Injunction Function:

The Business of Medical Marijuana in Canada
 

Last Friday BC Federal Court Judge Micheal Manson issued an injunction granting MMAR patients the ability to continue to grow their own medical marijuana. On the surface this seems like a victory for medical marijuana patients in Canada, unfortunately this did nothing for the majority of medical marijuana patients who remain largely underserved in many ways including access to MMJ.  What it did do in the country was save the already established ‘Business of Medical Marijuana’ which has been flourishing in BC under MMAR regulations.  It is no big secret that the majority of MMAR production licences in the province support the vast network of compassion clubs across BC and ultimately the country.   This business which has flourished for the last decade is the main reason the FEDS are trying to regulate away what is a majority British Columbian owned and operated industry. 

Caught in the crossfire of this court battle are the rights of the medical marijuana patients which were completely ignored last Friday.

There are a couple fallacies I want to clear up in this article.

Firstly, the MMAR program did not give Canadians equal access to medical marijuana.
The program needed fixing badly.  Anyone telling you different is only thinking of themselves.  MMAR denied access to the majority of Canadians by providing limited options to acquire marijuana beyond personal production.


The reality before the introduction of Canadian LPs…

If you did not have a green thumb, or know somebody with a green thumb, MMAR did nothing to provide access to Canadians seeking medical marijuana.   

Licenced producers’ soIve a critical problem to the program providing broad access to Canadians where MMAR did not.  That is the one good thing about MMPR.  The problem is that MMAR producers being somewhat business savvy, stepped up to the plate and filled the access void in Canada by supplying the compassion clubs across the country for the last 10 years.  This is not a bad thing and I would not be embarrassed about admitting this.  MMAR people were just helping the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in providing medical marijuana to all Canadians when government policy fell short. 

 I maintain that most people do not want to grow, do not have the space to grow, nor have the expertise to grow cannabis in their homes.   

They would rather just purchase cannabis.

Proof of this access issue is the vast discrepancy between compassion club memberships across the country and official MMAR memberships.    MMAR did nothing to provide access to medical marijuana so the majority of Canadians using medical marijuana who were not interested in growing their own medicine never bothered signing up for MMAR.  I know I didn’t, and exculsively used compassion clubs for years without ever having official MMAR status.   I only got my grow licence when I wanted to produce cannabis in my half bathroom.  Do a poll at any of the clubs… most compassion club members are not MMAR members.

 You only signed up for MMAR if you want to produce or get free weed.   I was only a MMAR producer officially for 1 year in 2010; I have been a member of 2 compassion clubs for 8 and 7 years now.  I do not have official compassion club membership totals, but they typically run between 500 and 5,000 members with literally hundreds, if not thousands open across the country supporting the majority of medical marijuana users. 

This indicates current medical marijuana usage in Canada is already upwards of half a million Canadians AND not 40,000 that consist in the MMAR program. 

There may be 2,000 to 5,000 dedicated MMAR growers like myself of have a passion for GROWING and it is ingrained culture who you will never get to stop growing marijuana...  these people are not the target market, nor are they a competitive threat… please leave them alone and let them grow their pot.   A 25 plant licence will provide 1 to 2 grams of cannabis oil per day which is full cannabinoid treatment for anyone.
Small amoutns of personal production are not a threat to anyone; personal or public safety, or even corporate threat cannibalizing retail MMJ sales.


CANADIAN MMJ IS ALREADY A $5B BUSINESS!!!

The government MMAR program has licenced 3.5 million plants which I estimate has the potential to produce 3 to 4 million pounds of MMJ per year.    About $6B to $8B of medical marijuana at compassion club prices of $1600/lb. to $2400/lb. for AAA weed.   Certainly a discount to street prices of $3200/lb. or the insane $4500/lb. per pound the MMPR program wants to charge…  

….But it’s NON PROFIT right?

So while BC and the Federal government fight over the business of medical marijuana in Canada.  Medical marijuana patients and medical marijuana continue to suffer in Canada being completely ignored.   The bottom line is even though the judge showed his complete derelict in responsibility in holding charter initiatives in a charter case trying to protect corporate interests…

No judge in the country will convict anyone growing medical marijuana while this injunction is in place.

MMAR licence or no.  

As I predicted, we now have a Wild, Wild, West of Cannabis in Canada because no one ever thought about developing some common sense and practical rules that suit everybody, helped develop the medical marijuana industry in Canada, and didn’t usurp BC’s multi-billion medical marijuana industry. 

This should really be viewed as a good news situation and not bad a news situation for everyone as MMAR growers and LP’s now have a somewhat even playing field and you now have an officially unofficial ‘laissez faire’ medical marijuana system that has been unleashed in Canada where almost anything goes.   

If you want an industry to develop properly… a laissez faire system is ideal.  So ultimately, this is good.

Medical marijuana needs a commercial component in Canada.  It needs a lot more than just a mail order POT business.  Business brings convenience; it brings innovation, and research & development.  For 10 years POTHEADs have been smoking butane laced budder, since business has been involved… we now have a purified and refined budder into shatter.  That is all about business going the extra mile… not a MMAR patient.  Although MMAR patients were the pioneers in this industry and need to be recognized.

Canadian MMJ Needs a Business Component

 It is this type of innovation that the Canadian Medical marijuana scene was missing without corporate involvement and desperately needed.  At the same time the ability to personally produce marijuana is an essential component to the system as well.  It is a cheap affordable alternative to many medications for the poor who could not afford any other alternative.  To take this away from anyone, let alone the most disadvantaged in society, is completely unethical.

A gram per day cannabis oil is a typical dose for a cancer patient fighting cancer.  How can you tell someone fighting cancer they no longer can afford a key component of their treatment?

Many Canadian companies’ share prices have dropped on the injunction news since Friday, but I suggest that this is a second opportunity at cheaper prices of some of these stocks entering into the commercialization of a high flying sector that is already worth in excess of $5B according to the Federal Government’s admission of 3.5M plants authorized in the MMAR program.

It is business that will take this industry forward bringing science, technology, and education to the scene; but it was the MMAR patients who were the pioneers in the industry and should be treated fairly and should not be forgotten.  Nor should they have their MMJ business' rudely stolen by Ottawa.   I think there is room for both MMAR and MMPR in this $5B plus Canadian industry.  In many cases you are already seeing MMAR and MMPR marry with a business like ENRT having shown a willingness to team up with MMAR to help take the industry forward.





One patient has even sold his grow facility for a million dollars!!!   

 

Welcome to the Business of Medical Marijuana in Canada.

Christopher Skidmore

Beat the Market marijuana stocks

MAJOR MMJ RUMOR!!!

Jimmy Pattison and Benson & Hedges Enter the Cannabis Industry

I don't think there can be any bigger news to date for the Cannabis industry.  You knew it was coming  eventually (a cigarette company at least), and it is all but official and rubber stamped and sealed; but hear it this early and to find out exclusively through Beat the Market has yours truly with 12 inch grin from ear to ear.

Jimmy Pattison and Benson & Hedges have gone big into Medical Marijuana.   

To hear about a PM owned company getting into POT?  Not surprising, especially when I have been hearing analysts talking about cigarette companies using their war chests to buy into the E-cigarette game.  Obviously cannabis is the other area of growth for this industry and Phillip Morris has already staked their claim in Canada teaming up with BC BUD and the richest dude in Canada, Jimmy Pattison.   Cannabis has major synergies with e-cigarettes with vaporizing concentrates like budder and shatter becoming a widely popular choice of consuming cannabinoids, ovbiously if you are getting into E-Cigs... cannabis products play a major role in this up and coming market.

The irony eh?

That a 'Cancer Stock' is getting into the business of a substance that prevents cancer and may even play a major role in most cancer treatments in the future.   Does this take Phillip Morris and others out of the sin bin?   If you think Cannabis will play a major role in curing cancer...  it most likely will in your mind.

 What it does do, is give the industry some much needed credibility and reputation.  It brings instant credibility to cannabis and the required capital needed to bring this industry forward.  It will also be a major out for many of these companies as majors like PM open up their war chests to grow by acquisition. 

It means legalization is a foregone conclusion now that PM and Jimmy have entered the fray.

Legalization is going to be sped up dramatically.  If you are reading between the lines, the powers that be seem to be banking on a change in politics at the top with Justin Trudeau and the Liberals... and with Canada's finance minister stepping down yesterday... the winds of political change in Canada continue to blow across the country.


You wondered where all this POT lobby money is coming from?  

Now you know.

Phillip Morris is one of the most recognizable cigarette companies in the world.  With this move they have made it clear where they are looking for growth.  Cannabis and the various recreational products produced with cannabis.


I can tell you right now...  PM isn't getting into the game for for MMJ.   Nope.  PM sees widespread legalization and with the massive success of Colorado this year has ony confimred the lucrative cash cow this industry represents.  And with all the inremental tax revenue pooring in... govts are goingto be much less resistive to change.



