In this InvestorIntel interview with host Tracy Weslosky, TrustBIX Inc.‘s (TSXV: TBIX | OTCQB: TBIXF) CEO Hubert Lau talks about advances in the Company’s “Gate to Plate” blockchain-based platform to trace food supply to achieve more trust, less waste, and track and reward sustainable behaviour.

In the interview, which can also be viewed in full on the InvestorIntel YouTube channel (click here), Hubert talks about how TrustBIX is working with Cargill and JVS, two of the largest food processors in the world, and how TrustBIX can track and provide secure supply chain data on essential foods such as cattle, pigs and chickens from farm to table, eliminating waste and increasing profits in a truly green and ESG transparent way.

Hubert also discusses how TrustBIX is now in a scale-up phase with significant agreements in place and record reported earnings last years, as well as a recent acquisition of a company that allows them to track and manage high-value agricultural and other equipment.

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About TrustBIX Inc.

As an innovative leader, TrustBIX provides agri-food traceability and chain of custody value solutions. The Company’s goal is to create a world where we trust more, waste less and reward sustainable behaviour by addressing consumer and agri-food business demands. The proprietary platform, BIX (Business InfoXchange system), is designed to create trust without compromising privacy through innovative, blockchain-derived use of technology and data. By leveraging BIX and its unique use of incentive solutions, TrustBIX delivers independent validation of food provenance and sustainable production practices within the supply chain – Gate to Plate®.

ViewTrak Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, provides a suite of hardware and software solutions to the livestock industry in Canada, United States, Mexico and China, such as Auction Master Pro, Market Master, Feedlot Solutions and pork grading probes.

The Company’s Insight technology offers an edge-to-enterprise supply chain solution that brings asset situational awareness to dealers, equipment fleets, and civil construction managers. The platform allows for the tracking, protection, and identification of movement of assets using self-powered and self-reporting cellular tags and cloud-based suite of tools.

To learn more about TrustBIX Inc., click here

Disclaimer: TrustBIX Inc. is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp.

This interview, which was produced by InvestorIntel Corp., (IIC), does not contain, nor does it purport to contain, a summary of all the material information concerning the “Company” being interviewed. IIC offers no representations or warranties that any of the information contained in this interview is accurate or complete.

This presentation may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and assumptions of the management of the Company as of the date made. They are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual events/results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties, including those that the Company does not know about now or that it currently deems immaterial, may also adversely affect the Company’s business or any investment therein.

Any projections given are principally intended for use as objectives and are not intended, and should not be taken, as assurances that the projected results will be obtained by the Company. The assumptions used may not prove to be accurate and a potential decline in the Company’s financial condition or results of operations may negatively impact the value of its securities. Prospective investors are urged to review the Company’s profile on Sedar.com and to carry out independent investigations in order to determine their interest in investing in the Company.

If you have any questions surrounding the content of this interview, please contact us at +1 416 792 8228 and/or email us direct at [email protected].

Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) investing is big business these days as many global fund managers are required to use ESG criteria as part of their portfolio selection. According to NAVEX Global: “As of 2020, 88% of publicly traded companies, 79% of the venture and private equity-backed companies, and 67% of privately-owned companies had ESG initiatives in place.”

Today’s company fits in very nicely with regard to the data needed for ESG reports, particularly with regard to the food supply chain.

TrustBIX Inc. (TSXV: TBIX | OTCQB: TBIXF) offers a blockchain-based platform to trace food supply to achieve more trust, less waste, and reward sustainable behaviour. TrustBIX has two platforms ‘BIX’ (Business InfoXchange) and ‘ViewTrak’. BIX traces food from farm ‘Gate to Plate®’ to ensure that the food is sustainably produced. ViewTrak provides a suite of hardware and software solutions to the livestock industry.

TrustBIX expands its reach due to the completion of the ‘Insight’ acquisition

TrustBIX recently finalized the acquisition of a company called Insight Global Technology Inc. (Insight), which tracks and manages high-value agricultural and other equipment. TrustBIX CEO, Hubert Lau, stated: “Together with Insight, we will be combining our BIX technology and incentive solutions with Insight’s edge-to-enterprise supply chain solutions. With this expanded suite of offerings, we continue our commitment to expand our Gate-to-Plate® technologies for our customers.”

