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1/20/15 Arizona MMJ Sales Triple to Hit $112M
Tags: arizona medical marijuana, cannabis market data
arizona medical cannabis
Medical marijuana is booming in Arizona.
Dispensaries in the state recorded $112 million in medical cannabis sales last year, nearly triple the total in 2013, according to the Arizona Department of Health’s year-end report.
The stata’s 63,417 active cardholders purchased just over 9.1 metric tons of MMJ in 1.4 million individual transactions, and just five dispensaries accounted for 20% of those sales, according to the report. Patients are allowed by state law to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis every 14 days.
The average patient made 17 cannabis purchases through the year, with average prices coming in at an estimated $350 an ounce.
In addition, the number of transactions rose from roughly 80,000 in January 2014 to more than 166,000 in December, with sales growth followed a similar arc.
The number of registered patients also jumped more than 40%.
“Interestingly, the uptick in the number of applications for qualifying patients after June 2014 is also partially attributable to the increase in the number of new dispensaries,” the report reads.
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This past weekend, over 3000 Americans died of Cancer.
On January 21, 2015, at 9:49 AM, PhDScientist wrote:
Today, tomorrow, and every day after that, 1,500 more Americans will die, in pain, of Cancer. Every single minute another American dies of Cancer. Every American Cancer patient deserves the right to have safe, legal, and economical access to Medical Marijuana. Every single one.
Americans who need Medical Marijuana shouldn't be used as "Political Footballs" Please call the Whitehouse comment line at (202) 456-1111 and ask that the President take immediate action to remove Marijuana from Schedule 1 so American Physicians in all 50 states can prescribe it.
Oncologists have know it for more than a quarter of a Century that Marijuana is a "wonder drug" for helping Cancer patients.
The American Society of Clinical Oncologists wants Marijuana removed from Schedule 1. So does the American Medical Association, the professional society of all Physicians. A strong majority of Americans want Physicians in all 50 states to be able to prescribe Medical Marijuana. So do their Physicians., Cancer patients can't wait.
The need to immediately, completely, legalize Marijuana throughout the world is one of the most pressing moral issues of our time, because of its medical benefits and because of the damage prohibition causes to America and to the world.
Complete legalization is critical -- its vital that there aren't "strings" or "hoops" that Cancer patients and others who need Medical Marijuana are forced to jump through.
"Charlottes web" is NOT the solution. Cancer patients and people who suffer from chronic pain need THC, not just CBD. The "Berkeley study", where 96% of stage 4 Cancer patients who had a wide variety of Cancers achieved remission, used high dose Medical Marijuana oil, 72% THC, 28% CBD, 1 gram/day (oral) over a 90 day course of treatment. It was a small study, and not placebo controlled, but those kinds of results are clearly remarkable, have been widely reported on in the press, and demand the need for immediate large scale clinical trials.
http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfra...
More and more present and former members of law enforcement agree about the need to end prohibition, and have formed a rapidly expanding group of current and former undercover cops, FBI, DEA, prosecutors and Judges, from all over the world, called
LEAP -- Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
because they've seen the damage prohibition causes to America and the world.
See http://www.leap.cc/
I'm a Scientist. Not a politician, not a cop.
But as a Scientist with a strong interest in Cancer research, I feel even more strongly about the need to ensure that no Cancer patient is denied it, because I'm so impressed with its benefits for Cancer patients.
I urge everyone reading this to PLEASE call and email the Attorney General, the press, Congress and the President today.
Medical Marijuana helps with Alzheimer's, Autism, Cancer, seizures, PTSD and chronic pain, and has helped many Americans, including many veterans, stop using Alcohol, and hard drugs, both legal and illegal ones.
Every minute an American dies of Cancer.
Every 19 minutes an American dies of a prescription drug overdose.
Many vets become addicted to prescription opiates and die from them.
NOBODY has ever died from smoking too much pot.
Cancer patients are seeing remarkable results using high dose Medical Marijuana oil, in many cases achieving complete remission, even for stage 4 cancers -- there are many excellent articles on the web, and videos on youtube with patient's personal stories about their experiences with it -- and every Cancer patient that uses Marijuana to ease their suffering benefits greatly from doing so.
Please see http://boingboing.net/2014/12/......
It is immoral to leave Marijuana illegal, for anyone, for even a second longer.
For Cancer patients, its a matter of life and death.
Cancer patients can't wait.
Medical Marijuana has an unmatched safety profile, and for people who suffer from so many diseases, of so many kinds, its a medical miracle -- and the scientific evidence behind it is rock solid.
For Cancer patients, Medical Marijuana encourages apoptosis and autophagy of Cancer cells, while leaving normal cells untouched, is anti-angigogenic, anti-proliferative, and is anti-angiogenic.
Its also synergistic with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, making both more effective.
For many Cancer patients its meant the difference between life and death.
For everyone else, its a far safer alternative to Alcohol, and infinitely safer than Cigarettes.
Either take them off the market too, or legalize Marijuana right now.
2016 is too far away, Its too long to wait. Every year we lose more Americans to Cancer than died in WWII.
Between now and the 2016 elections, roughly 1 MILLION Americans will die of Cancer.
And Its a horrible way to die.
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The CannaDx Sensor is being programmed to test for the presence of the most important compounds of interest in #Cannabis, including #THC and #CBD. Using the associated App, MyDx will allow patients to track how each marijuana strain is making them feel or what it’s helping them relieve, based on the chemical composition of the plant, not the way it looks, smells or sounds. Are you ready to begin testing?
1/19/15 Chart: Increasing Pace of Recreational, Medical Marijuana Legalization
Tags: cannabis measures, marijuana laws, marijuana legalization
COTW01 19 15 Chart of the Week: Increasing Pace of Recreational, Medical Marijuana LegalizationBy Jennifer Mann
If the recent past is any indication, the cannabis industry should be optimistic for legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana at the state level in 2015 and beyond.
Over the last five years, a whopping 16 cannabis legalization measures cleared state legislatures or were approved by voters (not including CBD-focused initiatives). Of those, five measures legalized recreational marijuana – in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington State and Washington DC.
During the previous nine years – from 2001 to 2009 – just five states legalized medical marijuana, and none moved forward with rec.
In fact, more marijuana legalization measures have passed at the state level since 2010 than before that year, dating all the way back to when California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis in 1996.
All of that bodes well for the future of the industry as advocates attempt to push through recreational or medical cannabis measure this year and next in scores of states. Even some states that have been viewed as laggards on the cannabis front, such as Missouri and Kansas, are mounting well-organized ballot initiative petition drives and/or lobbying state legislatures to pass marijuana legalization measures.
Jennifer Mann can be reached at jenniferm@mjbizmedia.com
http://mmjbusinessdaily.com/chart-of-the-week-increasing-pace-of-recreational-medical-marijuana-legalization/
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1/16/15 Study Could Increase Support for Rec MJ in Vermont
Tags: Vermont recreational marijuana
The chances of recreational marijuana legalization in Vermont could get a boost from a new study that shows the state would be rolling in the greenbacks if it approves such a measure.
The study, conducted by the RAND Corporation, was commissioned by Vermont to give officials a better idea of the potential impact of legalization. A state senator has said he will propose a bill this year to legalize recreational cannabis.
The RAND report estimates that recreational marijuana would pump $20 million to $75 million annually into the state’s coffers if the industry is “taxed aggressively.” That projection assumes that overall consumption of cannabis would rise by 25%-100%.
ChicagoV1 300x150 Study Could Increase Support for Rec MJ in VermontBut there’s a caveat: Vermont needs to act before other New England states legalize cannabis in order to maximize its financial benefit.
“Vermont also could end up supplying large numbers of out-of-state users, directly via marijuana tourism or indirectly — unless and until other states in the Northeast also legalized marijuana,” the report reads.
The study also pointed out several other key statistics: It estimated that state residents consume 15 to 25 metric tons of cannabis annually and spent between $125 million and $225 million on cannabis in 2014 alone. The report also says the number of regular marijuana users living within 200 miles of Vermont’s borders is 40 times the customer base living in Vermont.
Related Stories
•VT Moves Forward With Marijuana Legalization Study
•Recreational Marijuana Bill Introduced in Vermont
•WA Rec Sales Rise 5%, Set Daily Record to End 2014
$573 million in pot sales: Here are 12 stats that define the year in marijuana
Published: Dec 26, 2014, 3:29 pm
By Ricardo Baca, The Cannabist Staff
We can opine anecdotally on how legal marijuana sales changed Colorado in 2014, and we’ve done just that recently — read my “year in the life of the world’s first marijuana editor” essay here.
But since we’re journalists we also track down the hard numbers that show legal marijuana’s definitive impact on the state in this first year of recreational pot sales. And a glance at the numbers, statistics and calculations below will give you a very clear picture of what legal, regulated, first-of-its-kind marijuana looks like in the Rocky Mountains.
1. 130.3 metric tons
That’s Colorado’s annual demand for marijuana — equal to 36.8 million “eighths” of cannabis flower.
Makes you wonder how many Coloradans use cannabis regularly …
2. 485,000
That’s the number of adults who are 21 and older using marijuana regularly (at least once a month), and it’s about 9 percent of the state’s population.
And what about those using more often than that …
3. 23 percent
That’s the amount of Colorado’s user population that consumes cannabis near daily.
But what about the out-of-state tourists visiting Colorado and purchasing legal weed …
4. 90 percent
That’s the amount of recreational pot sales out-of-state tourists are responsible for at shops in mountain resort communities.
But how much of Colorado’s annual demand are these tourists actually buying …
5. 7 percent
That’s the amount of Colorado’s annual pot demand purchased by out-of-state tourists.
But has Colorado pot gotten more or less expensive since the sales first began on Jan. 1 …
6. -9 percent
That’s the price drop on a recreational eighth of marijuana flower at a dozen prominent Colorado pot shops from January 2014 ($53.88) to December 2014 ($48.95).
But how much did Colorado sell in recreational cannabis …
7. $246,810,599.03
That’s the state’s total recreational marijuana sales, as counted from January to October (November and December data isn’t yet available from the Colorado Department of Revenue).
And what about total medical sales …
8. $326,716,273.59
That’s Colorado’s total medical marijuana sales, also from January to October. (Yep, that’s $573,526,872.62 in 10 months for both recreational and medical pot sales in Colorado.)
And what are the majority of the state’s medical marijuana patients claiming as their need for medicinal pot …
9. 103,918
That’s the number of medical marijuana patients reporting “severe pain” as their condition for a license — or 94 percent of the state’s total patients.
So what does all of this mean for the taxes raised by the sale of legal marijuana in Colorado …
10. $60.1 million
That’s the amount Colorado has brought in via taxes, licenses and fees on recreational and medical marijuana, from January to October.
And what about the cannabis-infused edibles, the cookies and gummies and brownies that proved to be surprisingly popular in this first year of recreational sales …
11: 10 milligrams of THC
That’s the state-standard single-serving size for marijuana edibles, with 100 milligrams maximum allowed in an individually packaged product being sold recreationally.
And did these edibles end up making for a crazy Halloween, as some thought they would …
12: Zero
Thats’ the number of reports of THC-laced candy given to trick-or-treaters on Halloween, regardless of widespread concern that legal marijuana would lead to pot-laced candies in children’s Halloween hauls.
Kansas senator: Legalized medical marijuana is inevitable
By Bryan Lowry -
Eagle Topeka bureau 01/15/2015 3:32 PM
Rep. Gail Finney, of Wichita displays a letter M (for marijuana) presented to her during a rally in the Kansas State House to legalize medical marijuana.
Rep. Gail Finney, of Wichita, speaks to a rally of medical marijuana supports who hope to get it legalized in Kansas.
Sen. David Haley of Kansas City talks with supporters of medical marijuana during a rally in the Kansas State Statehouse.
David Mulford of Hutchinson, a medicinal marijuana advocate, attends a rally in the Kansas State House Thursday afternoon. Mulford along with others are hoping to see medicinal marijuana legalized in Kansas.
› ‹
Rep. Gail Finney, of Wichita displays a letter M (for marijuana) presented to her during a rally in the Kansas State House to legalize medical marijuana. Bo Rader / The Wichita Eagle
Legalization of medical marijuana in Kansas is inevitable, Sen. David Haley told a crowd of about 30 supporters at a rally in the rotunda of the Capitol on Thursday afternoon.
Haley, D-Kansas City, and Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, have introduced companion bills in the House and Senate, SB 9 and HB 2011, that would allow medicinal use of marijuana.
Haley pointed out that 23 states and the District of Columbia have already approved medical marijuana.
“We have to get this done,” Haley said. “Everyone in this Capitol knows that one day, one day, medical marijuana will be available in every one of the 50 states. We know that. The question is … will Kansas be the 24th state or the 50th?”
Haley called medical marijuana common sense. He and Finney have introduced the legislation every year since 2009 and in previous years have struggled to find any support, but this year they’re a bit more optimistic. Haley noted that the policy would receive an informational hearing next week.
Finney said legalizing medical marijuana and taxing it would generate an additional $1.3 million in revenue for the state.
They have at least one Republican lawmaker on board. Rep. J. Basil Dannebohm, R-Ellinwood, spoke in favor of the legislation at the rally. Dannenbohm, a freshman Republican, said one of his constituents has a child who suffers seizures who could be helped by medical marijuana.
“I don’t know if it’s breaking party lines. I don’t know if this is a party issue. You know I had a young constituent come to me with a son … who has 30 seizures a day. They’ve tried everything,” he said. “A child deserves to live a semi-normal life. How can I in good conscience not at least explore the opportunity?”