HOW CAN YOU NOT SALIVATE at the CASH COW just waiting to be PLUNDERED? 


THE RUMOR

To be sure... Jimmy Pattison wasn't calling me telling me the 'good news'.  I am sure this a begrudging decision at best. One that gets tempered when he realizes this move could double or even triple his net worth. Something billionaires seem to get excited about.

So I am sure he isn't that unhappy. 

I am also pretty sure I am not even supposed to know.  But funny things always seem to happen and for some reason when it comes to my grandfather; I always seem to find out the darnedest things... for whatever strange reason, it is exceptionally hard to keep a secret from me.  People find out I am his grandson and all of a sudden I am a magnet for the all the stories of the bad things he's done and gotten away with over the years.

A magnet!!!

I know stuff Jimmy has hidden from Maureen from 40 years.  


At any rate...

When you are a big freaking rich dude getting into the pot business and order 1000 KW watt light bulbs to Whistler.  People are going to talk.  When you have warehouses stuffed to the brim with POT...

You can't keep that a secret!!! 

Especially when you are big ass billionaire like Jimmy.   

The cannabis community is small and tight knit... and people will always talk.  So here it is...

My ex, Rachael sent me a text simply saying she heard...

"your granps has warehouses full of pot."  

"Oh, really?  Can you send me an article or link?"    I asked.

"No, I was just having lunch with someone whose brother is a medical grower in Washington.  He told her. "  

"Oh, and apparently he is working with Benson and Hedges and some other cigarette company." 

My jaw literally dropped.  I am only now coming down from the excitement.  You have no idea.  If Jimmy had asked me personally what to do to expand his empire...  Buying stocks is fun, but the Warren Buffet way is slow, methodical, and somewhat boring and doesn't connect with the proletariat.

Cannabis is the slam dunk industry...  and the proletariat will love you.

Buying some billionaires some time in their regions...

The biggest opportunity the next decade is to establish a major blue chip company in cannabis.

Several Blue chippers in fact!!!

The old man in the Shaw Tower is showing me something at 112 years of age that I didn't think possible...

That even the the most entrenched positions can change. 

(I had written myself off years ago...)

 People really don't have incentive to lie, but I still only have a hear-say rumor... So what do I do?
I run down to my club to confirm the rumor.  Sure enough Eric from the Green Cross of BC confirms Benson & Hedges ordered 1,000 KW bulbs to Whistler.

And then everything that has been going on the last 6 months at the Green Cross all starts to sense realizing most likely I was vaporinzing test concentrates by yours truly.

• The instant availability of top of the line concentrates from the best strains in the province at the Club.  
• The court injunction in BC allowing concentrates.  
• The attempt to make me a cannabis writer at InvestorIntel

Jimmy's in the MMJ business!!!  

Apparently some of you are upset I am not giving many  MMJ picks.

There is Abattis Bioceuticals ATTBF or ATT.C... Remember that one?  I only promoted the company in 2012.    Even my rolled back 5:1 options are worth a pretty penny today.

There is Enertopia ENRT or TOP.C... not as good as Abattis but a decent BC company.

My newest Canadian addition is Satori Resources BUD.V and has the best chance for further appreciation hiring a Canadian fund manager with expertise in MMJ this week.  If BUD cuts a track like ENRT or ATTBF... BUD could easily fly to $0.60 over the next few weeks. 

NEW RULES MAKES CANADA THE WILD WILD WEST OF CANNABIS

What most have to understand that as of next week the court injunction comes down allowing medical users to continue growing.   This court decision is essential in making the Canadian investing scene 'ethical'.   It also makes the medical marijuana industry in Canada a literal Free-For-All while proper rules are made that are fair and equitable to everyone.  For cannabis... Laissez Faire economics should be the way to go and provide legislation as we go... it is harmless and people shouold be allowed to go full bore into something that has been restiricted for nearly a century.  The court case is expected to last into 2016 creating an environment for companies and patients to thrive, experiment and provide insight and direction on where regulations should go.  

For the next two years... Canada has a Libertarian Marijuana Market.   And then we see what happens at the election.  This is the best way for everyone to play catchup and allows companies like Benson annd Hedges to get ahead of the game without govt restriction.

The FEDS have a fucked up the rules so badly... they have created a Wild Wild West environment for medical marijuana with Jimmy leading the charge out west.  The current medical marijuana market in Canada can only be described as chaotic .. proof is Jimmy and Benson and Hedges...

Do you see them on Health Canada's list of approved suppliers?



Christopher Skidmore

Beat the Market Marijuana Stocks

The Cannabis Industry

The Cannabis Industry: A Trillion Dollar Market in the Making
 

Are you still in denial cannabis prohibition is ending?   

Legalization in Colorado, Washington, and Uruguay haven’t convinced you?  How about the flood of investment into the cannabis sector or the subsequent pop in marijuana stocks?   You are still not convinced?   How about the US Federal Government recently outlining new rules for the financial sector legitimizing the business of legal marijuana.   Or how about the high profile career moves by former Microsoft exec Jamen Shively and ex-DEA agent Patrick Moen to a marijuana investment firm?  Like it or not, the flood gates in cannabis have been opened upon North American society.  Still, the biggest argument for ending of prohibition is the massive market itself, the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry which exists and thrives in spite of prohibition and 40 years of the Drug War.  When you peel back the layers of the onion on the cannabis sector you find not one industry, but three very lucrative double digit high growth industries; hemp, medical marijuana, and recreational marijuana.

Hemp agriculture has the potential to be the biggest of the 3 cannabis market segments.   It is the smallest at $500M, but hemp provides healthier alternative food staples, hemp is resilient in textiles and clothing, and biodiesel produced from hemp could significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.   HEMP is one of the fastest growing cannabis segments.  So much so that demand for hemp products from Americans has, Cylab, a Chinese Hemp grower, relocating its operations to Canada to more readily supply the US market.   Stemia, another Chinese hemp company is also looking to follow suit.   Hemp is one of the most versatile plants on the planet with close to 25,000 known uses.  If hemp enters into society in any meaningful way; hemp agriculture and the products made from hemp could eventually rival that of the recreational and medical marijuana industry segments.

Hemp agriculture may be big part of America’s future; the opportunity now is in the medical marijuana (MMJ) sector.  Like Hemp will help kick start a revolution in nutritional health and clean energy, MMJ is kick-starting a revolution in modern science and medicine surrounding cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system.  Colorado MMJ sales hit $329M in fiscal 2013, up 50% from the prior year.  Colorado has a population of 5.2 million people.   If you average those numbers across the US population, the MMJ market has the potential to reach $20B with widespread MMJ legalization in the US.  

The $20B MMJ market is just raw medical marijuana sales and does not include pharmaceutical companies developing cannabinoid based drugs.   Developing a novel cannabinoid based drug that works on modern health epidemics is where the ‘Holy Grail’ in cannabis medicine lies.   MMJ works and many proponents say all you need is medical marijuana.  Science tends to have a way of tweaking nature to make it work even better.   Eventually most cannabinoid products will be produced by drug companies like GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH.  One of the most promising revelations in the last 5 years is that two of the biggest health epidemics of the 21^st century, the $125B cancer and $120B diabetes epidemics could be made manageable with cannabinoid therapy.

The granddaddy of cannabis is recreational marijuana.  Colorado legal recreational cannabis sales are projected between $600 and $700 million in the first year of legalization and expected to bring in tax revenue close to $70M.  These stats blow away even the most aggressive estimates drastically underestimating the popularity of recreational pot.  Colorado recreational marijuana sales indicate a potential market size in the US of $40 to $45B with widespread legalization in the US.  If Barak Obama declassified marijuana as a schedule 1 drug tomorrow. The USA would have created a $60B market overnight.   This is ultimately why you can’t stop legalization, the market is already there.

Hemp was one of the most commonly traded commodities in the 19^th century.  You couldn’t run a country without it.  In fact, The Declaration of Independence was signed on hemp.    Cannabinoid medicine has the potential to dominate the medical landscape over the next 10 to 20 years with diabetes and cancer at the forefront of cannabinoid medicine.  This is a combined $250B market.   Recreational pot is another massive half a trillion market potential across the globe as prohibition ends.  Between hemp, medical marijuana, and recreational pot; the cannabis industry’s future looks bright with not one but three high growth sectors promising to return cannabis once again to global prominence.


Christopher Skidmore

Beat the Market Stock Picks

The Case For Investing in Cannabis Stocks

*This is the last email from Beat the Market's free newsletter.  The newsletter will continue as a $100/yr subscription based newsletter.  Thank you for your support. 

Has the move in marijuana stocks caught you off-guard?