The purchase of Insight allows for TrustBIX to significantly expand their customer base well beyond the food supply chain. This is because Insight provides solutions to track, protect and identify the movement of high-value moveable equipment used in agriculture as well as other industries. Insight describes their business as “an edge-to-enterprise supply chain solution that brings asset situational awareness to dealers, rental fleets, and civil construction managers.”

Furthermore, the Insight acquisition has been executed strategically using TrustBIX equity. The brief details are: “The Insight shareholders will receive 10,000,000 Consideration Shares (subject to certain resale restrictions) on closing, and an additional amount of up to 20,000,000 Consideration Shares (subject to applicable escrow and resale restrictions) may be issued by the Company based on the satisfaction of certain financial metrics over the twelve months after the closing of the transaction.”

TrustBIX signs agreement with JBS Food Canada ULC

As announced on May 3, 2022, TrustBIX has also signed a master services agreement with JBS Food Canada ULC (“JBS Canada”). This is a big deal and may potentially open the door to a larger JBS deal in the future. JBS is one of the world’s largest food companies, which prepares, packages and delivers fresh, further-processed and value-added premium protein products for sale to customers in approximately 100 countries on 6 continents.

The news release states: “The companies will work as trusted partners to grow sustainable beef production in Canada. These services support the evolution of the JBS Angus beef brand with full chain of custody data tracking and analysis by the Company’s proprietary platform, BIX.”

David Colwell, President of JBS Canada, comments: “Food integrity is at the core of the JBS Canada Advantage, therefore working with the TrustBIX team will enhance the JBS journey to provide unmatched quality and service, along with accountability and transparency. JBS looks forward to developing a sustainable Angus beef program for our retail customers. We believe in this partnership with TrustBIX and their commitment to our sustainable beef program.”

TrustBIX sells software to help trace food and agricultural supply chains but has other uses also (energy monitoring, rewarding sustainable behaviour, tracing high value moveable equipment)

Source: TrustBIX website

Closing remarks

ESG investing is supported by data produced by companies using the best available software. TrustBIX continues to grow their offering of software products designed to support the industry to be able to produce the data needed for full chain of custody data tracking and analysis. The product producer and seller also benefit by having visibility over their supply chain. And finally the consumer benefits also by knowing the products they buy are coming from known sources.

TrustBIX’s recent news including the completion of the Insight acquisition and signing the JBS Canada agreement both speaks volumes for the direction in which TrustBIX is heading.

TrustBIX trades on a market cap of C$10 million.

The cannabis sector has had a bit of a rough go over the last year or so, to say the least. In Canada, the worst performing stock on the TSE Composite index in 2021 was Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED | NYSE: CGC) dropping an abysmal 67% throughout the course of 2021. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a single cannabis name that showed a positive return over the year. I looked at about 20 equities and only found OrganiGram Holdings Ltd. (TSX: OGI | NASDAQ: OGI) that bucked the negative trend but that doesn’t mean there weren’t possibly a few more. Nevertheless, 2021 was not the year to be a diehard cannabis investor.

Will 2022 be the time to shine for cannabis? Perhaps, if you are in the correct segment or have the right name. I don’t think we are going to see full on legalization in the U.S. this year that could potentially be the rising tide that lifts all boats. It strikes me that there may be a few more pressing matters on the political agenda that could take precedence over this subject, but you never know. In the meantime, I believe one has to focus on the road to profitability because sooner or later if you need to raise cash to survive in a sector with performance as poor as we saw in 2021 from cannabis it could be very difficult to get your hands on the capital you require to continue as a going concern. That’s why today we are going to have a closer look at Avicanna Inc. (TSX: AVCN | OTCQX: AVCNF).