“It’s about getting voices heard. It’s about getting the data. It’s about getting over the stigma. I mean, my goodness gracious, alcohol was considered evil for quite a time in Kansas history,” Dannebohm said. “Let’s start a dialogue. Let’s start a conversation.”
A few other Republican lawmakers observed the rally and said they were keeping open minds. Rep. Steve Anthimides, R-Wichita, said he would welcome a hearing on the issue, and Rep. Joseph Scapa, R-Wichita, said he opposes recreational use of marijuana but is interested in learning more about medical uses.
The bill will still face an uphill battle. House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, and Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, have both voiced opposition to medical marijuana in the past.
David Mulford, a 56-year-old Hutchinson resident, said he already uses marijuana for medicinal purposes and credits it with saving his life.
“I’m here today because of it. Since the ’80s I’ve suffered from massive debilitating muscle spasms. … Those spasms, the only thing that would stop them was cannabis and it’s just been a miracle,” said Mulford, who suffers from cardiovascular spasmic angina and uses a wheelchair.
“What this does, though, is let me live a life that’s not totally encumbered by pain,” Mulford said.
Jennifer Winn, who is mounting a campaign for mayor of Wichita after previously running for governor, also attended the event.
Haley and Finney were presented with green felt M’s from Esau Freeman, a Wichita activist, in recognition of their commitment to the issue.
Reach Bryan Lowry at 785-296-3006 or blowry@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BryanLowry3.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article6686262.html#storylink=cpy
Hedge Fund Trader Talks About Trading the Cannabis Sector
Marijuana Trends & Articles - Marijuanastocks.com
Jan 19, 2015
After a wild year for marijuana stocks in 2014, many of our viewers and members contacted us asking for our opinion and outlook for 2015. So what did we do? The MarijuanaStocks.com team sought out the advice of an experienced, professional hedge fund trader to see how he was maneuvering this market. The following is his report. Enjoy. We sure did.
Trade and Run or Buy and Hold?
Marijuana Plant or Biotech?
Many people have asked me what the best way to invest in the marijuana industry is. My response is not one specific company but rather an overall strategy based on different niche sectors that has allowed me to profit quite handsomely from a market overflowing with uncertainty, regulation and volatility. Understanding how each niche sector is effected by the evolving industry and how investors react regarding the different risk factors of each sector is key.
I compare the Marijuana Industry to the Internet Boom. The similarities from an investment stand point are eerily similar. Although the Internet was not bound by regulation, the volatility and investor craze was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my career. But you could NOT just simply put your money into any new Internet company and not check it for a year or two. Maybe 90% of the Internet IPOs failed. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t massive amounts of money to be made trading them. Then, as the industry developed, matured and the potential of the Internet was fully understood by investors, the Apples, Microsofts, and Yahoos began to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. And those were the companies that you could put your money in and not look at it for years to come.
But when an industry is just starting, as the marijuana sector literally is before our eyes, it is nearly impossible to identify the future leaders when there is so much speculation and outside factors like regulatory issues state by state and by the overall government. That is why I am not holding one single “marijuana company” yet. I am trading them. Why? Because any company that is directly affected by regulation of the cannabis plant is not a safe long-term investment, yet. And I stress the word yet because eventually the industry will mature enough to where a select few marijuana companies will be a buy and hold. But for now, trade the volatility. Get in and get out. During the last 8 months, I am averaging 2-3 day holding periods on cannabis stocks.
Now, there is, however, another niche sector of the cannabis revolution that has been a buy and hold. And that is because it is in no way affected by the regulation of the actual marijuana plant. That sector is biotech. Companies using cannabinoid structures to produce various drugs and medicines to treat specific ailments and hopefully achieve FDA approval. To date, this is the only sector of the cannabis revolution, in my opinion, that has been a safe long term investment.
Volatility levels are nowhere near like what we see in marijuana companies. And that is because the success of a biotech company’s stock is much more determined by the company’s ability to execute on their business plan. A marijuana company can execute their business plan quickly and efficiently and receive proper licensing but will still see negative performance if a major regulatory event hinders the industry. Similar to the overall sell-off we saw in marijuana companies when Florida declined the use of medical marijuana. This is why you must trade these companies quickly. There are too many outside factors that will affect your investment.
Biotech vs. Marijuana
When looking at biotech companies operating in the cannabis space, you see a very steady and solid long term uptrend. On the other hand, when looking at marijuana companies dealing with the plant or ancillary products, you see a distinct long term downtrend with several quick momentum building trades mixed in between.
Biotech
There are two clear leaders in the cannabis revolution and they are both biotech companies. Neither company actually touches the marijuana plant itself and are not held to the same restrictions and regulatory exposure. This has allowed these two companies to execute on their business plans free of outside risk and uncontrollable factors making them safe long term investments to this point. In addition, the biotech sector is the only niche cannabis sector to see institutional support giving the retail investor a sense of security. Now, of course every stock will have its ups and downs, but the point to take from this is that the biotech sector is the only sector of the marijuana revolution still holding significant gains over the past 12 months or longer.
GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) INSYS Therapeutics Inc. (INSY) GWPH and INSY are both sporting solid, consistent uptrends while posting gains well over 500% for those who bought and held over the last 12-24 months. The biotech cannabis sector has proven to be the only niche sector to maintain a long term uptrend making it the only sector, to date, worth holding.
Marijuana
Companies dealing directly with the marijuana plant and/or its ancillary products, have been extremely volatile providing excellent trade opportunities. However, anyone who used the buy and hold model in this sector is left with near worthless investments. This is a direct result of the unknown risk element involved with regulatory actions and investors trying to understand how the state by state approval/denial of medical/recreational marijuana will effect a company’s business model.
Medbox Inc. (MDBX)
Medbox would be placed in the ancillary products niche sector. As you can see, MDBX has experienced a severe downtrend over the last 12 months. However, there have been several very profitable quick trades throughout 2014. Take your profits and move on. Anyone who left their money in MDBX for an extended period of time saw their investment melt away.
Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MJNA)
Medical Marijuana, Inc. has experienced a distinct downtrend for the past 12 months with a couple profitable trades mixed in between. Throughout the entire year, there was only one instance where it was safe to hold MJNA for longer than 4 days.
Cannabis Science Inc. (CBIS)
Cannabis Science, too, has been in an overall downtrend for the past 12 months with a few profitable trades throughout.
The list of marijuana companies in a downtrend goes on and on with many charts depicting a very similar picture as the ones above. This even stretches into the vapor industry, another ancillary marijuana sector.
Summary
The marijuana industry is growing, but is still in its infancy stage. Similar to what we saw during the Internet Boom, as time progresses I expect to see companies separate themselves from the pack while others fade away into oblivion. Until the outside, uncontrollable risk factors are not as much of a catalyst, marijuana companies will remain nothing more than quick trades for me. But I stress, I am very positive on the future of this industry. I simply think it is still young. As the sector develops, the opportunity for long term buy and hold investments will become clearer.
But as of today, my buy and hold strategy will be in the biotech cannabis space as they are not subject to the regulatory exposure that has proven detrimental to a company’s stock. I will continue to trade the momentum and volatility of marijuana companies because they do provide excellent liquidity and profitable opportunities. But I will likely not hold a position longer than 4-5 days at a time.
Bills would legalize medical marijuana in Indiana
Kristine Guerra, kristine.guerra@indystar.com 7:02 a.m. EST January 19, 2015
Two Democrats — one in the Senate and one in the House — have introduced bills that would allow the use of medical marijuana in Indiana.
Senate Bill 284, by Sen. Karen Tallian, and House Bill 1487, by Rep. Sue Errington, would allow people with a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for medical purposes.
Tallian's bill would create the Department of Marijuana Enforcement, or DOME, which would oversee a program for those who use marijuana for treatment. The Democrat from Portage has long fought for legalization of marijuana in Indiana, but her efforts have failed. She has introduced bills that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. Two bills Tallian wrote the past two years died without a hearing.
In an earlier interview with The Indianapolis Star, Tallian said she hoped a more narrowly defined bill focusing on people with certain medical conditions would gain more support in Indiana.
Errington, of Muncie, is advocating for medical marijuana use after hearing from constituents who are suffering from chronic pain and seizures, according to a news release. HB 1487 defines a "qualifying patient" as someone who has a written recommendation from a physician to use cannabis. Under Errington's bill, people with medical conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease and others could use cannabis for treatment.
But experts have said that the chances of a Republican-controlled legislature legalizing marijuana are pretty slim, and that Indiana likely would be one of the last states to do so.
Last month, Congress passed a spending bill that would end federal raids in states where medical marijuana is legal. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some fashion.
Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.
Oregon lawmakers busy filing marijuana bills
Proposals look at taxing pot, sales near schools, labeling requirements
By Taylor W. Anderson / The Bulletin / @taylorwanderson
Published Jan 18, 2015 at 12:01AM
SALEM — Oregon legislators filed more than a dozen marijuana-related bills last week, giving early insight into how they’ll tinker with a new law that will legalize recreational marijuana starting this July.
The proposals show what lawmakers may do now that Oregon is the nation’s fourth state to take on regulation of the federally banned drug.
Measures filed would prevent marijuana from being grown or sold near schools, would require labeling at marijuana shops and require the state to study pot taxation.
House Bill 2147 would order the Department of Revenue to create a report on the best way to tax pot sales. The bill would give the department until Sept. 15 of this year, months before the state will start licensing recreational retailers in 2016, to deliver the report.
Another bill, by Rep. John Lively, D-Springfield, would limit a physician to approving medical marijuana cards for no more than 450 patients.
Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, is chief sponsor of Senate Bill 445, which would require a posted notice at marijuana retail shops to warn of “the harmful effects of marijuana on pregnant women … and the potential for marijuana to cause birth defects.”
A similar law is in effect in Washington, where stores must give notice that marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, said Brian Smith, spokesman for the Washington liquor board, which regulates marijuana there. The notice in Washington says nothing about birth defects.
A bill by Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, would prevent the Office of Child Care from certifying child care facilities and giving them state funds when regular employees at the facility possesses a medical marijuana card.
Two more bills by Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, and his wife, Rep. Gail Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, would create a 1,000-foot buffer zone between schools and marijuana dispensaries.
The Legislature’s involvement in marijuana is just getting started. Geoff Sugerman, a lobbyist with clients in the industry, said he’s already tracking more than two dozen marijuana-related proposals.
Ballot Measure 91 directed the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to regulate marijuana licenses and sales, but lawmakers will have a big hand in what the law looks like when the OLCC starts issuing licenses.
Anthony Johnson, director of New Approach Oregon, the chief proponent of Measure 91, said in a written answer to questions that the Legislature should “get the basics right” first, before addressing other issues.
“Measure 91 is a well-written law that’s flexible enough to be changed as needed,” he said, adding the state should focus on labeling, testing and childproofing “before adding in a bunch of last-minute changes that could disrupt the implementation process.”
Lawmakers in early meetings showed their views differ on the state’s role in marijuana regulation. Some were dismayed that voters passed the measure, others thought the state could do a good job of regulating marijuana if it was regulated like alcohol.
— Reporter: 406-589-4347,
tanderson@bendbulletin.com
Social-conservative lawmaker fights for legalizing medical marijuana
State Sen. Mike Folmer (R., Lebanon) says: "I feel like a missionary. I'm a Bible-believing Presbyterian. I don't even drink." AMY WORDEN / Inquirer Staff
Amy Worden, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
Posted: Sunday, January 18, 2015, 1:09 AM
HARRISBURG - Standing amid the lunchtime crush at the Pennsylvania Farm Show last week was a gray-haired man in deck shoes and a fleece vest, animatedly pitching an unusual - and illegal - product.
Like a street-corner preacher, Sen. Mike Folmer (R., Lebanon) was bringing his message to the people - in his case thousands of voters he hopes will pressure their representatives to support his bill to legalize medical marijuana.
Folmer stops anyone who will listen, alternately delivering a rant against Big Pharma - which he blames for holding up federal approval of medical cannabis - and smiling at wise-cracking visitors who ask, "Any free samples?"
"I feel like a missionary," he said Friday, pausing to pop in a throat lozenge before beginning his pot proselytizing again. "I'm a Bible-believing Presbyterian. I don't even drink."
But Folmer, a 59-year-old grandfather of seven and a social conservative from a largely rural district northeast of Harrisburg, was moved by two mothers who stopped in his office 18 months ago.
They told him they believed medical marijuana could ease their children's epileptic seizures without the damaging side effects of the narcotics that doctors had been prescribing. Skeptical, he hit his computer to find out and soon became a convert to the cannabis cause.
"It was very compelling," he said. "I learned that it is nontoxic, no one's going to die. So I figured, no harm, no foul. There are too many sick people."
He teamed up with one of the state's most liberal lawmakers, Sen. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery). Their original bill cleared the Senate by a wide margin (43-7) before dying in the House last fall.
When the new legislative session opened in December, Folmer immediately reintroduced the bill. It calls for letting patients purchase medical cannabis with a doctor's recommendation from centers licensed by a newly created board.
Medical cannabis growers, processors, and dispensers would be licensed and regulated. Users would pay an access fee and would be barred from operating vehicles while taking the medication.
While the vast majority of Pennsylvanians support legalizing medical marijuana (85 percent, according to the most recent polls), questions persist among medical professionals.
Pennsylvania's association of registered nurses is on board with the bill, but the doctors' group wants to see more research. "Without medical research completed and indicating how to use a medication, it's difficult to support a bill," said Charles Moran, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Medical Society.