When I predicted marijuana would be a major investing theme in 2014 for premium letter subscribers … I really had no idea it would jump out the gate with such force as it has.  The legalization process in Colorado has been such an initial success that everyone in America is excited about marijuana.  Add the fact that people are figuring out just how powerful Cannabidoil CBD is on so many different diseases including epilepsy and cancer; the flood gates are opening like Hoover Dam is about to spill over.  There may be drought in California, but the flood in cannabis is only about to begin.  For those early enough to ‘get the worm’… you will be wading knee deep in green.

The sudden and parabolic rise in marijuana stocks is the result of the smart money seeing the end of prohibition nearing.   With President Obama all but giving the green light to “The Green Crack” saying that marijuana is “safer than alcohol”  and now giving the okay for banks to take marijuana company’s Benjamin Franklin’s; this has simply going to put this industry into overdrive with investors literally seeing green $$$.   At this point with the first real pullback open us and just making the turn on Friday’s White House bombshell, I thought that now would be a good time to go a little more in depth on the subject and highlight a few stocks.

Hopefully I can add a little bit different angle coming from a 20 year chronic who uses medical marijuana to replace HAART for HIV.

 Some of the stocks I have gathered are extremely overvalued shooting up 1,000% in a month, while others are still attractively priced just entering into this lucrative market or have  ‘flown under the radar’ so to speak.

Now is the Time... The End of Prohibition is Nigh

Never in my life have I seen a group of stocks go bonkers like they have in month.  This is almost like the tech boom in reverse; the stocks have blown out of the gate because the end of prohibition has been anticipated for so long and everyone can sense that it the end is not in sight.  Giving even further fuel to the fire, President Obama essentially legalized industrial hemp in the US last week giving it its own classification over and above marijuana when he signed the farm bill in Michigan.  Now is the time to make your bets in this sector while it is literally being birthed overnight and still relatively cheap.   You can’t wait. You can’t hum and haw. No.  Now is the time to get into this sector as a bull markets are born overnight and always climb the wall of worry.  When you want to be selling is when everyone is clamoring for cannabis.  Trust me… from what I know… just cuz Colorado hits the news… Big deal... When I say everyone will be clamoring for cannabis.  I mean it.  Everyone.

1. It’s indispensable and irreplaceable medicine. 
2. It’s a safe way to relax and be social.
3. It’s food for us all without wiping out the ocean fish stocks. 
4. It’s clean energy.

The possibilities which cannabis provides us with are virtually endless!

If you have evaluated the sector, public sentiment and now political will, all the fundamentals point to the ‘naysayers’ not doing their homework on the subject.  When you have a Microsoft exec quitting one of the best jobs in the world to resurrect his grandfather’s cannabis company; you know that now is the time.

I see it.  Some of the smartest executives at the biggest companies it the world see it.  Do you see it?

The irony is this group of stocks collectively is the shadiest, most unattractive group of stocks you would want to invest in. It is pretty hard to declare you are in the business of an illegal product that many people are spending life in prison for in the USA so you are literally buying holding companies who are spinning assets into a companies and buying assets of others that you literally do not have a clue about.

You could be buying a major Marijuana Czar’s brand of products like famous activist Steve Kubby or some two bit criminal growing a plant in his closet.  Well… that is why I am here.   With all joking aside, the benefits of investing in this industry and potentially coming out on top buying into the next BUD or Philip Morris in its infancy strikes at the core of everything  that makes me want to be a stock picker, to be there before everyone else.

These massive moves are the types of returns that you just can’t ignore and are indicative of a major bull market in marijuana is about to begin for the next decade.  Yes the sector will be around for the next 100 years and you can wait until you have widespread legalization; but by that time many companies will be established and the triple digit returns we all crave will only be double digit returns at best and that is not why you pay $100 for my newsletter.  Not to get 25% gain.

Now is when the EASY MONEY is made.   Now is when the BIG MONEY is made.

Yes it is slightly more risky money because there is a good deal of luck involved, but there are lot of good companies that show a lot of promise and even at $100M market cap could easily grow into that $100B valuation in a generation’s time.  Look son... I bought you a POT stock in your RESP.  Not that any qualify for my kids… but one day they will.

The initial move kind of reminds of graphite in 2012.  If that is any indication, then we have at least 2 or 3 more months of this initial run-up; which is plenty of time to make some good dough trading for the summer.  The graphite run-up fizzled largely because it was promotional and once the exuberance faded and graphite prices dropped… investors realized quickly the future in graphite mining is filled with 4 or 5 large mines of the scale of EGZ and SYR.  Hardly something that you can sustain a bull market on.

I saw the writing on the wall in the summer of 2012 and since then have been angling myself for one thing and one thing only…

To help promote the coming revolution in pot.

This time it is something different.  This is natural reaction of the free market to the ending of prohibition.   It also doesn’t hurt that at the same time we are just hitting the tip of the iceberg when it comes to revolutionary medical advances in cannabinoids with discoveries like ‘cannabis curing cancer’.  This is playing a big part of the resurgence in marijuana. It cures cancer
If you are a naysayer about POT stocks… keep on saying this isn’t real because I love to climb that wall of worry.  This is just something you can’t bottle up and contain and shut off, the cannabis revolution is on and it’s starting to spread like wildfire. 


BUY SOME MARIJUANA STOCKS OF COURSE!!!

I gave you my top 5.  All have done very well although NVLX and MJNA have lagged while CBIS, CANV, and GWPH have performed better than expected over the short term.  If you have followed my advice and bought already, I would be rotating money into names that have still yet to move like NVLX and MJNA. 

The bottom line about marijuana stocks…  This is as real of a move as any I have ever seen in my 37 years on this Earth.  The best part is we are only in the early innings; we are only just at the beginning.  Some would even say this is still the first inning!   When you look at the big picture where we are hunting for the next BUD, MRK, or PM; the valuations over the next 3 or 4 decades are still extremely cheap considering the end goal.  The most expensive marijuana stock is Cannavest CANV valued at $1.6B, still a fraction of the size of giants like Phillip Morris $126B, Anheuser-Busch $156B, or Merck $160B.


Cannabis can be divided into three major opportunities

• Medical Marijuana
• Recreational Marijuana
• Agricultural Hemp

Medical Marijuana is the major focus of initially investing in this sector.  It is legal while recreational use largely remains illegal.  Although recreational use will be a major focused towards the end of the decade.  The first 2 or 3 years is all about MEDICAL MARIJUANA.  Even the future top recreational companies are all starting out as medical marijuana companies.   What I have concluded with my own experience and research is that in 10 years, most people will not be prescribed raw weed for their ailment if they choose cannabinoid therapy.  So there is a lot of valued added business opportunity in this sector.  They will be treated with a cannabis concentrate either vaporizing and/or eating concentrates or they will take a novel cannabinoid drug product developed by a pharmaceutical company.

This is where the medical market will end up going.   The biggest insight I can provide right now is concentrates, vaporizers and novel cannabinoid products is where the medical community is heading.  So the companies who are buying marijuana brands who are producing medical pot, but neglecting to produce their own brand of concentrates, will eventually be forced into the recreational industry unless they choose to follow the road and produce concentrates.    Keeping that in mind, it should help you distinguish between true medical marijuana companies and other brand names that are destined for the recreational market.  


#1 Medical Marijuana

The medical marijuana industry has the potential to grow into a $100B annual industry worldwide.  From the research I have done, Marijuana treats over 100 different ailments.  Most have heard about epilepsy, MS, pain, nausea, PTSD, PMS, glaucoma and other recognizable disease.  Many still do not know about the biggest markets that cannabis has the potential to affect.   After reading a lot of uninformed articles on Seeking Alpha regarding cannabis I want to highlight what I believe are the Holy Grails of Medical Marijuana and what will drive this industry.    

• The HIV drug market is at least a $20B global annual market.
• The cancer drug market is a $125B annual business.
• Diabetes drug market expected to reach $55B annually by 2017.
• The pain medication market is a $35B annual business.

These are some of the true Holy Grails in the medical marijuana community and where science should focus its efforts.  Cannabis products/derivatives/synthetics have the potential to take a significant bite out of each of these sectors.  To what extent is anyone’s best guess, but a conservative estimate of 1/3 of each of the above would put the global cannabis market at $70B annually making my estimate of a $100M market for medical marijuana quite reasonable for the overall market.




HIV

In the HIV drug market, many drug manufacturers have stopped producing new forms of HAART medication and are turning towards more lucrative Hepatitis C treatments.  Simply put, the profit motive is not there.  Manufacturers have also simply exhausted the HAART program.  They simply do not have any options left with that class of drugs and putting the $$$ into R & D programs when the problem is only for a few people with resistivity issues, is hardly the new market a company wants to go after.