The Company has a few irons in the fire, so to speak, that are all coming along nicely on the road to positive cash flow. Avicanna is a Canadian commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company established in cannabinoid research, development, and evidence-based products. Avicanna’s scientific platform has resulted in 30+ commercial and proprietary formulations and products including cosmetics, medical cannabis, and pharmaceuticals, in addition to its raw material business unit, which reaches across international markets. The latter, marketed under the Aureus™ brand, has successfully completed sales to 11 countries.

The two business segments I’d like to focus on today are the cosmetic business and the raw materials business. When I see what Kylie Jenner’s net worth is after selling 51% of her cosmetics brand to Coty for $600 million in 2019 it made me stop and think about what kind of money there was in this line of business. Ever since the legalization of cannabis in Canada and parts of the U.S. there has been a lot of hype but not a lot of profits. Recreational cannabis has struggled to compete with the illicit market (and still turn a profit), and cannabis 2.0 also seems to be having a hard time finding traction in the marketplace. Medical cannabis appears to be doing well in certain areas but still has a lot of clinical trials and evidence-based science work ahead of it before it hits the mainstream. That’s why I’m quite intrigued by Avicanna’s CBD derma-cosmetic products marketed under Pura Health & Wellness (H&W) ™ or Pura Earth™. These registered, clinically tested products include a portfolio of functional CBD topical products that have been designed to deliver CBD in synergy with other natural ingredients for specific functional skin benefits.

Source: Avicanna Inc. Corporate Presentation

On December 22^nd the Company announced the brand launch and commercialization in the United States of its proprietary Pura H&W^TM through its exclusive partnership with Red White and Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB). Avicanna’s skincare line is currently available nationwide across Canada in medical channels in partnership with Medical Cannabis by Shoppers™ and in adult-use sales channels through retailers in 4 provinces. These products are also currently being sold in Colombia and Ecuador with anticipated product launches in the UK, and certain Latin American countries in 2022. I like the kind of revenue that can be generated in this business segment.

Another key differentiator for Avicanna, at least to me, is their established, sustainable and economical cultivation and extraction infrastructure in Columbia. I’ve often wondered why there was such a frenzy to build greenhouses in Canada to cultivate cannabis when you had to anticipate that it would just be a matter of time before far more economic sources of raw materials were available. Aureus^TM is the Company’s business-to-business raw material brand for cannabinoid Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, feminized seeds, cannabis biomass, and formulations offered with quality testing and tracking. The Company’s extracts include oils, cannabinoid distillates, and isolated cannabinoids (CBD, THC, CBG, and other cannabinoids), and bulk formulations (derived from hemp and cannabis cultivars). Avicanna was ranked highest amongst global cannabis companies in the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment in the 2020 Sustainability Yearbook, a sustainability index that has become the basis for numerous S&P Global ESG indices. And as noted earlier, the Company has realized commercial sales of CBD, CBG and THC with exports made into eleven countries. To summarize, their raw materials business is profitable and ESG friendly.

These are just two of what I think are Avicanna’s differentiators but there’s a lot more going on. Their third quarter MD&A was 40 pages long if you’d like to have a read. Another near-term catalyst is agreements signed by the Company with two companies founded by former NBA star Al Harrington for the use of his brands, re+PLAY™ and Viola™. On December 20^th Avicanna announced the launch of re+PLAY™ branded CBD topicals products in Canada across adult use channels in Alberta and Ontario, and medical channels in partnership with Medical Cannabis by Shoppers™. Granted all these late December announcements won’t show up in the Company’s Q4 results but there is definitely momentum. Gross revenue and product sales grew sequentially in each of the first three quarters of 2021. If that trajectory continues in Q4, then the addition of the two incremental deals noted above could make for an exciting Q1, 2022.

With all that said, Avicanna was not cash flow positive or profitable as of the end of their third quarter (Sep 30, 2021) and might not be come year end 2021. However, you can see the direction things are going and make a case for some exciting results in early 2022. With only 46 million shares outstanding and a market cap of C$23 million based on yesterday’s close, there could be a lot of leverage to a quarterly result that shows positive numbers.