Last spring at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Philadelphia, researchers released a review of studies on the effectiveness of medical marijuana for neurological conditions, including epilepsy.
The review found there was not enough evidence to say whether medical marijuana is effective in treating epileptic seizures. Studies in animal models suggest that cannabidiol - a cannabis compound - acts as an anti-convulsant.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has launched a limited trial of cannabidiol treatment to see if it helps reduce seizures in children.
Folmer said neither parents of sick children nor adults with chronic conditions want to wait - or should wait - any longer. In his view, patients suffering from a range of illnesses are being prescribed narcotic cocktails of highly addictive and dangerous drugs that have little effect on these disorders.
On Friday, when a brisk but sunny afternoon drew a steady crowd to the show, Patti Bach breezed past Folmer's booth. She didn't need information. She already knew about the bill and voted against lawmakers who did not support it.
"I eat Vicodin like candy," said Bach, 56, of Carlisle, who said she suffers from debilitating chronic pain. "Cannabis could reduce the pain and allow me to function."
Bach, who said her 30-year-old daughter has severe epilepsy, said she had researched the issue extensively and discussed it with her doctor. "He said as soon as it's legal he would prescribe it for me," she said.
Monica Kline, a Harrisburg lobbyist who raises alpacas in Folmer's district with her husband, a former Army pilot, donated the booth space at the farm show.
Kline said her husband, a Vietnam veteran, hated to see returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder unable to find relief. Nor could she, who helps a mothers' advocacy group, bear to see another child suffer needlessly.
"We knew we had to change our booth," said Kline, daughter of former Lt. Gov. Ernest Kline. "Parents were losing children."
The bill stands a solid chance of becoming law if it reaches the desk of the incoming governor.
"Gov.-elect Wolf supports the legalization of medical marijuana because he believes we should not deny doctor-recommended treatment that could help people suffering from seizures or cancer patients affected by chemotherapy," said his spokesman, Jeff Sheridan.
House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) opposed the measure as GOP leader last year, but new House Majority Leader David Reed (R., Indiana) was a cosponsor of a House version of the bill.
New Jersey legalized medical marijuana more than five years ago under the then-governor, Jon Corzine, a Democrat. Its law covers patients suffering from one of a dozen diseases or ailments who have permission from a medical doctor and register with the program.
But the introduction was stalled when Gov. Christie, who opposes legalization, took office. Today the program serves 3,400 patients but remains so costly and fraught with problems that some families with sick children have fled to Colorado, where pot is legal.
Back at the Farm Show late last week, Folmer was busy handing out booklets detailing his bill, the medical research, and testimonials from Pennsylvania parents about the need for legalization.
He originally printed 2,000 booklets, but ran out the first weekend of the show. By late last week, more than 4,000 booklets had been handed out.
Folmer says he thinks he can win passage of his bill in the Senate by spring. Still, he said he feels every day he's in a race against the clock.
"My greatest fear is that I am going to get a call from one of the moms that one of the children has died," he said. "I'm not saying marijuana is a cure, but people ought to have the opportunity for help."
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Jim Shaw: Legalize medical marijuana
Posted on Jan 17, 2015 at 11:37 p.m.
It will likely be defeated in the North Dakota Legislature, but …
•It’s time to legalize medical marijuana in North Dakota. State Rep. Pam Anderson, D-Fargo, is introducing a bill that would do just that. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. It’s legal in about half the states, including Minnesota and Montana.
It is used for a variety of purposes, such as chronic pain, seizures, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and nausea from cancer chemotherapy. It is also tightly controlled. It is prescribed by physicians, recipients often receive special identification cards, and it is only distributed in special locations. A recent special on CNN showed it helped senior citizens in Israel, and an 8-year-old girl in Colorado who had uncontrollable seizures. Nothing else worked for that girl until she tried the marijuana.
I suspect opposition to the idea is in part because it’s called marijuana. If it was called “medical smith” or “medical jones,” it probably would have a better chance of passage. What’s the difference between taking medical marijuana or the legalized prescription narcotics? Those drugs can make you high or dizzy, can become addicting, and can kill you from an overdose.
There’s no guarantee that medical marijuana will help a given patient, but chances are that patient is in chronic pain, and nothing else has worked.
•Bothered that President Barack Obama did not march in Paris. He should have joined other world leaders in their walk for freedom and against terrorism. If the security was good enough for the leaders of France, Germany and Israel, it should have been good enough for Obama.
•Good to see Lake Park, Minn., Mayor Aaron Wittnebel has resigned. Wittnebel entered an Alford plea to the felony count of financial exploitation of an adult. In other words, he admitted the state has sufficient evidence that he mishandled the funds of his sister, who has Down syndrome. Wittnebel had lost support from the community.
•Often forgotten while celebrating the success of Bison athletics is the man whose vision took them to division one: former North Dakota State University President Joe Chapman. When Chapman decided to move up, many at the time thought it was foolish, too risky, or doomed to fail. However, Chapman realized the athletic program and the entire university had untapped potential. Chapman raised both to levels of distinction.
•If I lived in New Jersey, I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled knowing the state’s governor, Chris Christie, is a diehard fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Christie sat with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in his private box during playoff games.
Last I checked, New Jersey has its own NFL teams. The Giants and Jets play their home games in New Jersey. Moreover, the Eagles play just a few miles from the New Jersey border. The Giants and Eagles are bitter rivals of the Cowboys, as they all play in the same division.
What would people think if Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton was a big fan of the Packers, Bears or Lions?
Shaw, Fargo, is former WDAY TV reporter, and former KRRR TV news director. He can be heard Fridays, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on WDAY AM radio. Email jimshawtv@gmail.com
Supporters aim to put marijuana on 2016 ballot
By REGINA ZILBERMINTS
rzilbermints@sunherald.com Twitter: RZilbermintsJanuary 17, 2015
TIM ISBELL/SUN HERALDPeople wanting the legalization of marijuana in Mississippi can sign a petition to get it on the ballot in 2016. TIM ISBELL — SUN HERALD |Buy Photo
Supporters of marijuana legalization in Mississippi are making two broad arguments in hopes at least one of them will win over voters. One is about social justice. The other -- and the one many volunteers along the Coast are focusing on -- is money.
More than 800 volunteers, and counting, have fanned out across Mississippi armed with petitions and passion. If they can get more than 107,000 signatures -- or more than 21,000 from each of Mississippi's five districts -- marijuana legalization will be on the 2016 ballot. If voters decide in favor of the referendum, Mississippi could go further in legalizing marijuana than any state to date.
"A lot of people are motivated because bad things have happened to their families because of cannabis laws," said Kelly Jacobs, a longtime state Democratic operative who is sponsoring the initiative. "Or they want better things to happen with cannabis.
"Marijuana, for an enormous amount of Mississippians, is about wanting a choice."
Social change faces considerable headwind in the state, though, where voters backed a ban on same-sex marriage, for example, and conservatives rule a Legislature that favors restrictive abortion laws and only grudgingly allowed gambling.
Ballot Initiative 48 proposes a constitutional amendment with two parts. The measure legalizes the production, sale and use of recreational and medicinal marijuana and industrial hemp. It also requires the governor to pardon anyone with a nonviolent marijuana-related conviction.
Because the measure is a constitutional amendment, the onus would be on the state Legislature to amend Mississippi's drug laws to
fall within its scope.
It would require the state to tax recreational marijuana at 7 percent with the proceeds going to public schools until at least 2020. The state would also set up a licensing system and collect fees. Recreational marijuana would be legal for those at least 21 years old, and cannabis-related crimes would be punished similarly to alcohol-related offenses.
The initiative would also require the health department to set up a system of dispensaries for medicinal marijuana and would allow industrial hemp growth and production.
On Tuesday, a group of supporters gathered at Government Street Grocery, an Ocean Springs bar, to begin collecting names.
Justin Lawson, who organized the gathering, wanted to talk hemp.
Spewing statistics on turnover time and hemp imports, he argued the plant could bring tens of millions of dollars to Mississippi's economy.
According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, the United States imported about $11.5 million in hemp in 2011. Canada, where production is legal, saw gross revenue from hemp-seed production between $30.75 million and $34 million.
Lawson argued Mississippi, with its available farmland, hospitable climate and economic need, could benefit even more from production. The nascent industry would bring jobs to the state and give farmers another way to make money, he said.
"It's a matter of either waiting or being one of the forerunners," he said. "This will open up so many more doors."
James Coleman also made the economic argument. In addition to hemp production, he pointed to the money the state would save on policing and incarceration costs for drug offenses, the tourism dollars it could draw and the tax money it would collect.
Jacobs' petition estimates Mississippi would bring in $17 million in sales tax during the first seven months of sales.
"It needs to be done," Coleman said. "Mississippi is always the last to do something. Here we could be first. It would be great for the economy."
Colorado, which imposed a 2.9 percent tax on medicinal marijuana, a 10 percent tax on recreational marijuana and a 15 percent excise tax, collected more than $44 million in the first 11 months of marijuana legalization there, according to the state's Department of Revenue.
Uphill battle?
Activists are hopeful -- some even optimistic -- but many understand they are fighting an uphill battle. Only two states -- Colorado and Washington -- have legalized recreational marijuana. The District of Columbia and 23 states allow medical marijuana but none of those is in the South.
On the other hand, Mississippi is one of 11 states that allows medical marijuana under very limited circumstances to treat epileptic conditions. In is also one of 18 states that has decriminalized marijuana possession to a certain extent. Minor possession charges are treated more or less like traffic tickets.
But cultivating or selling marijuana is still a serious crime in Mississippi. And the decriminalization law did nothing for those already convicted of marijuana possession.
That, along with the medicinal aspect, is what Jacobs is focusing on.
For the 55-year-old, who said she's never smoked marijuana and is "more interested in chocolate than drugs," marijuana legalization is about social justice.
Her press releases are filled with testimonials from Mississippians who say they want marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or pain. She also argued against the incarceration of people for low-level offenses.
In an American Civil Liberties Union report prepared before the state decriminalized the drug, the organization found in 2010 Mississippi had the 10th highest arrest rate for marijuana possession in the country, or 25 percent higher than the national rate.
The same report estimated Mississippi spent more than $16.7 million on marijuana enforcement in 2010.
"Here we are in a poor state that refuses to fully fund education, but they will incarcerate anybody over a plant that does not hurt anybody," she said. "It's ridiculous we've outlawed this. We cannot leave people in jail, separated from their families."
She and other volunteers will continue circulating petitions and helping people register to vote. She hopes to have the required signatures by July.
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Study: Marijuana Legalization Could Be Big Bucks for Vermont
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJAN. 16, 2015, 12:44 P.M. E.S.T.
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue if it were to legalize marijuana, but only if nearby states didn't also jump on the bandwagon, according to a study released Friday.
The study comes as states across the country increasingly explore the potential budget boost from taxing an underground industry, even while the nascent legal pot business in Colorado and Washington experiences growing pains.
In Vermont, the Rand Corporation found that revenue from marijuana consumers could generate between $20 million and $75 million a year for the state. The larger figure could be reached through what the report calls "marijuana tourism and illicit exports." It also found that nearly 40 times as many marijuana consumers live within 200 miles of Vermont than live in the state.
The preface to the report, which doesn't make a recommendation about whether the state should legalize marijuana, says it's meant to "inform the debate." While it was prepared for Vermont, it says its conclusions could be useful to other states considering marijuana legalization.
Such high revenue is by no means assured, the report said.
"If the federal government intervened to stop such cross-border traffic or if another state in the Northeast decided to legalize marijuana and set lower tax rates, these potential revenues might not materialize," it said.
Vermont allows the use of medical marijuana, and the possession of small amounts of marijuana has been decriminalized. Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin has said he believes the state will follow Washington and Colorado in legalizing it, but he wants to see how it plays out in other states before easing laws.
"I continue to support moves to legalize marijuana in Vermont but have always said that we have to proceed with rigorous research and preparation before deciding whether to act," Shumlin said. "This report will help us do that."
The price of marijuana in Washington has plunged since the sky-high prices when pot shops opened six months ago, and now growers complain the state isn't properly regulating supply. Regulators in Colorado have capped production to deter weed from spilling into nearby states, but that has meant more demand than supply.
Last spring, the Vermont Legislature passed a law requiring Shumlin's administration to produce a report about the consequences of legalizing marijuana. No proposals to legalize marijuana have been introduced in the Legislature.
After the Friday presentation by the report's authors, portions of it were recounted during a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee.
"It seems to me the big question is do we go forward with this," said Committee Chairwoman Janet Ancel, D-Calais.
She said the question on how to tax it is complicated.
The report provided few hard answers. It said that many questions can't be answered in advance, such as whether easing marijuana laws would increase abuse and how to keep it from minors and out of other states.
"There is no recipe for marijuana legalization," the report said, "nor are there working models of established fully legal marijuana markets."
Families fight for legalization of medical marijuana
Published on Saturday, 17 January 2015 21:39 - Written by Adam Russell, arussell@tylerpaper.com
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photo by Sarah A. Miller/ Tyler Morning Telegraph Papers are printed out at the Bortell home that show the United States' patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. The Bortells want their daughter Alexis to be allowed to try cannabinoid oil, a form of medical marijuana, to treat her epileptic seizures because she does not respond positively to pharmaceutical medicines. Prev 1 of 6 Next photo
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Dean Bortell feels as if he’s failed his 9-year-old daughter Alexis.
It’s his natural, fatherly duty to care for his child when she suffers, he said.