Sadly when half the HIV/AIDS community starts having problems with resistivity to the HAART program which is going to eventually happen; that is when drug companies will jump to action, but by that time for many it will be too late with companies being ill-prepared.   This is going to be a big problem going forward in the HIV community.  As many people are growing older with HIV, a big problem is drug resistivity which is slowing rearing its ugly head in the community.  Many patients will simply start running out of options and will die over the next decade.  It is already happening to patients who have been on medication since the mid 1990’s.

There is a huge opportunity for a company(s) to develop a cannabinoid class of HIV drugs that replace HAART medication as an alternative treatment.  The idea instead of pumping poison in the body is to stimulate the body’s own immune system to kill the virus.  This is the basis of my own health regime when it comes to treating the HIV virus.  I simply turn my immune system into ‘super immune system’ and make coexisting with HIV possible.  Similar to what primates do with the simian version of the disease.  I am living proof that you can medicate with cannabinoids for years before ever requiring meds at all.  At anywhere between 9 and 12 years with HIV with absolutely zero physical signs of my disease progressing at all and never taking any cocktail of drugs, you can’t get any better than that.   

http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/hiv_marijuana_cannabinoids_1667_22119.shtml

The Myth about H.A.A.R.T.

The biggest myth about HAART is you need to start the drug program right away.  It doesn’t matter if you are day 1 or in year 25, HAART medication works the same on pretty much everyone.  The big thing is you got about 20 to 30 years once you start HAART before you run out of drug cocktail options depending on the virus virility, your body, and resistivity to HAART medication.

 Once you start HAART, you have significantly decreased your options because you can’t go off them.  If you do, you can basically cross that cocktail of drugs off the list from ever using again.  It is next to impossible to go off without having serious issues like developing resistivity to drugs even earlier on the disease.  The only people who come off HAART after go on them are the people who HAART is no longer effective for.   Right now this is a relatively small portion of the population, but is expected to dramatically increase as we are nearing the two decade mark for many HIV patients and their HAART therapies.

The Biggest Case for Cannabinoid Therapy… Resistivity

The biggest sign that resistivity is going to be a big issue over the next decade for aging HIV/AIDS patients is the dramatic jump in Kaposi Sarcoma which is the commonly known as AIDS cancer and is common among many people as the disease progresses and is known as in opportunistic infection.  HAART had all but eliminated this in the 1990’s and turn of the century, but now many are running out of options after 20 years of various HAART cocktails and Kaposi Sarcoma is back.

The reasoning behind my own health regime was just basic common sense.   Hold out as long as I can without HAART living as healthy a life enabling my own immune system to beat the disease.  Then go on HAART only when I am at death's door.   For me at least; waiting until the last possible moment was the no brainer decision as it obviously gave me the best chance at maximizing the years of my life.  If I can hold out to year 20 or even longer before I ever have to start HAART medication... that means I will have another 20 to 25 years before I ever have to worry about resistivity issues after I start HAART.

By my count that puts my at a ripe old age of 67 to 72 before I start having serious problems with HAART resistivity.    This person is on his last rope running out of HAART medication to take after being on meds since 1995.  I am trying my best not to be that guy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-12/hiv-survivors-seek-drug-advances-as-fda-eases-approvals.html

MARIJUANA is Integral in Boosting CD4 Cell Count. 

Without CDB and THC and other cannabinoids, fighting the HIV like this would be next to impossible.

Cannabis slows down the HIV process so much so that after 10 years if I didn’t have a blood test telling me I was HIV positive… I wouldn’t know.  I wouldn’t even suspect it.   This is all achieved by enabling my immune system to fight the HIV virus.  In a nutshell that is all I do.  Enable my immune system.  If I were to make a guess, I would say that cannabis in high enough concentrations slows down the progression of HIV by at least a factor of 2; AT LEAST!!!

The whole point of the exercise is to maximize my life.  I am confident a cure will be found over the next decade and I will have escaped my ordeal without ever putting that toxic garbage in my body.  HAART is poison and works along the same lines as chemo drugs.   At the very least I have ensured can live to upwards of 50 years of life after infection as opposed to 30.  That isn’t too bad eh?

So after 9-11 years of only CANNABINOIDS fighting HIV…  I am past everyone’s timeline’s for non-HAART patients.  EVERYONEs!!!  According to the Canadian GOVT, I should be dead soon and I keep reminding them that I am going to die.  Although we know different, that death is something that will escape me for a long time.
Hell… I don’t even get sick.  I didn’t even get a cold this winter.

When it comes to the HIV, Cannabinoid therapy would help the majority of people and extend their lives by giving them an alternative to HAART medication.  In my opinion and it is only mine, HAART should be treated as a last resort to treat this disease.   I have ensured that I will live well into my 60’s and I am sure cannabinoids can treat others just as successfully as me.  

Cancer

YES CANNABIS CURES CANCER.

You can’t keep this information a secret forever especially in the age of YouTube when you can just post a video of you curing your own cancer.  This is pretty hard to discredit.  I was so excited about Cannabis Curing Cancer that I ran the entire 10km of the Terry Fox Run last year screaming that to everyone while I ran that Cannabis Cured Cancer.  I still managed to run it in 50 minutes flat too!  In fact my lungs have never hurt so much after run in my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icr8RJ_MSqc&feature=youtu.be

Crazy?  Sure.  But nothing like a little controversy, especially when I know I am right.  Sometimes you got to do crazy and go out on a limb to get the word out.   That escapade was so crazy that it got me on the 6 O’clock news.   Whispering to the person next to you won’t get the job done.   So what do you do?   You do crazy sometimes.  You climb to the rooftops where everyone can see you and start screaming until everyone hears you.  “Hey look at me I am crazy… “   People want to look at you because you are crazy and then you bombard them with since and facts.  Not so crazy am I?  And when organizations like Terry Fox and BC Cancer Agency continue to deny the existence of RSO or that it works; or even acknowledge there are companies who working on cannabinoid based cures for cancer, it just inspires to make you even more determined to spread the word. 

So guess what investors???  When you invest in Cannabis stocks… you are doing a hell of a lot more for curing cancer than sending a check off to your local cancer foundation.   A HELL OF A LOT MORE!

Want to CURE CANCER?  BUY A CANCER/POT STOCK!!!

It is time to send these crooked self-interested organization who are stealing from the hearts of the public when it is not even necessary.  It is time to send cancer organizations the way of the dinosaur!!!  We don’t need them anymore… we have POT STOCKS!!!

If you don’t buy a Phillip Morris PM because of how socially irresponsible cigarettes are; then you should be just as compelled to invest in the cannabis industry to further social responsibility in this critically important area of human health that has literally been suppressed by the GOVT and  BIG PHARMA for the last 40 years.

 Cannabis based cancer drugs may eventually make up a third or even more of this market.   This is loosely based on a conservative non-scientific success rate.   Am I being overly optimistic?  NO!!!  No other substance has the success rate of curing incurable cancers than concentrated cannabis.   Brain, Breast, Prostate, Lung, Skin Cancer … whatever; it doesn’t matter.  It seems that every type of cancer responds positively to cannabinoid treatment.  The key is taking as high of a dose as possible which can only be attained by ingesting concentrated oils.

I have no scientific basis to justify my 30% of a $125B market.  It is just way too early to make those types of estimations, but the evidence clearly points to cannabis products being the most promising cure for cancer to come along since cancer itself.

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2013/07/27/34-medical-studies-proving-cannabis-cures-cancer/
http://www.hightimes.com/read/drug-maker-secures-patent-thc-and-cbd-cancer-treatment

Diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2

Here is another major market that isn’t cured.   Cannabis regulates several things in the body that lead to diabetes in the first place like obesity.  Cannabis also plays a large role in regulating blood sugar.   The information on this topic is still early, but cannabis could play a major function in treating and possibly curing diabetes.  After all, most diabetes is caused by poor health and of your body being out of balance.  Cannabis and the Endocannabinoid system play a vital role in regulating your body and could help to eliminate a disease like type 2 diabetes.   Why are people getting diabetes at epidemic rates?  Simple… their bodies have gotten so far out of balance and equilibrium they are breaking down.  Nothing replaces having a healthy lifestyle which can eliminate Type 2 diabetes as well, but cannabinoids help the body achieve equilibrium balance much easier than without.

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder and results directly from the body being out of balance.   It results mainly from obesity which is generally traced back to poor lifestyle.  Exercise and eating properly will help curb and keep in check type 2 diabetes, but taking cannabinoids that regulate the system and bring your body into balance achieves the same result without all the hard workouts and strict dieting.  Simply put, cannabinoids and the Endocannabinoid system help keep your body in ‘equilibrium’.



Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.  If I can treat HIV successfully with cannabinoids, this should also apply to other auto-immune diseases like type 1 diabetes.  What would you rather do? Shoot a needle in your arm every day with insulin?  Or vaporize some shatter?   All I do is apply simple scientific method to what I have learned about cannabis over the years and the Endocannabinoid system.