In the latest InvestorIntel interview, Tracy Weslosky speaks with Kris Krane, President of 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT | OTCQX: FFNTF) about the company’s success in getting to a $1B market value in the cannabis business.

This InvestorIntel interview, which may also be viewed on YouTube (click here to subscribe to the InvestorIntel Channel), has Kris describing how advocacy, professionalism and low-cost production at scale are the keys to make 4Front a success as they compete with other multi-state operators. With the announcement that New York is joining the ranks of legal, adult-use cannabis states and the anticipation that there could be 2-4 more states legalizing before year-end, it is imperative that a successful enterprise be ready for the evolution of the competition which leads to downward price compression. With a strong advocacy background, Kris is on the leading edge of Government policy and has some interesting, if not controversial, views on who’s leading the charge for safe banking legislation and nationwide decriminalization.

To watch the full video, click here

About 4Front Ventures

4Front is a national multi-state cannabis operator and retailer, with a market advantage in mass-produced, low-cost quality branded cannabis products. 4Front manufactures and distributes a portfolio of over 25 cannabis distributed through retail outlets and their chain of strategically positioned Mission branded dispensaries. 4Front has operations in Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Michigan, and Washington State. From plant genetics to the cannabis retail experience, 4Front’s team applies expertise across the entire cannabis value chain.

To learn more about 4Front Ventures, click here

The psychedelics industry is just starting to grow now from a small base and looks quite likely to follow in the footsteps of the cannabis industry’s recent success story. Data Bridge Market Research forecasts that the global psychedelics market will grow from USD 2.077B in 2019 to USD 6.859B by 2027. Looking at these numbers that’s a 3.3 times increase in just 7 years. Growing acceptance of psychedelic drugs for treating depression and mental disorders are key factors for the forecast growth.

Psychedelics are the class of hallucinogenic drugs that may be used recreationally or for medical purposes. Their main benefits are in enhancing the sensory perception, elevating mood, and promoting spiritual experiences. Psychedelic drugs can be used in a medical setting to help depression, psychological treatments, palliative care and as an aid to help control the mind to be calm and peaceful.

Psychedelics are legal in the Netherlands, where there an estimated 100 Smart Shops operating, generating over US$100 million in sales annually. The price for 10 grams of truffles (the maximum amount for a beginner) is between 10 to 15 Euros in Amsterdam. Just recently Canada approved 17 healthcare professionals to possess and use the psychedelic active ingredient psilocybin to conduct professional training in psilocybin therapy. The focus is mainly for patients dealing with end-of-life distress, but marks the first step towards legal medicinal psychedelics use in Canada.

Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) is a leader in this market and is well advanced to benefit from the forecast very strong growth. They recently began selling their premium ‘magic truffles’ products (psychedelics) in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a long-standing, established legal magic truffles market. Red Light Holland is currently setting up to further grow, distribute and market a premium brand of magic truffles to the legal recreational market within the Netherlands. They are also focusing on the medicinal side of the psychedelics industry as well as expanding their global sales to legal destinations.

Red Light Holland’s business plan is to produce and sell recreational and medical grade truffle products (psychedelics) in legal markets starting in the Netherlands

Source: Company website

Red Light Holland has recently raised over C$20M, providing the Company with over C$30M in the bank, this includes the latest C$11.6M bought deal financing. The funds intend to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, essentially to grow the business. Red Light Holland has already grown and pre-sold their first batch of magic truffles from their production facility in Horst, Netherlands. They are now growing a further 1,000,000 grams of magic truffles. CEO Todd Shapiro stated: “Red Light Holland is ecstatic to announce that we have started to grow our second batch of magic truffles, expected to be 10X the original batch’s size.”

Global and product expansion potential for Red Light Holland

On February 25, 2021, Red Light Holland announced: “iMicrodose pack receives authorization for the first legal import and sale of psilocybin truffles to Brazil…..for prescribed medical patient use.” The iMicrodose pack contains 15g of psilocybin truffles made by Red Light Holland. This marks a significant milestone for Red Light Holland with their “first prescribed by a physician for medical use” of their truffles product, as well as an advancement in opening up the legal and medically approved market for psilocybin in Brazil.

