therefore the “law of the land”.  So in essence, all state legalization of cannabis, in any category, will not be “legally” recognized by the federal government with respect to law enforcement.  These real battles are being fought every day in states that have legalized cannabis use.  For the moment, the federal government seems to content to allow the great cannabis experimentation to continue, while occasionally issuing “safe-harbor” guidance that is quickly disregarded.

World's Most Visible Cannabis TV Expert Makes Live Appearance at Canada Cannabis Conference Media Tour in Toronto on June 22, 2015

Beverly Hills, CA (PRWEB) June 14, 2015

Cheryl Shuman is pleased to announced that she has formed a joint venture alliance with both Jacob Securities and the Canada Cannabis Conference. In this international venture, Jacob Securities and Cheryl Shuman have teamed up to recruit the participation of the biggest names in the investment world, celebrity culture and in the legalized international marijuana market.

Cheryl Shuman will be hosting and presenting at the Canada Cannabis Conference, created by Jacob Securities Inc., on June 22, 2015

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - May 27, 2015) - MyDx, Inc., (OTC PINK: MYDX), the developer of MyDx™ (My Diagnostic), the first handheld chemical analyzer for consumers, has signed an exclusive patent sublicense agreement with Next Dimension Technologies, Inc. ("NDT"), a developer of electronic nose chemical sensing technology used by NASA, and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Under the agreement, NDT will license intellectual property relating to its chemical sensing technology that enables the MyDx Analyzer to sense, measure and report chemicals of interest to its customers. The company has exclusively licensed the use of the sensor technology to characterize and detect compounds in Cannabis.

"Offering the Cannabis Industry a friend in Science & Technology is an exciting step for MyDx," said Daniel Yazbeck, the company's Chairman & CEO. "We currently are the only company offering a practical Cannabis analysis solution at an affordable consumer price point. With this exclusive agreement, we now also have the intellectual property needed to further protect this competitive advantage."