300,000 Canadians live with type 1 diabetes and I imagine the ratios are similar for the US.  9,000,000 Canadians live with type 2 diabetes.  That is almost a one in every 3 Canadians is affected by diabetes. The global market for diabetes is expected to reach epidemic proportions with $120B spent on diabetes care and maintenance with $55M of that being spent on drugs.  Cannabis is going to play a MAJOR role in the fight against diabetes and this market although a sleep could be just as big as the cancer market.

Pain

Cannabis is one of the most effective pain relief substances available to us.  I just completed an entire year of running entirely documented on excel.  I ran 800 plus kilometers this year highlighted by covering half that distance in the last 3 months.  I still have a screw running through the width of my Tibial Plateau.   Without the side benefit of a massive doses cannabinoids in my system, there is no way I would be able to run the distances I have run put in this year at the speeds I am running.

NONE.

The biggest reason… Cannabis is one of the best anti-inflammatories around.  CBD keeps the inflammation in my Tibial Plateau that was sheared in half to next to none.  2 surgeries, a plate, and 7 screws and I am running faster now than I have at any other time in my life!  This is no small feat considering I completed an Ironman in 2008 and was in very good shape when I broke my leg.

I feel so good… I just might do another one now.

Any type of pain associated with inflammation responds immediately to cannabinoid therapy.  THC is also a good ‘sense’ duller which also takes the edge of the pain similar to morphine, but when it comes to inflammation type pain; nothing is better.   It’s why it works so well with women and menstrual pain.  It reduces inflammation.   Why is it so effective against the Rheumatoid arthritis?  It cuts the inflammation down. This is a simple cause and effect relationship.   I am not even going to mention the anti-inflammatory market, but it is BIG TOO…  and the list goes on and on and on about the potential in the cannabis market.

Like it or not…

Cannabinoids are the next revolution in modern medicine.

The Endocannabinoid System

So how do all these unique diseases solved by one plant?   

We are still learning… but the main reason marijuana and its cannabinoids are so effective over other medicines is it targets the body’s Endocannabinoid System.  Modern medicine has ignored this vital regulatory system in our body.  It is why cannabis is often the only thing that will work for a patient.  Nothing in modern medicine targets the CR1 and CR2 receptors of the Endocannabinoid System which is as important as system as any other regulatory system in our body.   Specifically it helps the body maintain an internal balance.

Ignoring the Endocannabinoid system is one of the short comings of modern western medicine.  The only reason we have ignored its discovery since the 1980’s is because we cannot teach our kids that the body needs cannabinoids.

IT DEFIES ALL DRUG WAR LOGIC!!!

Do our bodies specifically need cannabinoids from cannabis?  Not necessarily, all herbs and spices have cannabinoids for which will interact with CR1 and CR2 receptors in the body, but when we get sick, Cannabis in undeniably the most effective medicine we have available to us to affect the Endocannabinoid system.

The system that I loosely describe as bringing balance to our bodies.

The Endocannabinoid system has two main receptors, CR1 and CR2.  CR1 exists mainly in the central nervous system and the brain.  It explains why cannabis is so effective against many nervous system type ailments like MS and epilepsy.  CR2 on the other hand is not only found in the brain, but in the immune system, the gastrointestinal tract, and the peripheral nervous system.  It is CR2 that boosts the immune system and specifically CD4 counts in HIV positive people and dulls pain.

The big thing is denial of this system is not only denying us of cannabis based products that are good for us, but is also denying us science in this area when it comes to how our bodies interact with other herbs and spices and their specific cannabinoids. This could lead us to find cures and extracts in other cannabinoid latent plants that help cure our bodies. 
You just cannot have a complete understanding of our bodies our how to properly maintain them without this vital piece to the puzzle; the Endocannabinoid system.  I learned how the system worked and made the connection with my own body 7 years ago that THC and CDB would stimulate CD4 cell production.   To this day, I have never dropped below a normal level... although I got fed up with the medical system almost 3 years ago and haven’t been back to any doctor since.  So I can’t tell you me levels today.

But if I was at all sick… I am sure I would be the first to know.

The Endocannabinoid System as an Emerging Target of Pharmacotherapy



2 Paths to the Same End

The Medical Marijuana investing horizon is divided into two categories.  (1)Companies selling straight cannabis products and (2) companies who are developing novel cannabinoid based drugs.  Companies who are entering the cannabis product market like CANV and MJNA have the advantage of instant cash flow gratification over companies who are developing novel drug therapies like GWPH, CBIS, and NVLX.  The advantage of course is that companies who win out in the cannabinoid drug development process will ultimately win the much bigger prize of being incorporated into the BIG PHARMA model while the straight cannabis products will always be considered neutraceutical vs. pharmaceutical and have to deal with regular business competition.

The 5 companies I have in this category are and don’t have much to add at this time are…

1. GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH – Some of the more promising drugs being developed by GWPH…

i.Sativex for MS spasticity and cancer pain
ii.Epidiolex for pediatric epilepsy
iii.Glioma Drug which is an FDA orphan candidate – received patent approval
iv.Type 2 Diabetes using THCV

2. Cannabis Science CBIS – currently have two products under development

i.Cancer
ii.HIV/AIDS

3. Nuvilex Inc. NVLX – recently announced success using their patented Cell-in-a-Box to develop cannabis based therapies.
4. Medical Marijuana Inc. MJNA – sells assortment of medical marijuana products through subsidiaries.
5. Cannavest Corp CANV – Refines Cannabidoil from hemp for MJNA.

The Canadian Medical Marijuana Market

Now it is not all rosy for everyone.

The Canadian medical marijuana market is about to become NON-EXISTENT.   Canada used to be a leader in access to medical marijuana and the fact the program had 40,000 people was proof of this success in providing patients access to medical marijuana.  The program was not without its problems and it had a criminal element abusing the system growing 1000’s of plants on a license meant for 25 to 50 plants.

Since, then the conservative government has thought better to eliminate the personal production of patient’s medical marijuana.  This is an EVEN BIGGER CRIME than those who growing marijuana.  After all, a drug dealer is only a Libertarian Capitalist.  He is serving a market need irrespective of outdated and antiquated government law which can lag society by 40 years like we have with the cannabis issue.

 Most of these patients are on disability and are now going to be forced to pay as much as 10 times the price of what I cost them to grow personally.   For most this is completely barring access to their medicine unless they choose to break the law.  In addition these laws prey on the poor, the sick and the most disadvantaged people in society and do nothing but further instigate class warfare in Canada.  They do nothing to actually take the criminal element off the street or out of the community growing marijuana.  IT DOES NOTHING TO DO THAT.
And arguably it doesn’t even make it easier for the system to prosecute criminals because the court systems are now going to be clogged up with medical patients being prosecuted for growing their medicine.  This is a major travesty. 

Do the RCMP think a criminal operation is going to stay at the same address especially after the Health Canada privacy breach?  NO.   A person who is sick and is growing their medicine will though!!!

Here in Canada the government is setting this industry up for disaster.   And ask yourself why?  All to satisfy a small, uber religious base in Western Canada that does not reflect society’s popular opinions or beliefs… and people wonder why I say overtly religious people should be barred from politics?

They CANNOT put their personal beliefs aside for the better of the country.

CANADIAN GOVT BANS THE CURE FOR CANCER APRIL 1^st.


As of April 1^st, any cannabis product other than raw weed will be illegal.  That means RSO is illegal.  The medicine I use, shatter is illegal.  Any oil is illegal.  This includes Rick Simpson Oil; which you make by taking an ounce of weed’ soaking it in Everclear or 99% isopropyl, and cook the solution in a rice cooker.

Viola, you have what many people are now using to cure their own cancer.

This as of April 1^st in Canada is no illegal.

The more concerning thing regarding this industry is that I am convinced as cannabis science is developed and progresses… no one will ever recommend RAW WEED as medicine.   So if you are under the same belief as I am… the Medical Marijuana market in Canada goes underground April1st 2014 thanks to the Canadian govt. 

My Personal Experience with Concentrates

As of September I was almost forced off Cannabinoid therapy because of severe allergies to marijuana smoke that included hayfever and sinusitis.   I posted on my website last year that raw weed wsn’t working for me and I needed to increase my dose.  Not decrease it!  When the FEDs announced the new rules including a ban on concentrates the BC courts immediately brought in an injunction which actually paved the way for my Compassion Club to offer a variety of concentrates.   I didn’t even hesitate to switch.  It was a no brainer.
In the 5 months since… My sinusitis is virtually eliminated.

In fact because of the switch, I have been able to significantly increase my dose which has virtually eliminated other problems I was having like initial signs of HIV dementia.  Since I switched…  I have undeniably got my brain back.  Not only that, but my 10km run time went from 44:00 to 40:00!!!