Bortell has been there for her childhood scrapes and bruises. He was by her side in the hospital when at a year old, she battled pneumonia. Doctors prescribed medicine, and she got through it, he said.
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But a year and a half ago, Alexis was diagnosed with something he and traditional medicine can’t fix.
Alexis suffers from intractable epilepsy, which can trigger seizures at any time, but mostly while she sleeps. She rarely has friends visit, because a compromised immune system can contribute to the frequency and severity of seizures. She also has never slept over at a friend’s house because her seizures tend to happen at night.
Her mother, Analiza, sleeps by her side each night, waiting for movements that might represent a triggering seizure.
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“My long-term fear is that she won’t have a normal life, that she won’t be able to be a kid, that she won’t be able to live as high a quality life as she could and that her seizures might cause irreversible, debilitating damage if they escalate as she ages,” Bortell said. “My short-term fear is SUDEP, sudden unexpected death by epilepsy.”
The Bortells tried more than a dozen medications and medicine combinations trying to minimize the frequency and severity of Alexis’ seizures. But the medications only made the events worse, “like throwing gasoline on a fire,” Bortell said.
Alexis became violent on some medications. She became “zombie-like,” on others, Bortell said, and physically injured herself on others.
The Bortells have crisscrossed the country searching for answers and treatment alternatives, but the only successful option they say they’ve found isn’t legal in Texas.
Alexis’ epileptologist and a team of neurologists believe cannabis extracts — including cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — could succeed where traditional medicines failed.
Bortell said he’s angry because he feels the state of Texas has failed him and thousands of other families by not yet recognizing the benefits of medicinal marijuana.
Alexis is a registered medical marijuana patient in Colorado but can’t take her prescribed medicine because her parents would face felony charges if Child Protective Services finds the drug in her system.
Bortell said he is at the end of the rope and is prepared to move to Colorado if legislation to allow Alexis access to medical marijuana does not become law this legislative session.
But in a ruby-red Republican state like Texas, proposals to legalize marijuana have garnered little traction. However, a wave of medical evidence showing cannabis’s medicinal benefits and public outcries for change from desperate families may be shifting the tide.
Public opinion is changing so much so that a group of Republicans are leading the way this legislative session to legalize medical cannabis in limited instances and in limited forms.
State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, has drafted a bill that would legalize cannabidiol-heavy oils used to treat epileptic seizures. The bill would address cases of intractable epileptic seizures and is supported by the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas.
Eltife said these severe epileptic conditions and CBD treatments were brought to his attention by Arp nurse Marcy Bingham, whose son, Jacob, 8, suffers from one of the rarest and most debilitating forms of intractable seizures — Dravet syndrome.
Jacob uses a wheelchair, can’t speak and requires around-the-clock medical supervision. His condition continues to deteriorate.
“This bill puts the focus on the patients, most of them children, who deal with horrible seizures on a daily basis,” he said. “I try to put myself in the parents’ situation, and it has to be tough to know something is there that can help their child but the state says, ‘No, you can’t.’”
THE FACE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Eltife said he believes Texas legislators will proceed cautiously when it comes to medical marijuana. But he believes his bill will gain broad support and give thousands of patients and parents treatment options they and their doctors should have.
The CBD oil, which is applied to food or rubbed into the patient’s gums, would be highly controlled and does not contain enough THC to give users the euphoric “high” associated with marijuana, Eltife said.
“This is to help their condition, not get them high,” Eltife said.
Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, will file a similar bill in the House.
Eltife said he will be open minded when it comes to other bills that might expand medical cannabis for other illnesses, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease and ALS, but that he’s focused on helping children, such as Jacob and Alexis.
Alexis said she’s ready to be a face for the legalization of medical cannabis in Texas. Bortell said he would have been shocked if he’d been told two years ago that he would be lobbying to legalize medical marijuana. He said he’s a Republican, Christian conservative and a disabled veteran who assisted in interdiction efforts in the war on drugs in and around the Caribbean.
But his daughter’s health prompted action, he said.
Moving is an option for Bortell, who is a software engineer for the Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, that would mean uprooting Alexis and her 5-year-old sister, Avery, from the only home they’ve ever known. But it would mean leaving behind grandparents, friends and their church, he said.
“We want to stay and fight for Alexis and thousands of other families who might feel they don’t have a voice,” Bortell said. “If we lose this time, we’ll move, but we will continue to speak out.”
Alexis has been speaking out and said she does so for children, such as Jacob, who can’t speak for himself.
She’s spoken in front of more than 2,500 people at a Dallas/Fort Worth National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws rally and will make the rounds, meeting House and Senate members on Tuesday during Patient Alliance For Cannabis Therapeutics’ patient lobby day.
The Bortells live in Texas House District 33, represented by Rep. Scott Turner, of Frisco, and Senate District 2, represented by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Canton, who both have conservative, Tea Party-type ideals.
Hall said it would be inaccurate to say he supported medical marijuana but that he supports “treatments and drugs legitimately prescribed by legitimate doctors.”
The freshman senator met with the Bortells recently, and while he sympathizes with them and other sick Texans, he said the details, such as setting limitations of access and determination of need within any bill regarding the medical use of marijuana, would decide whether it gets his vote.
“People need to have access to treatments and drugs their doctors prescribe, and that runs the spectrum from pharmaceuticals that aren’t available in the U.S. to marijuana,” he said. “But I will not support weak legislation.”
Hall “has questions and concerns, and I understand that,” Bortell said. “But he was nothing short of a statesman, because he was willing to listen and actively engaged in the conversation. That’s all we want is for them to listen, because if they hear the stories and what a growing number of doctors are saying, it should be a no-brainer.”
But, Bortell is worried other legislators may take a stance similar to Turner, who told the family he would not support any cannabis bill.
In an October statement to the Bortells, Turner said, “I understand that a parent would do almost anything to reduce the suffering of their child, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families facing these difficult situations. At this time, however, I do not support legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. In addition to significant moral and ethical concerns, there is widespread disagreement in the medical profession regarding the safety, effectiveness and long-term side effects of this proposed treatment.
“As a legislator, I will continue to engage in a thoughtful process, speaking to medical professionals, fellow clergy, families, ethicists and other medical professionals, so I can continue to make an informed, principled decision in this matter,” Turner wrote.
Turner didn’t respond when asked by the Tyler Morning Telegraph at a recent Austin event about his stance on medical marijuana to help people with debilitating diseases.
When asked if he was aware Rep. Klick would file CBD legislation in the House, Turner said he was aware of the bill and would listen.
“I’m a good listener,” he said.
The Texas Sheriffs Association has gone on record that it would vigorously oppose legislation with cannabis components, including medical marijuana, broad legalization or decriminalization. Bortell also expects pharmaceutical companies that have invested billions of dollars in FDA-approved drugs to lobby to stop medical cannabis bills.
Dr. Bob Deuell, a 30-year family physician who served as District 2 state senator from 2003-2015, said his main concern would be controlling the drug. He said the abuse of prescribed medications is a real problem, and that he suggests only specialists, such as general neurologists, should prescribe the drug as a medicine of last resort.
Deuell noted a recent Journal of Neuroscience study that showed the detrimental effects of marijuana on young brains.
“It’s addictive, and it causes damage,” he said. “I don’t think it should be the first line of defense, but if a specialist refers it, I don’t think its use should be restricted (by that patient).”
But he said some prescription drugs, such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, are “more dangerous than medical marijuana.”
Deuell said he had a file of bills that would have addressed laws restricting the use of medical marijuana similar to Eltife’s. He said he’s glad Eltife is carrying it.
The Bortells said they have received nothing but support, albeit, reluctant and probing at times, from other legislators.
MEDICINE vs. “POT”
The District of Columbia and 23 other states, including Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Arizona and California allow the medical use of cannabis.
Colorado’s medical marijuana laws allow eight qualifying conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms, seizures and severe pain.
Other states’ conditions lists vary but include drugs for Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, PTSD and migraines.
Mrs. Bingham sees Eltife’s bill as the only chance for Jacob, who has multiple seizures each day because of advancing Dravet Syndrome.
Like the Bortells, the Binghams have traveled the country to meet with geneticists, neurologists and other specialists looking for options. But after trying 16 medications with no relief, they are considering moving to Colorado for access to a kind of CBD oil that has helped hundreds of Dravet Syndrome sufferers.
“We’re desperate,” Ms. Bingham said. “There are no more drugs to give him. The ones they have given him have caused horrific side effects, and we’re asking to use extracts from a plant but the state of Texas has said, ‘No, no, no.’”
The high-CBD concentrated strain, Charlotte’s Web, is named after Charlotte Figi, a Dravet patient, who suffered hundreds of seizures each week before she began taking daily doses of the oil. Since she began treatment, she has reported dramatic physical and cognitive improvement.
The Epilepsy Foundation Texas believes CBD oils should be an available treatment option if patients, their family and their physician-led medical teams feel it might reduce the number of seizures and limit the possibility of severe consequences including death and major disability.
The Epilepsy Foundation will support the limited use of non-euphoric cannabidiol (CBD) rich oil in Texas for the treatment of severe epilepsy as directed and guided by board certified physicians.
“We support Sen. Eltife’s bill, so Texans and their families do not have to move from our state to have access to this promising treatment option.
“CBD oil is an important ray of hope for those who have not found success with current treatments,” said a foundation spokesman in an emailed statement.
But Bortell said Charlotte’s Web would not help his daughter, because the ratio of CBD is too high and does not help a large number of intractable seizure sufferers.
Bortell said ratio numbers in the pre-filed version of the bill released by Eltife’s office appear to be at the threshold of what would help Alexis.
“That’s where the doctors told us to start,” he said. “It’s an arbitrary number until doctors experiment with the ratios to find what works for her.”
Neurologist William Gilmer, chairman of the Texas Medical Association’s Science and Public Health committee, said Bortell’s concern is exactly why government should allow scientific studies of the hundreds of natural compounds in cannabis and determine their uses and effectiveness in various forms on various illnesses.
The medical association likely will support broader legislation regarding medical marijuana, but his personal opinion is that government should not dictate his treatment options if his opinion is backed by science.
The Bortell’s situation is “the perfect example of why we should open this substance up to research. What constitutes the right ratio? Science answers those questions,” he said. “In my mind the Legislature should not tell me what I can and can’t prescribe if there is scientific evidence supporting it.”
Dallas/Fort Worth National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Director of Operations Max Davidson called any bill suggesting Colorado-style legalization of recreational marijuana “dead on arrival.”
Davidson said the group is focused on medicinal use and helping patients with debilitating illnesses, including epilepsy, various forms of cancer and even PTSD. But the group does not support “CBD-only” legislation that could narrowly limit its value to millions of suffering Texans, he said.
The group also wants to see marijuana possession decriminalized for people carrying less than one ounce of pot.
Legalization remains the group’s long-term goal, he said.
“Right now we are focused on helping people who are suffering and dying needlessly. It’s a pro-life stance, a quality of life stance,” he said. “But the organization is broadly focused on repealing marijuana prohibition in Texas and around the country, because it’s an antiquated, ignorant law.”
Eltife said he would not support broad legalization of marijuana, and he doesn’t expect legislators will view his bill as a foot in the door for recreational marijuana.
“No. We’re talking medicine. We’re talking about something that will be highly regulated and prescribed by board certified doctors. I truly believe that if (legislators) look at the facts and the medical benefits patients are experiencing in other states, they’ll view it as medicine and that is what I’m presenting and supporting,” Eltife said.
The Bortells said Colorado has one of the most stringent processes in the country when it comes to prescribing medical marijuana. Two board-certified specialists verified Alexis’ condition warranted access to medical marijuana in Colorado.
The family doesn’t care how heavily regulated the drug might be as long as they have access.
Bortell acknowledged arguments, including Turner’s regarding the lack of research and unknown side effects on patients and negative effects on brain development in young users. But quickly added that each could be refuted by various merits.
He’d rather risk points off his daughter’s IQ rather than infertility, liver and kidney damage and even death, which are side effects of legal prescription drugs prescribed to her.
Alexis could not finish her school aptitude tests while medicated, he said. She scored in the top 4 percent nationally on her last test.
He said legislators could expect to hear compelling testimony from patients and doctors regarding the benefits of medicinal marijuana.
At their doctor’s recommendation, Alexis is not using any prescription drugs now. Her parents monitor her around the clock, looking for warning signs, such as mood changes or blinking eyes — telltale signs a seizure could be looming.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/212089/families-fight-for-legalization-of-medical-marijuana
Bortell is hopeful legislators listen. He is hopeful they listen to patients and families and doctors who see the benefits of cannabis and approve a bill that will allow his family to stay home.
“All we’re asking for is a chance,” he said. “When the gavel falls in May, we’ll know if we have to leave Texas.”
Cannabusiness Takes Center Stage As Stocks Rally
Access wire 1 hour ago
CORAL GABLES, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2015 / Recreational cannabis, federal government easement on policy, and increase support from the masses has propelled massive industry growth for cannabis companies this year. Investors have found that there have been many opportunities to turn a profit during these very early stages of this industry boom. As the market continues to grow and the hopes of a less risk filled sector arise, investors continue to look for opportunity as more companies join the marijuana revolution. According to MMJ Business Daily, 2015 is expected not only to see more investment dollars flow into the market but it could even outpace the growth rate seen in 2014. The reason? States like Nevada, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Alaska have all been identified as industry drivers this year. Furthermore, the rise in "BIG MONEY" from some major investment funds has just started to hit the marijuana sector.
