NEW YORK, November 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to data compiled by Verified Market Intelligence, the global marijuana market was valued at USD 42.2 Billion in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 466.81 Billion. The market is set to grow at a CAGR of 35.3% during the forecast period, from 2018 to 2025. Marijuana is seeing a strong market demand, primarily for its medical usage. Although product sales are only legalized entirely in two nations, Canada and Uruguay, the recreational market is also projected to see strong demand. The U.S. has dominated recreational cannabis sales, as it drove over 90% of the revenue alone despite only having 9 states and the District of Columbia legalize the plant. Other factors such as the increased usage of cannabis for therapeutic applications, treatment for chronic pain and medical marijuana clubs are also driving the overall market growth. CLS Holdings, USA Inc. CLSH, GW Pharmaceuticals plc GWPH, MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMNFF, KushCo Holdings, Inc. KSHB, Vitality Biopharma, Inc. VBIO

Although cannabis is legalized in very few regions, the market has seen tremendous growth in recent time. Previously, cannabis was illegal entirely in the U.S., but now about a fifth of the country has already passed laws of decriminalization, while many more are awaiting voting. "We have become increasingly sophisticated in terms of high-quality production, retail design, product innovation and involvement in our local communities. Whereas before 2014, most cannabis companies had limited business experience to draw upon and were restricted in terms of the third-party vendors with which we could work, today we operate in the most mature cannabis market in the world, complete with an ecosystem of ancillary businesses that have helped us grow and improve," said Chief Executive Officer of LivWell Enlightened Health, John Lord in an interview report by Westword.

CLS Holdings, USA Inc. CLSH earlier last month announced that, "On September 17th, 2018 the company announced breaking news that, "it has executed two Letters of Intent (LOIs) to enter the rapidly growing Massachusetts market. CLS looks forward to the opportunity to enter the Massachusetts market, which has been operating as a legalized medical jurisdiction since 2015 and has approved legalized recreational use.

CLS has agreed in principle to loan $5 million to In Good Health, a licensed medical dispensary in Brockton, Massachusetts with a significant market share. Along with the loan, CLS will have an option to acquire InGood Health. InGood Health is located 25 miles south of downtown Boston and is one of the 38 licensed dispensaries in the state. The Brockton dispensary was the second licensed dispensary in the state and has been operational since September 2015, which has been medical only up until this time. In Good Health is currently servicing 17,000 registered patients and delivering to 1,700 homes with key product offerings of flower, concentrates, vapes, edibles, pre-rolls and tinctures. CLS has also agreed in principle to form an 80/20 joint venture with CannAssist, which CLS will own 80%. CannAssist plans to build out a recreationally licensed cultivation grow facility in Leicester, Massachusetts. The planned Leicester 86,000 square foot facility is in possession of its host community agreement, is awaiting state acknowledgement of its pending recreational licenses and upon completion will be the third largest cultivation grow in the state. The Leicester facility is anticipated to produce its first harvest in the fourth quarter of 2019 and be able to produce 28,000 lbs of flower along with 858,000 grams of extract once it is operating at capacity. At current pricing of $3,500 per pound of flower and $40 per gram of extract, total capacity is expected to reach $120 million in revenue. CLS anticipates generating substantial positive cash flow from the joint venture. Massachusetts has a population of 6.9 million people as compared to 5.6 million people in Colorado. Massachusetts is also centrally located to the dense population of New England with a less than 100-mile drive from Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont. In 2017, Colorado generated $1.5 billion in legalized marijuana sales and had over 500 licensed dispensaries and over 700 licensed cultivation facilities. Massachusetts currently has issued only 39 licensees.

Jeff Binder, Chief Executive Officer of CLS Holdings USA, commented, 'We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to enter the Massachusetts market. It's something we have been eyeing for a long time given the attractive characteristics and recent approval of adult use cannabis. This opportunity fits into our stated objective of entering markets that are on the cusp of implementing a robust adult use market.'

David Noble, President of InGood Health and Partner of CannAssist, commented, 'I am proud of all our team has accomplished to create a leading medical marijuana dispensary. I look forward to continuing our mission and hard work We look forward to the opportunity to be part of one of the top companies in the field. This will ensure that we can provide the highest quality products to patients and customers for many years to come.'