There is no way after my experience switching from raw weed to vaporizing concentrates (shatter/budder) that anyone can tell me raw weed smoke is ideal cannabinoid therapy delivery.   It simply is not.  In fact raw weed smoke is by far and away the most inefficient AND unhealthiest way to consume cannabinoids. 

The only reason you should EVER smoke marijuana is for recreational use!!!    

Because the system denies access at the expense of patients’ and further eliminates true cannabinoid therapy products… the Canadian GOVT has set up Canadian LP’s to fail.  I cannot and will not recommend a single Canadian company until they develop a system that works for both patients’ and companies and allows the true medical marijuana industry to thrive in Canada.  Not this fake program the FED’s are setting up.  The current rules to not allow for this and in fact violate a patient’s constitutional right to reasonable access.
I am all for the commercialization of medical marijuana in Canada.  What I am not for is the fact that it is being done at the expense of the patient who cannot afford access.  This is a fundamental UN right/guideline regarding medical marijuana, being that cannabis is a cheap financial alternative to pharmaceuticals simply because a patient can grow it!  Not only is the Canadian GOVT contravening its own laws, it is contravening UN guidelines regarding medical marijuana.

There is a very simply solution in Canada that allows for both patients to grow and LP’s to thrive.

1. Allow all marijuana products
2. Create a cap for personal production at the proper dose for one cancer treatment (6 to 8 ounces per month or a 25 to 30 plant max).
3. If a patient requires higher doses.  Set up a program that allows an LP to grow for the patient at a $2 to $3 per gram price (this could be subsidized by GOVT).
4. Allow Medical Marijuana retail outlets similar to the California which supply ALL the latest cannabis products.  Not just raw wed and not just a mail program.  A real business has a storefront.

See how easy it to have a system that works for both?  It doesn’t have to be one or the other.  The cap will eliminate the criminal element and patients are free to grow a room full of plants which will suit 99% of former MMAR patients who wish to continue to grow.   With companies developing true medical products, that is when and where the true advancements in cannabis medicine can take hold.  That is where the major money is going to be.  If prohibition wasn’t around… marijuana would be $1 to $3 per gram.  Not $10 to $15. This is the real reason why patients have to continue to grow their own…

PROHITIBION SIMPLY MAKES THE COST OF BUYING A POUND OF WEED TO CURE YOUR OWN CANCER UNAFFORDABLE AND OUT OF REACH FOR MOST.

The opportunity is there for any Canadian company to take the challenge if they want to do it the right way.  But they have to take a market leader role and they have to challenge the Canadian GOVT on the DRACONIAN RULES about to be introduced.  More importantly have to come out in support of patients’ right to grow.

Until this issue is solved.  I cannot and will not involve myself in the Canadian cannabis industry and I suggest anyone who wants to invest  in cannabis look south for companies, because what we got up here is a joke and will not be able to compete against their US counterparts who are doing it right!!!   Not like a Canadian LP… it’s just bad karma to invest in such a socially irresponsible area right now.   In fact any US company with plans on developing a Canadian LP… I will ignore as well.

The issue is so far out of whack that you have the opposition in Canada saying they are going to outright legalize marijuana.   That is how screwed up and OFFSIDE the current Canadian GOVT is on this issue.   They have gone so far off track… when they lose power the Liberals come in and legalize it.  But that is what happens when things get so far out of balance and leaders become way too far out of touch with reality, let alone the people they are supposed to govern.


#2 The Recreational Market

This is the market where you are going to get the marijuana version of Anheuser-Busch BUD or Philip Morris PM.  Simply put, this market is going to grow to rival alcohol and cigarettes.  Recreational marijuana is why alcohol and tobacco have given billions in lobby money to the US GOVT.   The recreational market is still on limbo as two states can’t support the lofty valuations we are hunting down, but it is certainly a start and most likely the catalyzing event for legalization of marijuana across the US.  Alaska is voting on legalization this summer and the issue is going to keep appearing on almost all states voting cards.  Once legalization is a foregone conclusion, and in my eye’s mind it already is, you will see the big boys enter this market.
Will a tobacco company switch to marijuana?  Probably.  So the early adopters in this industry need this ‘LIMBO’ head start.

The marijuana industry will start out more like craft brewing than anything else.  So there will be a stage of merger and acquisition after this initial start-up phase peters out.  Companies with a solid growth/acquisition plan will do the best in the long run, but right now we are still at the beginning of the initial run-up phase that will last another 12 to 18 months, so companies are still making initial acquisitions and feeling each other and testing the markets. 



My first pick in the sector that I believe is heading for greatness and possibly the BUD of POT stocks is PLPL.  This could be a Microsoft repeat, but with marijuana.  Plandai Technology have partnered with former Microsoft exec Jamen Shively who is resurrecting his grandfather’s cannabis  company “Diego Pellicer”, a hemp company with a long rich history beginning in the late 1800’s.  At one time Diego Pellicer was the largest hemp grower in the world.   This is not just any old brand name Jamen Shively is resurrecting; this was one of the biggest hemp companies in the world at its time.

If Jamen plays his cards right, Diego Pellicer will be reincarnate and on track as a market leader as one of the biggest hemp/marijuana companies in the world once again.  I am not going to bet against him as this person understands marketing.  He understands branding and has brought together the right partners with already $15M in institutional investment.
By far and away one of the largest investments made in a marijuana company to date.  

Jamen is quite aggressive and has already stated his intent to make Diego Pellicer into the Starbucks of Marijuana.   In order to do this he is going to have to implement a merger and acquisition model to gain market share and ensure his brand is the best.   Plandai Biotechnology is the early front runner.  PLPL is not cheap at a $150M market cap. But again I expect his company to be a buyer and grow by acquisition.

 The big keys to success will be …

1. Marketing of course.
2.  Branding is big. 
3. Mergers and acquisitions.

As the legalization process opens up across America.   Recreational marijuana is a sector I will more openly start to pick, but for now it’s all about medical marijuana.  PLPL is the logical choice for a top recreational stock with the history of the brand and the fact you have one of the top executives in any industry leading the marijuana charge.


#3 HEMP Market

One of the biggest things to happen in the Hemp Industry in 2014 was Barak Obama signing the new Farm Bill in Michigan last Friday Feb. 7 with little fanfare.  This precedent setting legislation basically brings back legal hemp agriculture in the USA after being banned for more than 4 decades.    In the $956.4B Farm Bill is an amendment that allows universities and state agricultural departments to grow and research industrial properties without fear of reprisal from the federal government.   While this only seems like a small step to hemp legalization in the US; it is the first time since the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that industrial hemp has been defined by federal law which was banned along with marijuana in spite of the fact that industrial hemp has very little THC; the only psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant. 

What it means in the long run is it is the first step in the legalization process of industrial hemp which is now being defined by the FEDS as different from marijuana.  It means that Industrial Hemp could easily be taken out of the controlled substances act or may even not need to because it now has its own classification whose definition isn’t included in the Controlled Substances Act.  The Farm Bill is only temporary classification of industrial hemp for 5 years, but The Industrial Hemp Farming Act is currently before the House and the Senate which would reclassify hemp permanently.

Legal hemp in the US is just around the corner and when the GOVT ratifies the Industrial Hemp Farming Act.  This will start a whole new industry in the USA.  The global market for hemp includes some 25,000 products.  That is some raw material eh?   Hemp is undeniably the most versatile plant in the planet.   No other plant we harvest has more uses than the hemp plant.   Current US market is estimated at $500 million annually and this would grow exponentially once industrial hemp is legalized in the USA.

1. HEMP is NUTRITION.
2. HEMP is FIBER.  
3. HEMP is FUEL.

Hemp as Nutrition

Hemp hearts are one of the healthiest things you can eat.  For a vegan, hemp hearts are a saving grace because they are one of the most complete proteins.  A spoonful of hemp hearts on your yogurt is about 10 grams of protein.  They are also loaded with important fatty acids like Omega 3 and Omega 6’s.

Essentially, hemp hearts as a protein source are healthier than fish.  And that doesn’t count for the fact you are eating raw cannabinoids which in their raw form help the Endocannabinoid system rebalance your body.  The hemp plant is a very important nutritional source that if consumed on mass will make all of us healthier and probably cut down on health care costs.  Eating hemp as nutrition will have such a positive impact that we will not get as sick and when we do… it won’t be for as long.

While I cannot at this time recommend Canadian companies in the in the medical marijuana field because they are not true marijuana companies, Naturally Splendid NSP.V is a Canadian Hemp nutrition company that will benefit as the revolution in hemp continues to expand.

Hemp as Fiber

I bought a hoodie that is made with 50% hemp and 50% cotton.  I have never worn a warmer sweater in my life.  The big problem with hemp is that it is still very expensive.  Hemp protein is not cheap and my biggest hope is that the cost of many of these products comes down to a reasonable level as more hemp is grown in North America.  The price hemp is still makes it out of reach for most budgets including mine.

