GB Sciences Inc (GBLX)

[Supermeatball]

Marijuana Medication: Hope or Hype?
May 31, 2017

By Pat Anson, Editor

A Las Vegas company that is developing a new cannabis-based treatment for chronic pain has lost money since its inception and there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to survive, according to reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

But don’t give up on GB Sciences just yet, says its new chairman and CEO.

“We’re not as financially lame as you might suspect,” John Poss told PNN. “We’ve really done some interesting and groundbreaking research into cannabis.”

Last week GB Sciences issued a press release touting an application by its subsidiary, Growblox Life Sciences, for a patent on new treatments for chronic pain and heart conditions. The company claims to be developing “novel pain formulations” that are substantially free of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

"These new chronic pain and heart formulas adhere to GB Science's strategy of commercializing complex mixtures of cannabis-derived compounds whose pharmaceutical activity does not require THC,” Poss said in the news release.

But a review of GB Sciences’ most recent quarterly report with the SEC could raise some doubts among pain patients and investors about whether the company has the resources to develop a cannabis medication. At the end of 2016, GB Sciences had no revenue and over $28 million in debt and liabilities.

“These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern,” the quarterly report says.

But Poss maintains GB Sciences turned a corner in March after raising $9 million from investors. A marijuana grow facility in Las Vegas has also come on line and will soon be producing revenue. Poss thinks the company will be breakeven in cash flow by early next year and could launch a small pilot study of its cannabis medication.  

“Either we have something or we don’t. And we’ll find out within a year. If we have something or at least a strong indication that we have something, then our ability to raise money to do a formal clinical trial is greatly enhanced,” said Poss, who hopes to eventually partner GB Sciences with another larger company.

“Before we make bold statements about spending $100 million, we need to spend half a million and find out if it works, which not everyone can do. And we can do that.”   

GB Sciences’ stock (GBLX) trades on the over-the-counter “Pink Sheet” market for about 26 cents a share. Historically, the company paid its executives, creditors, and partners with millions of new shares, stock options and warrants, which diluted the value of existing shares. It also gave the company a reputation as a “pump and dump” operation, which Poss says he is working hard to change.

https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2017/5/31/marijuana-medication-hope-or-hype