Jon Napoli, Managing Partner, CannAssist, stated, 'We have been working with the city of Leicester for the past 12 months on this project and are pleased to receive all necessary approvals. This will bring a number of employment opportunities to this community and we look forward to being a reliable partner and producing some of the finest quality cannabis in the state.'"

To view our exclusive interview with Director Andrew Glashow of CLS Holdings USA Inc. Live from Times Square in New York City, please see HD video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvNA_pzi4iE

GW Pharmaceuticals plc GWPH, founded in 1998, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform in a broad range of disease areas. GW Pharmaceuticals plc recently announced that the EPIDIOLEX® (cannabidiol) oral solution has been transferred to Schedule V, the lowest restriction classification, by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). EPIDIOLEX, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 25^th, 2018 for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) or Dravet syndrome in patients two years of age or older, is the first prescription pharmaceutical formulation of highly-purified, plant-derived cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabinoid lacking the high associated with marijuana, and the first in a new category of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). "We are pleased that the DEA has placed EPIDIOLEX in the lowest restriction Schedule, because it will help ensure that patients with LGS and Dravet syndrome, two of the most debilitating forms of epilepsy, can access this important new treatment option through their physicians," said Justin Gover, GW's Chief Executive Officer. "With this final step in the regulatory process completed, we are working hard to make EPIDIOLEX available within the next six weeks as we know there is excitement for a standardized version of cannabidiol that has undergone the rigor of controlled clinical trials and been approved by the FDA."

MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMNFF is a leading cannabis company in the U.S. with assets and operations across the country. MedMen Enterprises Inc. recently announced it has completed a minority investment in Old Pal, a popular California-based brand that provides every day, high-quality cannabis flower for its customers. Old Pal is one of the best-known flower brands in California and one of the fastest growing brands in the cannabis industry today. All of Old Pal's flower is naturally sun-grown. The Company has built a loyal following through its focus on community engagement and authentic shared experiences. "Old Pal has a differentiated and high-quality product offering that is in tune with the needs of the modern cannabis consumer," said Adam Bierman, MedMen Chief Executive and Co-Founder. "This a strategic investment, the third of its kind to date, to broaden MedMen's reach with consumers in this quickly evolving space."

KushCo Holdings, Inc. KSHB is the parent company to a diverse group of business units that are transformative leaders in the cannabis, CBD and other related industries. KushCo Holdings, Inc. recently announced that it has joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition ("SPC"), a membership-based collaborative that is considered the leading voice on sustainable packaging solutions. "Joining the Sustainable Packaging Coalition is a milestone not only for our company but for cannabis industry as whole. KushCo and its divisions are the first cannabis related company to join this premier tier of global brands in the SPC. This initiative further demonstrates our commitment to developing sustainable packaging solutions for the cannabis supply chain," said Chief Executive Officer, Nick Kovacevich. "We are dedicated to understanding how KushCo can employ innovative methods to develop more environmentally friendly packaging. As the cannabis industry's largest and most respected distributor of packaging, supplies, and accessories, being a leader in reducing waste in the cannabis industry is an important pillar we internally rally around and plan for this to be a jumping off point for further sustainable company initiatives. As we innovate sustainable packaging options we will use our Koleto team of designers and engineers to further create and develop marketable products in this new tier of packaging awareness. We look forward to working with the SPC and its members to collaborate and determine how we can reduce our environmental impact and we're excited for the innovative ideas and products which are to come."

Vitality Biopharma, Inc. VBIO is dedicated to unlocking the power of cannabinoids for the treatment of serious neurological and inflammatory disorders. Vitality Biopharma, Inc. recently announced the filing of national patent applications in the United States and Canada that describe compounds discovered to be effective in a drug screening model for neural repair. The discoveries included a compound that is known to have a positive track record of safety in clinical trials and to provide pain relief through modulation of the vanilloid TRPV1 receptor. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabinoid independently FDA-approved in pharmaceutical form for the treatment of epilepsy, is also known to relieve pain through modulation of the TRPV1 receptor. As a result, Vitality has made broad patent claims covering use of CBD and other TRPV1 agonists for myelin repair and for treatment of demyelinating disorders. "We're excited to pursue this intellectual property in the U.S. and Canada, and to perform additional work characterizing the regenerative potential of these compounds," said Robert Brooke, Chief Executive Officer of Vitality Biopharma. "By targeting fundamental mechanisms of neural repair, we believe the result could be more powerful therapeutics and treatment regimens that benefit patients across a variety of important disease states."

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