Oxis Inernational Inc (OTC:OXIS) has even attracted the likes of some of the top brass is research for cannabinoids. First the company brought on Dr. Sean Xie, one of the foremost research scientists for CBDs and just yesterday Oxis announce that it would be adding Dr. James Mule to the Scientific Advisory Boar. Dr. Mule is a Special Government Employee of the NCI and the FDA, recognized for his research and clinical contributions to cancer immunotherapy. As a result of these announcements, both volume and price have seen a jump. Wednesday of this week marked the highest volume day the stock has seen this year while price continues to churn between 0.025-0.027. CEO Tony Cataldo has been credited with developing biotech companies into industry leaders. His lasts endeavor with Genesis Biotech, now Lion Biotechnologies started out as a micro-cap company and grew into a company that trades above $8 a share. With his expertise, the company looks to follow a similar path in building a strong, industry-leading organization.
CannaVest Corp (CANV) recently announced that the results of independent testing have proved the safety and quality of its products. In December, CannaVest commenced cooperative efforts with Project CBD to ensure the cannabis/hemp industry and the consuming public is provided with accurate and meaningful information concerning CannaVest Corp.'s CBD offerings. "We are proud of our products, our lab processes and personnel and our commitment to quality, which we believe separates us from others in our industry," stated Michael Mona, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of CannaVest. Mr. Mona continued, "[w]e were pleased to work with Project CBD, and through our collaboration with Project CBD, we are happy to report these test results to the public. We are committed to providing the highest quality products on the market today, and the independent testing results bear this out."
Since the close of 2014, CannaVest shares have rallied and this most recent announcement has been cause for increased volume in the market. From a price of $2.26 on December 31 to highs yesterday of $3.49, CANV has managed to jump more than $1 per share in the matter of just a few weeks.
Pazoo, Inc. (PZOO) reported that its marijuana testing lab Harris Lee, LLC, is now a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Pazoo. The company acquired the remaining 45% of Harris Lee in exchange for 450,000 of Pazoo's Series B Preferred Stock. Since Tuesday, the stock has reversed in price and has moved up by as much as 97%.
"We are very excited about how we are currently positioned in the marijuana testing industry," stated Pazoo CEO David Cunic. "The combination of MA & Associates, LLC within Nevada, along with Harris Lee, LLC outside Nevada, gives Pazoo the ability to focus solely on providing the most comprehensive testing criterion available, benefiting both growers and dispensaries."
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PROHIBITION
Elizabeth Warren Flunks Marijuana Question
OCTOBER 6, 2011 DAN RIFFLE
It’s bad enough that so many self-declared conservatives, who support personal freedoms and limited government in so many other respects, are opposed to taxing and regulating marijuana. But it’s completely unacceptable for an otherwise stalwart progressive to have such backward views on marijuana.
Asked last night whether she supports legalizing and regulating marijuana, leading Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren gave a flat, no-nonsense (and no-common sense) “no.” Several other candidates for the Democratic nomination had more reasoned answers, and one correct answer – that marijuana should be taxed and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol (apparently to big applause).
Ms. Warren might want to give some more thought to the question the next time it comes up. The people of Massachusetts she hopes to represent already decided by a wide margin that people shouldn’t be arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana when 65% of them voted in favor of an MPP-written and sponsored decriminalization initiative (PDF) just three years ago. And it’s not just Massachusetts. By far the most popular draw at the White House’s We The People petition site is “Legalize and Regulate Marijuana in a Manner Similar to Alcohol.” In fact, half of the top ten most popular submissions deal with the subject.
Even President Obama gets it at times: “If you think about the enormous changes that have been made in terms of people’s use of tobacco, for example, that wasn’t because they were arrested.” Did you hear that Ms. Warren?
If you live in Massachusetts and would like to politely urge Ms. Warren to reconsider, you can do so here.
- See more at: http://blog.mpp.org/prohibition/elizabeth-warren-flunks-marijuana-question/10062011/#sthash.Q0P7Jsrx.dpuf
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Takes Dig at Pro-Legalization Senate Candidate Dan Winslow
by Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director
March 19, 2013
WinslowAt a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in South Boston this past weekend, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) took a jab at pro-legalization Republican State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk), who is currently vying for the Republican nomination for Senate in Massachusetts’s upcoming special election.
Addressing the crowd, Senator Warren said, “I advise everyone to pay very close attention to Dan Winslow’s platform. He has a 100 percent ranking from the gun lobby and he’s for the legalization of marijuana. He wants us armed and stoned.”
According to statements received by VoteSmart, Rep. Dan Winslow’s stance on marijuana policy is as follows:
I disfavor decriminalization of marijuana because it increases demand from illicit sources. Instead, I think we need to legalize marijuana (likely starting with medicinal marijuana in view of the current federal prohibition) and then regulate it and tax it. Only be lawful production of marijuana will the cartels, crooks and drug dealers be put out of business in the US. – State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk)
Representative Winslow is currently engaged in a primary for the GOP nomination, if he were to receive it he would face either Democratic Congressmen Stephen Lynch or Edward Markey in the June 25 special election.
- See more at: http://blog.norml.org/2013/03/19/sen-elizabeth-warren-takes-dig-at-pro-legalization-senate-candidate-dan-winslow/#sthash.z7BcKk8e.dpuf
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Petition the Obama Administration to Fully legalize mj
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/full-legalization-marijuana-united-states-america/4J1C5skR
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!
it took me about 3 or 4 clicks and about 3 minutes to add my name to the petition. Share this with your circle of friends.
fatstaxx Member Level Thursday, 01/15/15 09:24:45 AM
Re: mc67 post# 12409
Post # of 12410
The MJ sector is HEATING UP!!! Key indicators relate to job creation!
The sector is growing fast!!!
Report out sometime today -- https://www.weedhire.com/
Lebowsky Thursday, 01/15/15 03:53:33 AM
Re: None
Post # of 104532
MLCG .0004 Loading up, should see a nice run. CEO Holds 48.6% of OS , Float Approx. 200m. Just hired 2 SALES REPS. for the VAPOR PEN. MJ sector heating up!!!!
60 minute video features a MJ grow, similar to AGTK grow campuses coming on line!
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-pot-marijuana-60-minutes/
Great! Stop by and take a look someday ...
http://investorshub.advfn.com/Canadian-Weed!-28240/
Marijuana Stocks Set to Spark
An Industry in the Making
By Zach Spiegel
Wednesday, January 14th, 2015
Last year, Colorado and Washington passed laws legalizing retail marijuana sales, and Alaska and Oregon followed closely behind with laws that will go into effect in 2016.
More recently, the District of Columbia has proposed similar legislation, which is awaiting congressional approval.
An additional 21 states have legalized marijuana for medical use, and in Wealth Daily's home state of Maryland, the punishment for possession of less than 10 grams is now a civic fine rather than criminal penalties.
Outside of these pioneer states, engineer Andy Joseph has built a multi-million dollar business based on the sticky green stuff called Apeks Supercritical. A Navy veteran and father of five young children, this man's Johnstown, Ohio company is just a small part of the booming American marijuana industry.
Twelve years ago, Joseph designed a machine that extracts natural flavorings like vanilla and mint from plants for the food industry. A few years after that, he saw an increase in orders of his extraction systems from the West Coast, particularly California, which coincided with medical marijuana and cannabis applications trending in the news.
The weed industry had evidently discovered a new use for his invention: extracting cannabis oil from dried marijuana plants. And pot entrepreneurs all around the country began to take notice, buying his machines at $18,000 to $100,000 per unit.
Joseph's machine uses liquid carbon dioxide to extract botanical oils from plant matter. With marijuana, the extracted oil is a key ingredient in marijuana edibles, which provide a popular alternative to smoking.
In the last year, as a handful of states have legalized the sale of marijuana, his business has taken off. Apeks Supercritical has grown from $700,000 in revenue in 2012 to $9.5 million in 2014 and from a staff of one to 18 full-time employees.
In 2015, Joseph anticipates that Apeks will break double-digit millions in revenue.
Joseph makes a trip to Colorado once a month, where he recently opened a second office to run customer service for his new clients. He also broke ground on a 65,000 square-foot manufacturing facility located right in Johnstown.
With a backlog of over half a million dollars and enormous demand, Apeks can now assemble 1,000 units in an hour where it was once only able to produce 500 units per day.
It's clear that the American marijuana industry has a bright future, and while Joseph's company hasn't gone public yet, there are many other companies well positioned in the weed industry that have.
The End of Prohibition
After Colorado legalized cannabis for recreational use last January, the state's first year with marijuana saw tourism explode. However, smoking is still illegal in public and in most hotels, leaving tourists without a place to legally burn their green.
A smoking club — the first of its kind and available to private members only — has swooped in to fill the void.
Known as iBAKE Denver, it has found huge success in providing a venue for industry advocates to smoke. Located just outside of Denver, iBAKE doesn't sell marijuana but allows people to bring their own and smoke in a social setting.
In response to iBAKE's Rocky Mountain highs, other establishments similar to iBAKE are expected to pop up all throughout pot-friendly states.
To get in on the action, look to GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH).
With its current share price of $78.93, analysts expect to see the company's stock price rise to $119 in 2015. GWPH doesn't solely deal with marijuana products, so if you're looking to give the industry a shot and see where it takes you, GW is a good place to start.
Medbox (OTC: MDBX) makes for a fine opportunity as well.
Bear with me: If you'll observe the behavior of Medbox's stock on Yahoo Finance, you'll see it's prone to meteoric jumps and falls. The current price is $6.15, but it's been as high as $98 riding the good news of gradual legalization.
For a stock that's been at $98, $6 is about as close to the ground floor as you're going to get. Market behavior is cyclical and as legalization spreads, the stock price is going to spike again and again.
And one of the spikes is going to stick.
The legal marijuana industry is rapidly expanding along with the number and size of public companies getting involved. Legal marijuana usage grew 60% in 2014, putting annual revenue at $2.5 billion. Estimates put the industry's annual activity at $10 billion by 2018.
That's just the beginning. With only a handful of states green-lighting cannabis usage and no approval at all yet from the federal government, the upside for any company with a sizable foothold in the marijuana industry is going to be massive.
I have setting on Bing for Marijuana and Marijuana legalization they show when I click on http://www.bing.com/ also the 4 links on the sticky and one more http://www.theweedblog.com/
..I never tried to post on the CA board not sure of the line between US/CA.. but will probably just post one copy post here from here on out.. time issue.
Where do you get all of these great articles?
I probably have 4 or 5 MJ newsletters I receive info from.
TRTC News-IVXX trademark denied:
This company cannot catch a break!
It appears the IVXX trademark that TRTC has been touting is a no-go:
"REFUSAL - NOT IN LAWFUL USE"
http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn86400751&docId=OOA20150108115236#docIndex=0&page=1
1/14/15 WA Judge Strikes Down Law Banning MMJ Ads by Doctors
A Washington State judge has ruled that a law preventing doctors from mentioning medical marijuana in their advertising is unconstitutional.
Advertising by cannabis businesses is heavily regulated in the state, as it is in most markets.
FundingEBookV4 WA Judge Strikes Down Law Banning MMJ Ads by DoctorsBut Pierce Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Martin said in a ruling that while Washington has an interest in restricting wording in advertisements, the law is too broad and “chills even informational speech aimed solely at public education.”
The ruling stems from a case brought last year by a doctor who was sanctioned by the Washington Health Department for advertising his willingness to write prescriptions for medical cannabis, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.
The only restrictions that should be placed on the advertisements is to be sure they’re not false or misleading, the doctor’s lawyer argued.
The prosecution argued that the doctor cannot claim Constitutional protection because marijuana is still federally illegal, and free-speech provisions aren’t extended to illegal products or activity.
Martin said the statute is overly extensive and restricts public information.
Related Stories
•Washington Retail Stores To Open July 8
•Tacoma Aims to Shutter Medical Cannabis Businesses
•Most Americans Support State Rights on MJ, Poll Finds
1/14/15 From Certification to Sales, a Look at How and When Nevada’s MMJ Industry Will Emerge - Guest Column:
Tags: cannabis licensing, nevada medical marijuana
AmandaConnor
By Amanda N. Connor
In June 2013, the governor of Nevada signed into law a bill allowing for licensed medical marijuana facilities in the state.
Scores of entrepreneurs from both Nevada and existing MMJ markets rushed to get involved, establishing partnerships, writing up business plans and applying for licenses. Yet here we are in 2015, and not one licensed medical cannabis business has opened.
So when will Sin City and the Silver State see their first cultivation facilities and dispensaries? You might have better odds of picking the right number in a spin of the roulette wheel than answering that question, as several aspects of the program are still up in the air.
Here’s an overview of the process and timeline so you can get a better sense of how – and when – the industry will emerge:
Where We’re at Now
Nevada recognizes four distinct facilities – cultivation sites, production plants, labs and dispensaries – and each requires a separate license. Nevada accepted applications for medical marijuana facilities in August 2014 and issued provisional certificates to qualifying applicants in November.
While the state received 519 applications for all four types of facilities, it issued 55 dispensary, 183 cultivation, 118 production and 17 lab provisional certificates.
FundingEBookV4 Guest Column: From Certification to Sales, a Look at How and When Nevadas MMJ Industry Will EmergeA provisional certificate does not give the facility the license to open its doors. Rather, it means that the applicant met the merit criteria and ranked high enough to continue in the licensing process.
Applicants who were not granted a provisional certificate will have to apply next year for any available licenses. Those who were granted a provisional certificate still have many steps to complete before they will be granted a local business license to operate.
Local Steps
A group holding a provisional certificate will have to work with both the state and local governments to complete the licensing process.
