Staff
It’s time for your Daily Hit of cannabis financial news for July 24, 2018.
On The Site
Cato Report on Cannabis
The United States stands to gain hundreds of billions of dollars by ending the federal war on drugs. This is according to a new report released by the Cato Institute which found that the federal government could generate billions of dollars in savings and revenue by taxing and legalizing drugs across the board.
To come to this conclusion, the report author first estimated how much local, state, and federal authorities spend annually on drug enforcement. State and local government spend approximately $29 billion on drug enforcement annually, while the federal government spends approximately $18 billion; representing a total of $47 billion.
MariMed Inc.
MariMed Inc., (MRMD) has acquired iRollie LLC, including its intellectual property, clients, and its host of products and services in a deal valued at $600,000 to be paid in MariMed stock. IN addition to acquiring the company, iRollie’s cofounders Luke Shepter and Joe Khoury have been hired by MariMed to expand the iRollie business as well as to bring their expertise and services in-house.
According to the company statement, the company purchase will allow MariMed to round out its portfolio with an ancillary business capable of servicing all existing brands and drive new business.
The Initiative
“The playing field is still not level,” says Amy Margolis, founder of The Commune in Old Town Portland, Oregon, “I finally reached my breaking point of being the only woman in rooms full of men doing cannabis deals.”
Margolis’ extensive experience led her to one of her most proud endeavors in the cannabis business: The Commune and its in-house program The Initiative. The Initiative is an accelerator program specifically for women cannabis entrepreneurs and executives. Margolis developed The Initiative to rebalance the gender discrepancy in the cannabis industry.
In Other News
Bespoke Extracts Inc.
Bespoke Extracts, Inc. (BSPK) announced that its common stock has been approved for uplisting to the OTCQB Venture Market Place, effective immediately. “We are very pleased to be trading on the OTCQB as it will provide our shareholders and potential new investors with greater transparency and liquidity in our common stock. Moreover, we believe that trading on this established public market will help to generate enhanced exposure of our Company among institutional investors who typically would not invest in Pink Sheet companies,” noted Marc Yahr, Bespoke Extracts CEO.
Kush Bottles Inc.
Kush Bottles, Inc. (KSHB) announced that it has launched three new child-resistant product lines, including three proprietary packaging lines, as the company continues to expand its product offering to include more variety and offer cannabis industry vendors more customizable, compliant packaging options. As part of the new product line announcement, Kush Bottles is also now a premier distributor of LocTin by Compliant Packaging.
International Cannabrands Inc.
International Cannabrands Inc.(GEATF) announced that Steve Gormley has been appointed as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The Company’s current CEO, Jeffrey Britz has resigned as the Company’s CEO and has been appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Gormley had previously joined the Company’s Board of Directors on April 16, 2018.
Terra Tech Corp.
Terra Tech Corp. (TRTC) has been granted two permits by the City of Santa Ana to operate one retail dispensary on Dyer Road and one on Carnegie Avenue in Santa Ana, California. Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech, commented, “We first entered the Southern California market in September of last year when we commenced operating and managing a cannabis dispensary in Santa Ana. We are proud to have successfully leveraged this first mover advantage to obtain two new retail permits and expand our presence in Orange County.”