Industrial Hemp to Start a Bio Fuel Revolution?

It is still early but my biggest idea coming out of the industrial hemp sector is that HEMP could lead a renewed biofuel boom like we saw with ethanol a few years back. There is one big difference though.  Ethanol is an additive while Hemp oil can be converted into 100% fuel completely cutting gasoline out of the equation as fuel.  I am a huge proponent of Electric Vehicles obviously.   I will always be.  But I am a realist and people are going to drive internal combustion engines until they drop dead and can’t be fixed.

HEMP fuel could be a solution to allow internal combustions engines to at least not be such carbon taxing machines.   

Not only do you cut out gasoline from tar sands where they are cutting down the Taiga which cleans our atmosphere…  the hemp crops we plant for fuel will clean our air.  The opposite of fuel form the dirty tar sands.  How about that… a fuel that has close to a zero carbon impact!?!?!  You get 4 times as much fuel per acre than corn and again, it’s a fuel that replaces gasoline and is not just an additive.


Cannabidoil CBD…The Primary Cancer Killing Cannabinoid?

On my Facebook a few weeks back a FB friend from Texas, (an UBER conservative Facebook at that) announced he had cancer in his hip.  So me being the chatty person I am kept posting about Rick Simpson Oil RSO on his cancer posts.   After the third time or so one of his relatives says…

“Just get him some oil!!!”  

Now the big thing I took out of that was even the most uber right wing gun toting conservative in Texas is open to the idea of cannabis curing cancer.   I can’t exactly counsel the guy to commit a crime in Texas where medical marijuana isn’t even legal, knowing Texas law, they would try and charge me with a crime and extradite me for life imprisonment… but it got me to thinking.

What might work for the guy?

I ended up on Medical Marijuana’s subsidiary HempMedsPX which sells Real Scientific Hemp Oil RSHO.  It isn’t Rick Simpson Oil RSO, which is extracted from the marijuana plant vs. the hemp plant; but concentrated hemp oil has similar concentrations of non-psychoactive Cannabidoil CBD which has been shown to work against skin cancer.  CBD is what many believe is the primary cancer killing cannabinoid.  The BIG THING is that Real Scientific Hemp Oil is processed from hemp therefore has no THC and is LEGAL to ship to all 50 states in the USA.   Now I don’t want to suggest to anyone that MJNA and CANV’s RSHO can cure cancer without providing evidence.

BUT…

 Is Medical Marijuana Inc. unwittingly or even knowingly sitting on the cure for cancer???

Your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea.  All I know is that my whole life I have been putting two and two together and the answer always comes up the same, 4.   I am not sure about the actual concentrations of oil they have but 17% to 21% CBD in the plant is similar CBD concentrations in the marijuana plant.  It would be very interesting to see the effects done on cancer patients with between these two products.  When know RSO works. Does RSHO do the same thing in high enough concentrations?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/photo-release-medical-marijuana-inc-140000662.html

Will common sense prevail and Scientific Method rule where sanity and common sense have so far eluded us in favor of old bias and drug war propaganda?    We will soon find out because there are no legality issues with RSHO.   The big question I have is RSHO concentrated enough?

All I know is that CBD plays a major role in the cancer cell death process and has shown to stop metastasis in breast cancer cells as well as curing melanoma.  There is no reason not to believe RSHO could be the real deal.  The fact the HempMedsPX sales jumped 500% in the last quarter shows signs there is interest in cannabinoid based products although I don’t think RSHO is the company’s top selling product.  Now MJNA could never advertise this even if they did suspect they have the cure for cancer until they actually have studies and testimonies… but there are enough clues that point to a positive conclusion of this hypothesis that RSHO could help at least as part of a cancer therapy.  As the word gets out about cannabis curing cancer, I think many will turn to HempMedPX’s RSHO at least supplement their cancer treatments.    It is not cheap, but you can order it online and have it delivered to your home.

So while the process at ending prohibition will be somewhat drawn out over the next decade and not everyone will have access to Rick Simpson Oil at the same time.  MJNA’s Real Scientific Hemp Oil comes in a close second with high concentrations of CBD, just no THC.  It is true both cannabinoids kill cancer cells.  Not to over simplify the process, but THC kills cancer cells directly while CBD makes them commit suicide.  The cancer killing properties are unique to each cannabinoid.

There is no doubt in my mind cannabis cures cancer and CBD plays a major role in the process. If CBD can kill cancer cells on its own, RSHO should work.

http://realscientifichempoil.com/


The MJNA/CANV relationship

So how does the CANV/MJNA relationship work?

In a nutshell MJNA sold CANV PhystoSphere for $35M in cash and stock (mostly stock); about 5.8M shares worth.  CANV imports hemp paste and then refines it into Real Scientific Hemp Oil and other CBD products like anti-aging skin creams, and tinctures and then wholesales it to MJNA.  MJNA then retails the CDB products through their subsidiary HempMedsPX.   Currently CANV and MJNA market caps are upside down.  MJNA should have the billion dollar valuation while CANV should be closer to a quarter of billion than the lofty $1.6B valuation the company now enjoys.

CANV does not have a lot of liquidity and is one reason the stock is so high feeding off of marijuana euphoria.  I don’t know if I would short it because growth stocks can enjoy insane premiums and if the market views the stock as continually growing it will reward the company in SP while the market is in its infancy.  Just look at the 3D printing stock valuations.  At 24M shares outstanding, I cannot see this as more than a $10 to $30 stock in true value.  The $70 SP it currently enjoys is beyond what I call a good place to buy the stock with very little revenue.  I don’t see MJNA or any of the other majority shareholders selling out any time soon so you either own it or you don’t.   If you bought at $30 or under, it’s easy to hold… but I don’t know if I would initiate new positions at the current price.

At any rate…I view MJNA as the bargain in the sector.

When you know what I know about CBD, you know the future is very bright.  The problem is gauging how fast and how viral CDB goes?  Will Doctor Oz go on Oprah jumping on couches exclaiming the wonders of CBD?  If he does… MJNA and CANV sales will go ballistic.

What is very encouraging is HempMedsPX sales jumped 500% quarter over quarter and MJNA recently announced a $1.1M purchase order.  It seems that revenue growth for MJNA concerning CBD is hitting a flashpoint and starting to take off.  There is a lot of interest in the anti-aging cream.  Of course cosmetics!!! Obviously follow up sales and continued growth are very important and next quarters numbers will be key to indicate if CBD as a product has lift off.   For now the market is going to enjoy the moment and the Euphoria of the marijuana sector being born.  Is it time for MJNA to join the party and start making 52 week highs?

HempMedsPX revenue has quickly grown to represent almost 15% of the revenue of $8.07M for the quarter and I would not be surprised to see this trend to continue and where CDB product sales will ultimately drive top line revenue of the company.  This type of growth is possible with CANV recently announcing a 1500% increase in production capacity.

At this point in time I think CANV is well over done while MJNA is relatively undervalued compared to its peers and not just CANV. 




The biggest sector move since TECH

 This is undeniably the beginning of the biggest move in any sector since tech.

The bullish run in pot stocks in 2014 is real… let others worry.  I am going to climb it.  Are you?

After reading this article and the potential of the industry are you going to tell me that the run up isn’t real?

Just read any of the articles bashing the pot stocks.  They don’t understand what is going on. They think this is about legal pot.  Yeah, that is part of it for sure and it’s going to happen… but this run up is a heck of a lot more than that. This is about being on the verge of making breakthroughs in many different diseases with cannabinoids.  This is about an alternative energy revolution.  It’s about changing your health, everyone’s health and hemp based food products play a huge role in that.  
 

OUR BODIES NEED CANNABINOIDS!!!

So now you want the okay from Big Brother Uncle Sam to invest in this sector?

On Friday the Obama Administration released new rules that aim to ease relationships between banks and LEGAL marijuana shops.   So far the final pin in the wheel to make everything work is marijuana companies have not been able to deposit funds and the new rules basically give the okay from banks to accept POT PROFITS from the legal medical and recreational cannabis industries in the USA.

This may not seem like a lot for most people and just a small piece of news, but if you read between the lines this is basically Obama saying to Wall Street that it is okay to invest in this industry and the GOVT is not going to take the profits or capital.   One of the big things about capital is it is risk adverse and the fact that that the GOVT might seize your funds and assets at any time was just too much for most.

This risk was virtually eliminated Friday.

Ultimately cannabis stocks were moved up the risk curve by a factor of 10 and if you don’t think so… just watch Wall Street’s reaction to this move over the following month or two… if you thought January was insane… just watch the next 2 or 3 months going into May.  This is a catalyzing event for the investment community and ultimately paves the legalization process forward in many states removing a huge obstacle to the business of cannabis.

 All you have to do is learn about the Endocannabinoid system and make the connection like I did almost 8 years ago.