At the local government level, the applicant will have to ensure that all zoning and business licensing processes are complete. This could include approval for tenant improvements, construction or offsite improvements. Also, the location will have to pass various inspections, including those tied to fire, safety and water.
The end goal for businesses at this level is to obtain a certificate of occupancy and then a local license to operate a medical marijuana establishment.
State Steps
Nevada also requires applicants to complete several key tasks before a state registration certificate (license) is issued.
The applicant is expected to work with the health department throughout the build-out process, and state officials will also inspect the facility.
Also, groups must obtain agent registration cards for all owners, officers, board members, employees and volunteers. Furthermore, they have to obtain an inventory control and tacking system, have it installed and get the state’s seal of approval. Same with a security system, which must meet stringent requirements.
Also, the company’s logo and proposed advertising must be submitted for approval. Only after these, and potentially other, items are completed will a registration certificate be issued to the applicant.
Timeline
So how long will it take for this process to play out? Some people initially predicted that dispensaries would be open by January 2015. That’s not going to happen. Realistically, the earliest the first dispensaries will crop up is late spring.
But even that might be optimistic, as many roadblocks could delay the process.
Lawsuits might present the biggest challenge. The application process was intensive and costly. As a result, many groups that did not receive a provisional certificate have filed suit, claiming that errors occurred during the application review and ranking process.
We’ve seen this play out in other states such as Arizona and Massachusetts, and in some of these markets legal battles held up the licensing process for a significant amount of time.
Also, the build-out and grow times of cultivation facilities factor heavily into the timeline, as a dispensary can only sell products that were grown and manufactured in state-licensed facilities. So it will still take several months for supply to hit the market after the first cultivation sites start planting.
Finally, labs will have to be operating and have their testing procedures approved by the state before any sales can occur.
Given these uncertainties, there’s no way to give a definitive answer as to when the industry will emerge. However, my best guess would be that a Nevada patient will be able to legally purchase medicine in late 2015.
Amanda N. Connor is an attorney in Nevada who provides advice and legal representation to the cannabis industry.
Related Stories
•State of Nevada Opens License Application Process
•Hundreds Apply for Nevada MMJ Business Licenses
•519 MMJ Business Applications Filed in Nevada
1/13/15 Cannabis Industry Investments Rocket 942%
Talk about a growth spurt.
In the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, investments in the North American cannabis industry hit $104.5 million, according to Inc.com, which based its report on research from CB Insights.
Much of that growth came last year, when investments rose 941.5%, according to the piece.
CB Insights recorded 60 investment deals involving cannabis-related companies, the biggest of which was $75 million raised by private equity firm Privateer Holdings.
After that came a $20 million investment deal in Chicago-based PharmaCann, which operates cultivation sites, and then $12.4 million in funding for Leafline Labs in Minnesota, which is one of two companies granted business licenses in that state to grow and distribute MMJ.
FundingEBookV4 Report: Cannabis Industry Investments Rocket 942%Most of the investments involved companies in Canada or midwestern states that aren’t exactly epicenters of the cannabis industry. Only a handful of the deals that CB Insights examined were tied to businesses in California or Colorado, where the groundbreaking marijuana trade is flourishing.
Steve DeAngelo, one of the co-founders of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, California, told Inc.com there is a “phenomenal amount of investment interest” in the cannabis industry these days.
“Today, investment is not really a problem. If you have a good team and a good idea, you’re in a good position,” DeAngelo said.
Related Stories
•PayPal Co-Founder to Invest in Cannabis
•Angel Investment Group Reports Big Growth
•5 Questions for Khurshid Khoja on New Cannabis Investing, Funding Opportunities Tied to JOBS Act
I am going to re-post over at Tweed, if you don't mind.
Scientists May Have Discovered A New Species Of Marijuana In Australia
Posted by Johnny Green at 10:00 AM on January 13, 2015 Marijuana Science.
Australia marijuanaNew strains of marijuana pop up almost daily anymore. How many of them are actually new strains, versus old strains given a new name for marketing purposes, is tough to say. It’s not everyday that a new species of marijuana is discovered, but that appears to potentially be the case in Australia, where scientists believe they have discovered an entirely new species of marijuana. Per Culture:
Scientists at the University of Sydney believe they have found a fourth species of cannabis. The finding took place in 201 (sic), when a group of people were hiking in the Blue Mountains of Australia and discovered a single plant that resembled cannabis. The shrub was later donated to a research laboratory at the University of Sydney where a series of tests were conducted on the plant – proving that it was indeed cannabis. “When we first received the plant we were very skeptical about its relation to cannabis. It has somewhat similar growth structure, but the leaves look nothing like cannabis leaves,” according to researcher Christopher Pool.
The test results show that the species is resistant to freezing temperatures and the plant grows more like a shrub, without the archetypal candelabra shape of most cannabis strains. Countless cannabis breeders the world over have offered to pay upwards of $2,000 per seed, but Pool stated “The only problem is that we don’t have any seeds, we only have one plant,” adding, “We’ve exhausted our funding trying to find another like it.”
From what it sounds like, we may never get to taste the new strain of marijuana, unless scientists (or seed breeders) can find some more of it. What a tease, right? It begs the question of ‘are there any other species of marijuana out there?’ This is a fantastic development, and is certainly worth monitoring.
1/13/15 Florida May Expand CBD Law
Tags: florida medical marijuana
Although cannabis backers in Florida are already prepping for a 2016 campaign to legalize medical marijuana, a few key lawmakers are hinting that they may take action to expand the state’s CBD-focused program.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, a law passed last year to set up a small MMJ program primarily for epileptics and patients with life-threatening illnesses may be broadened to include other ailments and possibly even marijuana with normal amounts of THC.
FundingEBookV4 Florida May Expand CBD LawUnder the current law, patients will have access to only low-THC, high-CBD cannabis, and only five companies will be selected by the state Department of Health to produce the medicine.
What lawmakers are waiting for is a rule-making hearing next month with the department that could either jumpstart the original CBD program, which has been held up with various administrative delays, or persuade legislators that they need to revisit the issue.
Several key lawmakers, including two Republicans, told the Sentinel they expect the program to be expanded at some point. They’re just not sure when that will be.
It’s conceivable, however, that they could pass a bill this year or next in an attempt to ward off another political campaign from Orland trial attorney John Morgan, who was behind the MMJ push last year.
Morgan has promised to help fund another campaign in 2016 if the Legislature doesn’t approve a broader medical marijuana program than the CBD law already in place.
Related Stories
•Florida MMJ Opponents Buy $1.6M in TV Ads
•Florida Judge Strikes Down MMJ Lottery Proposal
•2016 MMJ Ballot Measure Filed in Florida
1/12/15 Federal Judge to Rule on Marijuana’s Schedule I Classification
The cannabis industry could gain more legal credibility when a judge in California rules next month on whether marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I narcotic is constitutional.
The case involves a federal prosecution of several marijuana growers in California, who have argued that the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug violates the U.S. Constitution, and that the federal government has been enforcing its laws unfairly between states.
FundingEBookV4 Federal Judge to Rule on Marijuanas Schedule I ClassificationDistrict Court Judge Kimberly Mueller held a five-day hearing last year on the matter, and final arguments in the case are scheduled for February, according to The Los Angeles Times.
If Mueller ultimately rules against the federal government, it’s unclear exactly what the legal fallout would be. The Times reported that the ruling would only apply to the defendants named in the case, but if the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the ruling after an expected appeal, then “all the Western states would be affected,” according to The Associated Press.
It’s unlikely that Mueller’s ruling would fully legalize marijuana nationwide. But her decision could prove a key stepping stone for future court cases, legislation from Congress, or a rescheduling of marijuana by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Related Stories
•No Bankruptcy Protection for Cannabis Companies, Judges Rule
•Q&A With Henry Wykowski, Lead Attorney for Harborside Health Center in Forfeiture Case
•California Case Could Boost Efforts to Reschedule Marijuana
How Marijuana Legalization Is Changing Fashion
By Daniela Walker
on January 13, 2015 in Arts & Culture ?
How Marijuana Legalization Is Changing Fashion
The legalization of marijuana is opening the door for novel career paths, such as the nation’s first pot style writer
With the legalization of marijuana came a lot of things. Some expected, like the rise in tourism to Colorado; others were less expected: such as the creation of new career prospects. With the plethora of marijuana on hand, the Denver Post now has its very own website dedicated to all things green-leafed, The Cannabist, and on staff is Katie Shapiro, recently introduced to the world as ‘the nation’s first weed style writer’ by Racked.
cannabist.jpg
Legalization automatically means that the wealth of choice and availability of different strains of marijuana would grow. And just like wine or movies, the need for a weed critic was quickly spotted by the Post – someone who could discern the good bud from the bad bud. And while Jake Browne filled that role, Katie Shapiro spotted a hole in The Cannabist’s coverage. Beyond just the plant itself, Shapiro, a freelance writer and a fashion PR, saw the need for more coverage on the fashion side of marijuana.
cannabist3.jpg
She tells PSFK:
My goal with what I cover is to try and elevate the often negative stereotype of “stoner” culture – whether it’s a designer that’s putting a beautiful spin on the pot leaf, luxury smoking accessories or profiling successful creative types that are proud pot smokers.
As The Cannabist’s Style Writer, Shapiro writes about the connections between pot and fashion – December featured her Christmas gift guide for the “High Flyer” and the “Superfly Stoner.” Shapiro also writes a regular Q&A; column, Shop Sesh, where she visits and interviews curators, artists, builders and designers who smoke weed as part of their creative process.
cannabist6.png
For Shapiro, this connection to creativity is where she sees the legalization of marijuana influencing the fashion industry. “I think the most basic comparison [between the two is] that fashion is fueled by creativity and for some, marijuana can fuel creativity,” she says. “Marijuana has always had its place in culture – especially among art, music, and fashion. But now that it’s legal, it will be interesting to see how the fashion industry will embrace it – there’s a huge opportunity to blend the two.”
cannabist5.jpg
The Cannabist // Katie Shapiro
http://www.psfk.com/2015/01/cannabist-pot-design.html
Michigan split on whether to legalize marijuana use
By Hunter Schwarz January 13 at 10:38 AM ? Follow @hunterschwarz
Michigan residents are split on whether they favor legalizing recreational marijuana, according to a poll released Monday.
The poll, commissioned by the Michigan Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or Michigan NORML, found 50 percent of respondents would vote to legalize and tax marijuana, while 46 percent would vote against it, and 4 percent were undecided.
Support for recreational marijuana has increased in Michigan. A 2013 poll that reported 47 percent of respondents were in favor.
The recent poll shows Democratic men were the group most in favor at 70 percent, followed by independent men at 56 percent and Democratic women at 55 percent. The poll also found that 39 percent of Republican women were in favor, which is slightly higher than 35 percent support among Republican men.
The prospect of voters approving recreational marijuana would be “more favorable in higher turnout elections, especially if support continues to increase,” because of the large support among Democrats and slight majority of support among independents, EPIC-MRA, the group that conducted the poll, said.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has been sent two bills to consider that would legalize growing industrial hemp for research purposes and remove the word “hemp” from the definition of state marijuana laws if signed. He has also in the past been opposed to local efforts to rewrite marijuana laws, including a 2013 ballot measure in Lansing to legalize and a 2014 Saginaw one to decriminalize.
If You Could Have Bought $GWPH & $INSY at 0.02 Would You?
OXIS
January 12, 2015
Wolf of Weed Street
"Good morning-
Let me preface this by saying last time Marijuanastocks.com wrote a connect the dots piece on a stock it was BZCN (which became CGRW) Here's the link from October 8th, 2014 http://marijuanastocks.com/connecting-dots/ so you have a frame of reference. CGRW in 3 months hit a high of .72 off of .05 (when we wrote the article).
OXIS-
In the OTC and Pinksheet markets investors have been cautious following the massive surge that the marijuana sector saw early last year with Colorado coming online as the very first state in the US to legalize the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. Many companies trading in the penny stock markets did nearly anything they could do in order to take advantage of the mass appeal coming from this industry boom. But now with a new year upon us, a seemingly smarter small and micro-cap stock investing public is looking for real value in the space and not just “another grow operation hoping for state licensing”.
Right now, attention seems to be in the biotech space as much of this “long term” potential for the marijuana industry is held by medical applications in such things as CBD’s and hemp derivatives to treat specific diseases like epilepsy and certain cancers. If there’s one marijuana stock that’s remained in the “Top Ten”, it’s been GW Pharma (GWPH) and more recently, INSYS Therapeutics (INSY) both of which have novel therapies for numerous diseases such as different types of cancers.
In 2014 for example, the stock price for GWPH jumped to highs of $111.46 prior to pulling back to lows that were below $60 per share.
On the flip side, INSYS was recently granted orphan drug designation by the FDA and share prices have to highs of $47.18.
But what if you could have owned GWPH or INSY prior to prices jumping as high as they have? What if there was an opportunity to see these companies at levels around $0.02? The obvious answer (in my opinion) would be “I would definitely buy”. A small investment at a price like that would be absolutely life-changing at today’s prices, let alone at the all time highs that these stock have seen over the last 12 months.
One company that has just come to light with a very strong team coupled with a similar vision and ground breaking assets is Oxis Biotech, Inc. Now, I say recent because it was just last week that this company had a caveat emptor removed on OTCMarkets.com for being delinquent in its filings for quite some time. As of Friday OXIS showed that it had successfully filed all delinquent financial statements bringing the company current. In looking at the share structure, stock price, and market cap, this company looks like it could have what it takes to go to a higher exchange like the QB as long as it meets the requirements. Furthermore, the company’s website just began to have updated content populated throughout its pages.
So What’s So Important That OXIS Could Be The Next INSY or GWPH?
First and foremost, Oxis International completed an additional round of financing in the amount of $1.25 million and an earlier round of financing completed in July of $1.425 million, brings the funding total for 2014 to $2.675 million. According to Oxis, it will use the proceeds to fund Oxis Biotech, Inc. activities related to the acquisition and/or licensing of cannabis related intellectual properties, marketing of Oxis International, Inc’s nutraceutical products, and general corporate purposes.
But you really need a firm and well-seasoned leadership team to be able to effectively appropriate funds like this. Anthony Cataldo has been named Chief Executive Officer of Oxis International, Inc. Cataldo will continue to serve as Chairman of Oxis International, Inc. and President of Oxis Biotech, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxis International. Inc. Cataldo has a track record of building successful biotechs.
From February 2011 to June 2013 Cataldo served as Chairman/CEO of Genesis Biopharma, inc. (Previous: GNBP), now known as Lion Biotechnologies, Inc., (LBIO) and currently trades over $8/share. Keep in mind that Cataldo created Lion/Genesis with the inclusion of assets acquired from the National Cancer Institute for the treatment of stage-four melanoma. With such a track record within the space and a penchant for success in biotech, this may be just the beginning for OXIS as it has just begun to see trading. From early December up until recent, the stock price for Oxis Biotech has consistently remained in an uptrend moving as high as $0.0399 during the first few days of the new year.
Furthermore OXIS most recently announced that it executed definitive agreements licensing certain assets for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma and initiated a consulting agreement with University of Pittsburgh’s Professor, Dr. Xiang-Qun(Sean)Xie (one of the world’s foremost cannabinoid research scientists). The American Cancer Society’s estimates for multiple myeloma in the United States for 2015 are about 26,850 new cases of multiple myeloma and about 11,240 deaths from multiple myeloma alone.
The license agreement provides Oxis Biotech, Inc an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize therapies for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma (a type of cancer that attacks plasma cells in bone marrow). Dr. Xie joins Oxis Biotech as a consultant and member of the Science Advisory Board to further develop the assets licensed to Oxis Biotech, Inc. Among the mile-long track record of amazing accomplishments that Dr. Xie holds (See below), he is a recipient of the 2014 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Outstanding Research Achievement Award.
Mr. Cataldo stated, “I wanted to leverage Dr. Xie’s significant experience and technologies, much the same way I did when I acquired highly valued patents from the NCI (NIH) for stage 4 Melanoma from the National Cancer Institute to form Lion Biotechnologies, Inc. (LBIO)”.
In addition to this, University of Pittsburgh’s new Chancellor Patrick Gallagher encourages industry partnership of the University with OXIS. This will further enhance the overall R & D capabilities of the company and could propel the company’s growth by leaps and bounds just as the case was for market leaders like GW Pharma.
R&D FACTS:
After studying the effects of cannabidiol on multiple myeloma cells, researchers found that; “CBD by itself or in synergy with BORT strongly inhibited growth, arrested cell cycle progression and induced MM cells death by regulating the ERK, AKT and NF-?B pathways with major effects in TRPV2+ cells.”
They conclude that; “These data provide a rationale for using CBD to increase the activity of proteasome inhibitors in MM.”
The study, which validates a recent National Institute of Health study which also found that cannabidiol can inhibit cancer cells, was conducted by researchers at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Camerino in Italy.
This is obviously a developing story but if history repeats itself with Cataldo at the helm of Oxis in addition to Dr. Xie in charge of building the infrastructure to deploy this tharepy, the real benefit could be to those early shareholders looking for untapped opportunity in the cannabis biotech sector. Right now this is a reality for OXIS and its shareholders. The company has brought on both proven leadership and a world-renowned scientist for cannabinoid research immediately following the company becoming current in its filings and in my opinion could position Oxis to truly become the next big player in medical cannabis.
In a time where Bob Marley and Tommy Chong are producing their own brands of medical/recreational marijuana, the industry is booming with progress. More states have come on board the legal marijuana money train and even more are beginning to put legislation plans in place to push through some kind of bill come the next election period. The doors have opened even wider for real progress to be found within this burgeoning industry and from where I sit, it could be these medically focused organizations that will reap the biggest rewards from the forward looking nature that the biotech space has historically shown to have.
More About Dr. Xiang-Qun (Sean) Xie
Sean Xie, MD, PhD, EMBA is a tenured Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences/Drug Discovery Institute at University of Pittsburgh and Associate Dean for Research Innovation at the School of Pharmacy. He is Principal Investigator of an integrated research laboratory of CompuGroup, BioGroup and ChemGroup, and Founding Director of Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center. Dr. Xie is also Director/PI of NIH funded National Center of Excellence for Computational Drug Abuse Research. Dr. Xie holds joint faculty positions at the Departments of Computational System Biology and Structural Biology, and Pittsburgh Cancer Institute MT/DD Program.
Xie is a charter member of the NIH BPNS Study Section Review Panel, an oversea expert reviewer for the Chinese Natural Science Foundation, ad hoc reviewer for the Netherlands Organizations for Scientific Research Council for Chemical Sciences, MCMB Foundation for MRC UK, and the Wellcome Trust Fund, Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship, London, UK. He serves as an invited guest editor for AAPS Journal, Editorial Board of American Journal of Molecular Biology, and Associate Editor of BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology.
He was an invited international Assessment Panelist for Fudan University College of Pharmacy, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Association of Professionals in Science and Technology, and a Chair of the CAPST Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Society. Dr. Xie also holds adjunct professor title in top institutes and colleges of pharmacy in China, including CAMS Tianjin Institute of Hematology Stem Cell Medical Center; Fudan, Shanghai Jiaotong, and Zhejiang Universities. In 2013, he was named an honorary professor of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College."
Seeking Alpha
12 Marijuana Stocks For Your Do Not 'Buy And Hold' List - Part III
Jan. 9, 2015 1:29 PM ET Includes: AMMJ, BLPG, CANL, CANV, FITX, GWPH, HEMP, MDBX, MJNA, NMUS, PMCB, THXBY
By Anthony Cataldo
I have selected a third set of 12 marijuana stocks to research.
All of these stocks might be profitable "day-trades," but my focus remains on the long-term and development of a buy-and-hold portfolio.
The data continues to support a focus on "event dates;" and we are at the beginning of “penny stock season.”.
Barring positive, firm-specific events, in the near-term, it is probably best not to buy and hold a portfolio of or any of these stocks past March or April 2015.
Generally, hold through March/April 2015, sell, buy in June-August 2015, sell in January-April 2016, and buy in June-August 2016 to position for the November 2016 elections.
Motivation
Knowing which stocks to buy (and generate gains), and when to buy, is important.
Knowing which stocks to avoid (and generate losses) is equally important.
This article is designed to assist you in (1) buying low and (2) selling high.
5 States are likely to put Recreational Marijuana Legalization on the 2016 Ballot
At this point in time, (1) California, (2) Nevada, (3) Massachusetts, (4) Maine and (5) Arizona are likely to put marijuana, for legal recreational use, on the November 2016 ballot. More could be added to this list. California is the "prize." Texas, Florida and New York are also relatively high population states, where Florida is a possible.
Combined, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and D.C. represent approximately 5% of the U.S. population. A favorable vote (November 2016) on recreational marijuana legalization in California, alone, a state representing more than 10% of the U.S. population, will triple the market for recreational use.
Of course, many are attracted to these marijuana stocks, as they anticipate, eventually, that 100% of the U.S. will legalize marijuana for recreational use. What other industry is likely to enjoy growth at 20 times the current market for their product?
Back-Testing Value-Weighted and Equal-Weighted Portfolios of Marijuana Stocks
My fist marijuana stock Seeking Alpha article listed N=47 stocks. That number has grown and is a bit of a moving target, which provided the motivation for this series, where I, cumulatively, examine n=12 stocks for each part of the series. (See Matthew Finston for some significant and insightful Seeking Alpha articles on marijuana stocks and this evolving sector or segment of the economy.)
Based on the above, previously published portfolio, below are both value-weighted (VW; at 1 share of stock) and equal-weighted (EW; at $500 invested per stock) portfolio charts. The VW portfolio excludes friction or commissions. Buying and selling commissions were presumed at $8 for each purchase and sale ($16 per round-trip) for the EW portfolio. The EW portfolio appears to have performed more favorably, at least when visually examining chart results (December 2, 2013 through November 28, 2014), as follows:
March 2014 was the Winning Event Date/Month and an Equal-Weighted Portfolio is the way to approach Marijuana Stock Investing
For both of the above, there were n=20 losers and n=27 winners (EW). Note that (1) the greatest returns occurred from early January purchases through March sales and (2) only a tiny bit of returns were generated, visible in the VW chart, for the November election and approval of recreational marijuana by Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia. These are relatively low population states and D.C.
For the EW portfolio, the $23,876 invested (i.e., $500+$8=$508x47), grew to $68,582 (a ~187% return), net of the sell commission. That is a very favorable 12 month return. The 52-week high occurred on March 18, 2014 at $559,617 (the line chart tends to "smooth" these measures).
For the VW portfolio, at 1 shares each, and without any commission or friction, the value of the portfolio grew from $90 to $118 (a ~31% return). Not as favorable as the EW portfolio, but still quite favorable for a 12 month period. The 52-week high occurred on March 5, 2014 at $323 (the line chart tends to "smooth" these measures).
Why the March 2014 Highs and Why January, February and March are Favorable?
For lack of a better characterization, January, February and March are "penny stock season." These months follow "tax loss selling" of "losers" in November and December of the prior calendar year, and, as selling pressures subside in January ("the January effect"), price per share recovers. When combined with the March 2014 events. From my earlier article:
…note that the vast majority of the 52-week highs for these 24 stocks occurred in March, 2014, the event date/period for the Canadian MMPR (Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations). That was the event date that drove so many of these 52-week highs.
You must keep in mind that Canada has a very small population, when compared to the U.S. This is, in part, why these marijuana stock prices did not "stick." The timing was perfect. March is considered, by many, to be the end of "penny stock season." Selling occurs in April and June, July and August are the times to buy penny stocks, to purchase at relatively low prices and for a long-term hold. This is anecdotal, but those experienced in penny stock trading can verify this general perception and fact.
Notes: The above bar chart was generated and based on data available after the market close on January 6, 2015. The bar chart was developed and is based on data contained in the below table. The below table format has been modified to capture more data than was presented in Part I and Part II of this series.
SEC Trading Suspensions
From the SEC website:
The SEC has seen an increase in the number of investor complaints regarding marijuana-related investments. The SEC recently issued temporary trading suspensions for the common stock of five different companies that claim their operations relate to the marijuana industry:
FusionPharm, Inc.
Cannabusiness Group, Inc.
GrowLife, Inc.
Advanced Cannabis Solutions, Inc.
Petrotech Oil and Gas, Inc.
The SEC suspended trading in these companies because of questions regarding the accuracy of publicly-available information about these companies' operations. For two of the companies, the trading suspensions were also based on potential illegal activity (unlawful sales of securities and market manipulation).
Again, and just as was the case of Part I and Part II, the stocks are listed in alphabetical order of the ticker symbol. The table is designed so that it captures a fair amount of data, and you can print it out and use it to formulate your own opinions on these stocks. The below table, also, contains the data from which the above graphic was developed:
1st
2nd
3rd
State
52-Week
12
12
12
Ticker
of Inc.
WC
High 2014
Notes
1
(OTCQB:ACOL)
FL
-
19-Mar
1
2
(OTCQB:AERO)
NV
-
10-Mar
3
(OTCQB:AGTK)
DE
-
6-Jan
1
(OTCQB:AMMJ)
DE
+
17-Oct
1
4
(OTCQX:ATTBF)
Canada
+
19-Mar
5
(OTCPK:BAYPD)
NV
-
1-Sep
2
2
(OTCQB:BLPG)
NV
-
1-Jul
1
1
(OTCQB:BRDT)
DE
+
19-Mar
3
(OTCQB:CANL)
NV
-
8-Jul
1
4
(OTCQB:CANV)
DE
+
21-Feb
2
(OTC:CBGI)
NV
-
18-Mar
3
(OTCPK:ERBB)
NV
-
24-Mar
5
(OTCPK:FITX)
NV
-
10-24 Feb
1
6
(OTCPK:FWDG)
DE
-
17-Jul
1
4
(OTCPK:GRCU)
CO
+
7-Apr
6
(NASDAQ:GWPH)
UK
+
1-Jul
7
(OTCPK:HEMP)
CO
+
5-Feb
5
(OTCPK:ICBU)
FL
-
24-Mar
7
(OTCQB:IMLFF)
Canada
-
21-Oct
1
6
(OTCPK:LGBI)
NV
-
25-Jul
1,2
7
(OTCQB:LXRP)
NV
+
19-Mar
2
8
(OTCQB:MBOO)
NV
-
Unknown
1,2
9
(OTCQB:MCIG)
NV
-
19-Mar
8
(OTCQB:MDBX)
NV
-
17-Jan
9
(OTCPK:MJNA)
OR
+
28-Jan
8
(OTCPK:NDEV)
NV
+
26-Aug
10
(OTCQB:NMUS)
NV
+
1-Dec
1
11
(NVLX)(OTCQB:PMCB)
NV
+
28-Feb
10
(OTCPK:PMCM)
DE
-
26-Mar
9
(OTCPK:REFG)
NV
+
14-Mar
2
11
(OTCQB:RSSFF)
Canada
+
10-Jun
1,2
10
(OTCPK:SING)
NV
-
10-Jan
11
(OTCPK:SPRWF)
Canada
+
22-Oct
1,2
12
(OTCPK:THCZ)
NV
-
12-Aug
1
12
(OTCQB:THXBY)
Israel
-
6-Jan-15
1
12
(OTCQB:UPOT)
NV
-
26-Mar
1,2
1 = not trading in March 2014, so excluded from above graphic.