Some clear winners of this legislation are the marijuana transaction stocks like…

• Mediswipe MWIP
• SinglePoint SING
• Tranzbyte ERBB
• Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions REFG

The reality is that the ENTIRE INDUSTRY IS GOING TO BENEFIT AND MAYBE MJNA will now turn into the market leader as WALL STREET money is safe from the DEA, FBI, and CIA. 
I think president Obama will declassify cannabis as a schedule 1 drug by the end of his presidency.   It will be one of his legacies.  If the powers that be can nominate Jose Mujica President of Uruguay for a Nobel Peace Prize for being the first leader of a country in the world to legalize cannabis… what will they do for the leader of the free world when he legalizes cannabis?
Make him a God?

If Cannabis does half what I indicate it does in the BIG 4 HOLY GRAILS of MEDICAL MARIJUANA that I outlined above, you cannot argue with how important legalization is.

If HEMP starts a biofuel revolution cutting gasoline use while we switch over to electric…  he will have done some Al Gore still has yet to do.

Actually do something about the environment.

You know how the say Al Gore invented the internet?  They are going to say the same thing about Obama. 

1. They guy who saved the environment with HEMP.
2. The guy who legalized the cure for cancer.  

Actually let me rephrase that not THE GUY… but THE MAN.   There has never been a bigger chance for any one man on Earth to make a big impact with one failing swoop of legislation.   In fact, if Cannabinoids can do all this stuff. It might make medicare in the US work.   You might find people, just not needing to use the system anymore, people like me who hasn’t been to a doctor in almost 3 years.

And I am supposed to be a chronic user costing the system over $20k a year in health care costs.
The bottom line is the time to invest in cannabis stocks is finally here.

I am jumping at the opportunity.

How about you?

Christopher Skidmore

Beat the Market Stock Picks

 

 

Company	Stock Symbol	Share Price	Shares Outstanding	Market Cap	Description
Cannavest Corp	CANV	$69.00	*23,952,167	$1.72B	Manufacture and sale of industrial Cannabidoil source from the Hemp plant.  Growth by acquisition model. - PhytoSPHERE Systems recently announced a 1500% increase in industrial Hemp Oil production capacity.
Medical Marijuana	MJNA	$0.315	301,339,332	$298.5M	Own several hemp and medical marijuana based subsidiaries
GW Pharmaceuticals Plc	GWPH	$61.57	14,830,307	$912.22M	Producing novel cannabinoid drugs for afflictions such as cancer, MS and diabetes.
Cannabis Science	CBIS	$0.1829	761,323,906	$139.25M	Specializes in Cannabis-based pharmaceutical development focusing on novel AIDS and Cancer drugs.
Nuvilex	NVLX	$0.169	593,411,348	$100.29M	Using proprietary Cell-in-a-Box technology to develop cannabis based cancer treatments
Planda Biotech *top public pick*	PLPL	$1.53	106,320,760	$162.67M	Licensed “Diego Pellicer Gold” extracts in both capsules and cannabis oil to medicinal consumers wordwide.   Partnered with former Microsoft turned marijuana exec Jamen Shively. - Have proprietary hydrodynamic shearing process to produce extracts.
Endocan Corporation	ENDO	$0.1135	67,886,647	$7.71M	Developing new natural cannabis-based products on innovative formulations that utilize the unique benefits of the cannabis plant.
MediSwipe Inc.	MWIP	$0.41	45,010,155	$18.45M	Critical payments and records technology. Sells hemp-based beverages and owns the Mont Blunt Vaporizers and e cig product brands.
Mentor Capital	MNTR	$2.95	6,419,312	$18.93M	Hydroponics and organics markets.  Regulatory and financing transactions (GIFT program).  Acquisition model hydroponic stores and financing large scale legal grow operations.
Medbox Inc.	MDBX	$31.75	14,475,375	$468.76M	Provides comprehensive solutions to the cannabis industry including patented MedBox dispensing technology.
Growlife Inc.	PHOT	$0.38	711,855,833	$270.5M	Public market funding for cannabis -GRNH, ERBB, CBDS, GWPH, MDBX, CANV, MJNA, -Nevada Cannabis Ventures
Fusion Pharm Inc.	FSPM	$5.00	8,019,191	$40.1M	Develops and markets patented PharmPods which are advanced hydroponic cultivation systems constructed from standard steel shipping containers.  Collaborating with Growlife.
Cannabis Sativa	CBDS	$9.22	7,825,000	$72.15M	Targeting ‘medical marijuana’, acquiring super potent marijuana strains.  Headed by none other than renowned marijuana activist Steve Kubby.
IMD Companies	ICBU	$0.114	161,405,162	$18.4M	Hydroponic equipment through their hydroponic subsidiary.  Actively looking for more marijuana acquisitions. Jointly owns GreenLink Inc. with EXMT which is an online marijuana e-commerce including e-cigs.
Medical Cannabis Payment Systems	REFG	$0.2365	75,148,731	$17.78M	Payment solutions. Mobile apps. Seed to sale CRM.
HPC POS Systems	HPCS	$0.0275	3,858,523,393	$106.1M	Announced entering the market with Cool Breez MM e-cigs/vaporizers and developing edibles, cosmetics, software, and e-commerce.
Alternative Energy Initiatives	AEGY	0.0073	2,628,664,335	19.19M	Marijuana E-commerce site. Legally sells medical marijuana at www.PharmaJanes.com.
Latteno Food Corp	LATF	$0.0098	1,809,425,314	$17.73M	Company acquires cannabis/hemp based food products and medical marijuana edibles and related products/services to enhance revenue potential/growth.
VaporBrands Intl. Inc.	VAPR	$0.257	70,061,606	$18.01M	Market Hemp Oil in electronic cigarettes produced by HEMP subsidiary (Marijuana Inc.)
Tranzbyte Corp	ERBB	0.0303	2,854,334,150	$60M	Focuses on transaction related solutions to the medical marijuana industry.
Advanced Cannabis Solutions Inc.	CANN	$12.25	15,097,200	$185M	Provides comprehensive solutions to the cannabis industry including investing in property to lease for cannabis cultivation.
HEMP Inc.	HEMP	$0.15	1,649,949,387	$250M	Own several subsidiaries (Basic Hemp/Herbagenix) that provide hemp/algae based nutritional and provide cannabis/hemp products through Marijuana Inc.
SinglePoint Inc.	SING	$0.04	232,371,213	$9M	Develops state-of-the-art mobile payment systems for the cannabis and medical marijuana industries.

List of Diseases Marijuana Treats
 

1. ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
2. Alzheimer’s
3. Amyloidosis
4. Anorexia Nervosa / Appetite
5. Arthritis
6. Arthropathy
7. Asthma
8. ADHD
9. Autism
10. Asperger’s
11. Auto –Immune Diseases
12. Bipolar disorder
13. Burns
14. Cancer – Effective against all cancer
    1. Malignant Melanoma or any skin cancer
    2. Prostate Cancer
    3. Testicular Cancer
    4. Adrenal Cortical Cancer
    5. Brain Malignant Tumor
    6. Lymphoma and Reticular Cancer
    7. Leukemia
15. Chemotherapy Convales
16. Cystic Fibrosis
17. Depression
18. Diabetes Mellitus
    1. Diabetic Neuropathy
    2. Diabetic Peripheral Vascular Disease
19. Delirium Tremens+
20. Dementia
21. Depression (Single Episode and Recurring)
22. Emphysema
23. Epilepsy
24. Eczema
25. Fibromyalgia (FM or FMS)
26. Glaucoma
27. Glioblastoma Mulitforme
28. Glioma
29. Gout
30. Hemopjilia A
31. Henoch-Schoelein Purphur
32. Hepatitis C
33. Herpes (genital)
34. High Blood Pressure
35. HIV
36. Huntington’s Disease
37. Hypoglycemia(s)
38. Incontinence
39. Insomnia
40. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
41. Lipomatosis
42. Lyme Disease
43. Mania
44. Methicillin – Resistant Staphyococcus Aureus (MRSA) or STAPH INFECTIONS
45. Migraines
46. Mucopolysaccharidosis
47. Multiple Sclerosis
48. Nausea & Vomiting
49. Obesity (Exogenous and Morbid)
50. Osteoporosis
51. Pain Relief (Analgesia)
52. Parkinson’s Syndrome
53. Post-Polio Syndrome
54. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
55. Pregnancy
56. Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
57. Pruritus
58. Psoriasis
59. Reiter’s Syndrome
60. Schizophrenia(s)
61. Schizoaffective Disorder
62. Shingles
63. Sickle Cell Disease
64. Spinal Cord Injuries
65. Tourette’s Syndrome

The potential markets keep going on and on and on.  In fact there are over 700 documented ailments/diseases/symptoms that cannabis and its cannabinoids treat.

http://www.encod.org/info/700-MEDICINAL-USES-OF-CANNABIS.html