2 = moved from mining to the marijuana sector.
Working capital (WC) measures ("+" for positive and "-" for negative) were developed on January 7. 2014, and are based on the measures and data available from Yahoo!Finance and Pink Sheets web sites. Only fifteen of the thirty-six (~42%) had positive working capital balances. If working capital is negative, and positive cash flows are not being generated from operations, potentially dilutive debt or equity issues are likely. This can be problematic when insiders with favorable stock price-per-share purchase prices can interfere with stock appreciation (e.g., these insiders, with superior or perfect information, dump their shares into any rally from positive news releases that they control).
Nineteen of the thirty-six firms (~53%) are incorporated in the state of Nevada, a state that has only ~8% of the market for corporate law, so Nevada has a disproportionately high percentage of publicly traded marijuana corporations. Only 6 of the thirty-six firms (~17%) are incorporated in the state of Delaware, a state that has ~54% of the market for corporate law, so Delaware has a disproportionately low percentage of publicly traded marijuana stocks.
Note that fifteen of the thirty-six (~42%) of these stocks did not trade as marijuana stocks during the March 2014 high. This is telling. The potential for upside over-reactions in marijuana stocks is attracting those firms that are not doing well in mining (8 of thirty-six or ~22%) or other industries or sectors to the "easy money," from stock sales, that are present and driven by the "recreational marijuana frenzy." Expect more firms to enter the marijuana sector or industry. Particularly, those from gold mining, silver mining, and energy/solar industries, where prices for all have declined, cooler heads prevail, and upside over-reactions in stock prices are less likely.
Additional information is provided below for this third group of 12 marijuana stocks. All charts were prepared before the market open on January 8, 2015:
American Cannabis Company, Inc. (OTCQB:AMMJ) is a Delaware corporation with positive working capital. Their accounting firm has 5 warning signs out of twelve clients. This is not favorable, as we are known by the company we keep. The partner is also the CFO of a firm (see LinkedIn). This is atypical, but it is possible that her LinkedIn website is not up-to-date. The income statement is favorable, but read the "convertible notes" section of the financials:
…convertible..,into shares of the Company's common stock at $0.08 per share…
The stock is trading at about $0.70 per share, and someone has the right to buy at $0.08 per share. I want the same deal they got. I would not buy and hold this stock, and, would go so far as to suggest that the stock should be trading at $0.08 per share, now.
2. Blue Line Protection Group, Inc. (OTCQB:BLPG) is a Nevada corporation. Financials are unfavorable, and, again, related party debt is present. I do not like this. It provides a vehicle to assure favorable, insider treatment and dilution. Even if good news hits the press, insiders have the first opportunity to "feed at the trough" and there is really no reason for them to allow the stock price to rise for common shareholders. I see no compelling reason to buy and hold this stock.
3. CanLabs, Inc. (OTCQB:CANL) is a Nevada corporation with negative working capital, related party debt and preferred shares with a conversion feature that favors insiders. Again, this capital structure is designed to make sure that insiders reap all of the benefits of any stock price appreciation and it is just too likely that they will sell shares into any rally that they control:
Upon the closing of the Merger, the Company, pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement (the "Securities Purchase Agreement") issued to an accredited investor 500,000 shares of the Company's 8% Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the "Series A Preferred Shares") at an original issue price of $1.00 per share (the "Original Issue Price") and warrants to purchase 20,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock (the "Warrants") for an aggregate purchase price of $500,000."
If you do the math, the warrants on the common stock suggests that it is really only worth about $0.025 per share ($500,000 divided by 20,000,000), but it is trading at more than $0.20 per share. Again, I want the same deal they got. I would not buy and hold this stock.
4. CannaVest Corp. (OTCQB:CANV) is a Delaware corporation with positive working capital. This one has a very ugly 1 year chart, but has a great working capital position from stock sales. The below is from the financials:
On March 1, 2013, the Company issued a Promissory Note (the "Note") to Roen Ventures, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Roen Ventures"), in exchange for loans provided and to be provided in the future in an amount of up to $2,000,000, subsequently increased to $6,000,000. As of December 31, 2013, the principal balance of the Note was $6,092,069. On January 27, 2014, the Company converted $6,000,000 of the Note balance into 10,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company pursuant to the terms of the Note, as amended. On January 28, 2014, the Company repaid Roen Ventures accrued interest on the Note in the amount of $187,453 and principal under the Note in the amount of $92,069.
Am I doing the math correctly? Someone loaned me $6 million and I gave them stock worth $29 million (10 million shares x $2.90 per share)? I would not buy and hold this stock unless I am offered a comparable deal.
5. Creative Edge Nutrition, Inc. (OTCPK:FITX) is a Nevada corporation with a negative working capital position, and has been in the news, lately. Again, look for these related party transactions to determine the actual value of the stock. From the financials:
Two consultants have loaned the Company $541,350 on unsecured demand notes payable. The notes have a conversion right of a maximum of 60% to the closing bid price with certain limits based on the reporting status of the Company. The loans carry an 8% interest rate. At June 30, 2014, the Company has accrued $20,822 in interest.
I would not buy and hold this stock, unless they offered me the stock at 60% of the bid. I, also, want 8% interest, since I cannot find this favorable rate of return from credit worthy firms and in the broader market.
6. GW Pharmaceuticals PLC-ADR (GWPH) is a United Kingdom corporation with a positive working capital position. This is a real firm, with real earnings, but not a marijuana "pure play." Note, in the below chart, that the stock price spiked a bit in March 2014.
Take your time for a favorable entry price, but this one looks good for a long-term buy and hold. It would appear that the stocks that are not marijuana "pure plays" are benefitting from marijuana-based events, without the terrible decline in price per share that follows the "pump" or upside over-reaction from these event dates.
Of course, the stock is less likely to go up 1,000% in a very few days, as these stocks trade more efficiently, so you are limiting risk, but also limiting upside on an, otherwise, "lottery ticket-type" marijuana penny stock that you might profitably day-trade.
7. Hemp, Inc. (OTCPK:HEMP) is a Colorado corporation with a positive working capital position. It is rare that I see a firm with more than 2 billion shares issued and outstanding. Cool name and ticker symbol, but I would not recommend this firm as a long term buy and hold.
8. Medbox, Inc. (OTCQB:MDBX) is a Nevada corporation with negative working capital position, convertibles and related party notes, from which positive cash flows are being generated. Conversion features for the debt are too complex to produce in this article, but you should review them before considering a buy and hold for this stock. The terms do not favor non-insider or common shareholders. At this point in time, I would not recommend buying and holding this stock.
9. Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTCPK:MJNA) is an Oregon corporation with a positive working capital position. Five of the 9 firms disclosed as clients of their legal counsel have warning signs on the Pink Sheets web site. Fundamentals in their financials suggest that this one might be worth a nibble, but, again, as we are known by the company we keep, these warning signs concern me. I would not jump in with both feet or buy and hold this one at this point in time.
10. Nemus Bioscience, Inc. (OTCQB:NMUS) is a Nevada corporation with a positive working capital position. This firm does not have any revenues and is generating positive cash flow from private placement sales of stock and warrants. From the firm's website:
December 4, 2014
Nemus To Move Forward With Cannabinoid-Based Therapy For Open-Angle Glaucoma
November 26, 2014
Nemus Bioscience Is Now Quoted On The OTC Bulletin Board Under The Ticker Symble (sic) of "NMUS"
November 4, 2014
NEMUS Completes Reverse Merger With Load Guard Logistics, Inc.
NEMUS Bioscience and the University of Mississippi entered into a research and in-licensing collaboration agreement this year.
I would put this one on my watch list and consider for a favorable entry price with a possible long-term buy-and-hold. This firm is engaged in glaucoma research, a legitimate, medical application for marijuana.
11. Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX) and (OTCQB:PMCB) is a Nevada Corporation. They have a very significant and positive working capital position, but no revenues. There are no positive cash flows, in any of the 3 classifications of their statement of cash flows, in the most recent quarter (October 2014). This stock could be a "sleeper," but there are so many shares of stock and warrants flying out the door, that, even if successful, there might be nothing left for non-insider common equity stakeholders.
Three of 7 of the publicly traded firms for their accountant have "stop" signs. Their legal counsel is a bit better. Their Cell-in-a-Box® technology may, in fact, assist those with pancreatic cancer. So, I hesitate to be too critical, but the stock is trading down, at about $0.20 per share. This firm could be legitimate, but their use of marijuana in headlines concerns me, as it suggests some desire to raise capital from the "marijuana frenzy."
With a market cap of $138 million, I hope they do well and save lives, but it troubles me that a cancer cure is combined with a cannabis headline that, also, tends to spike the stock price (October 29, 2014), and, coincidentally, this news is released immediately before the November elections for marijuana decriminalization in OR, AK and D.C. I might be jaded, but I would probably "wait and see" on this one. I am not recommending this stock for a long-term buy-and-hold.
12. Therapix Biosciences Ltd. (OTCQB:THXBY) is an Israel corporation with a negative working capital position. An Ernst & Young member accounting firm as their accountant is a positive, even though unaudited financials were provided. The stock has a bid/ask spread of $0.19/$2.16, and does not really trade with any volume to speak of. A recent transaction provides some evidence of perceived market value by insiders:
On November 19, 2014, the Company entered into a private placement agreement where 1,300,000 Ordinary shares, 1,300,000 fully vested warrants and 1,300,000 conditional warrants were offered. The total Net proceeds from the offered securities were NIS 650 thousand. As of November 27, 2014, an amount of NIS 300 thousand was received.
One Israeli New Sheqel (NIS) equals $0.26 US dollar, so $169,000 suggests a market value of about $0.13 per share (i.e., $169,000 divided by 1.3 million), excluding the warrants, so well below the bid of about $0.19 per share, unadjusted for the below:
TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Therapix Bio (TASE:TRPX) (OTCQB:THXBY) today announced that its American Depository Receipts (ADRs) have been registered and approved for trading on OTCQB®. The ADRs, each representing 20 ordinary shares, began trading on October 6, 2014 under the symbol THXBY.
I would put this one on my watch list, but would not pull the trigger as a long-term buy-and-hold quite yet. I want more information and would like to see how the stock trades and reacts to news, and also view future news releases of news as it relates to dilution.
Summary of Significant and Actionable Findings
I recommend an equal-weighted portfolio of marijuana stocks, probably, at a minimum of $500 per stock, for your long-term buy-and-hold portfolio.
I do not recommend a long-term buy and hold on any marijuana stock "pure plays," at this point in time. There is no immediate event, like that in March 2014, to warrant the risk. Keep economic resources "parked" in a more stable security or cash, in the interim.
There is too much risk of buying and holding a marijuana stock likely to attract an SEC trading suspension, at this point in time, so, to reduce risk, day-trade or find some alternative methodology to reduce your "holding" period for these stocks.
For 2014, the January through March period resulted in a significant increase in marijuana stocks. Note that the November election-based increases in marijuana stocks were very modest, by comparison (see the first 2 line charts of value-weighted and equal-weighted marijuana portfolios).
The November 2014 ballots and elections, adding Alaska, Oregon and D.C. to Washington and Colorado, legalizing recreational marijuana, were not as important as the January through March 2014 period for the 2014 calendar year. These states have tiny populations and did not significantly increase the market for recreational marijuana (again, see the first 2 line charts of value-weighted and equal-weighted marijuana portfolios).
The next big event date that I am aware of is the November 2016 elections. California, alone, more than triples the market for recreational marijuana. This should be your long-term focus. Keep your eye on the ball and this very significant event date.
Expect more marijuana industry entrants, particularly from the gold mining, silver mining and energy sectors, where they have failed in one industry, but will attempt to convince you that they can succeed in growing and generating shareholder value in or as a firm supporting the marijuana industry.
Beware of complex capital structures, for penny stocks, with convertible debt, warrants, preferred stock, and comparable agreements that are likely to benefit insiders and provide strong economic incentives, for them, but not for you.
Beware of "true believers" touting these thinly capitalized marijuana stocks. If they use an alias, ask them to provide their true identity. If they are unwilling to do this, they are "sniping from cover," and you must decide if this is reasonable.
Finally, I am not yet ready to "pull the trigger" on these stocks for a long-term hold, and I recommend, at this point in time, that you view them as a "trade" and not as a "buy and hold." Please notify me of any new marijuana tickers to examine in and for Part IV of this series.
Editor's Note: This article covers one or more stocks trading at less than $1 per share and/or with less than a $100 million market cap. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
..some things never change.. ;) "There was some verbiage in the last bill that had folks scratching their heads. Especially considering a lawyer was involved in presenting the bill. The wording should have been scrubbed and less controversial. It left too many areas open to misinterpretation and creative thinking.
That bill may have passed with the rewording of a couple key passages."
There was some verbiage in the last bill that had folks scratching their heads. Especially considering a lawyer was involved in presenting the bill. The wording should have been scrubbed and less controversial. It left too many areas open to misinterpretation and creative thinking.
That bill may have passed with the rewording of a couple key passages.
I hope they get it right this time. Yes, I will sign the petition and donate monies.
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