On December 30, 2020, Red Light Holland announced they intend to make a groundbreaking investment in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ plant-based wellness and psychedelics industry, via a purchase of 100% of Mera Life Sciences LLC (‘Mera’). St. Vincent and the Grenadines are islands in the Caribbean Sea. Mera is developing a modern medicinal industry in St Vincent and the Grenadines with their issued psychedelic licenses. Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland, stated: “The acquisition of Mera and its coveted licenses would allow Red Light Holland to perform high quality psychedelic product research and development, cultivate, extract and process, and export, not just Psilocybin, but with compounds such as Ayahuasca, MDMA, DMT, Peyote, Ketamine and many other natural based plants as well…..”

On December 20, 2020, Red Light Holland announced it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire 51% of Psychedelic Insights in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Psychedelic Insights currently provides psychedelic assistance to clients from all over the world, who are in need and want to try a safe and psychological guided experience. This includes psychedelic palliative care, re-connecting veterans and global mental health screening. A condition in the agreement includes an exclusive supply agreement with Red Light Holland’s truffles, grown from Red Light Holland’s facility in Horst, Netherlands.

Closing remarks

Red Light Holland continues to ride a wave of success with their magic truffles psychedelics. A 10x increase in their truffle production following the first batch being 100% pre-sold in advance, an overseas expansion potential via 100% acquisition with Mera, a potential 51% Psychedelic Insights acquisition (global client base), and finally, some initial success selling into Brazil. Added to all this it appears the medicinal use of psychedelics is making progress in Canada.

It certainly looks like Red Light Holland will continue to rapidly grow, especially after their successful capital raises and now C$30M in the bank. Red Light Holland’s market cap has dramatically increased as a result of all this good news and now sits at C$134M. Exciting times ahead, both for the Company and the industry.

Cannabis sentiment in the United States has surged since the November election.

Tailwinds pushing the legal cannabis industry include being deemed “essential” during the current COVID-19 health crisis, five U.S. states passing legalization ballot initiatives, and the Joseph Biden election win that could result in easing some of the cannabis restrictions at the federal level.

This year could be another inflection point in the U.S. cannabis industry and the beginning of a multi-year growth cycle as more states legalize medical and recreational cannabis use.

A top cannabis market research firm recently pegged the United States cannabis market at more than US$18 billion in 2020 and expects it to grow by a staggering 33% to US$24 billion in 2021.

FinCanna is a Royalty Company

FinCanna Capital Corp. (CSE: CALI | OTCQB: FNNZF) is a cannabis-focused royalty company and does not operate as a cultivator, manufacturer, or dispensary. Instead, it is a capital company, looking to invest in businesses in California’s cannabis industry and earns revenue from royalties paid by its investee companies.

FinCanna’s royalty structure focuses on top-line revenue, enabling the company to fully benefit as sales grow and not be impacted by cost inflation. Currently, the company owns a diversified portfolio of royalties, lowering the overall company risk, and continues to search for other investment opportunities.

As a royalty business, FinCanna operates with low corporate overhead, making the business easily scalable as it does not have to worry about operations and can focus on the next investment. Also, as the cannabis supply increases, retail prices have been under pressure which makes royalties a better business to be in.

FinCanna’s investment model is to seek “best in class” businesses, provide capital to reduce the need for debt or equity financing, and are structured to align with the business’ long-term goals.

To fund the coffers, in July 2020, FinCanna closed a $2.5 million convertible debenture financing with FinCanna’s management subscribing to $500,000 of the offering.

Portfolio Companies

FinCanna made its first investment in Cultivation Technologies Inc. (CTI) in 2017. CTI, operating as Coachella Manufacturing, runs a 5,200 square foot cannabis extraction facility in Palm Desert, California.

CTI produces butane hash oil (BHO), which is a type of cannabis concentrate that is produced using butane. CTI has been operating for three years and FinCanna started receiving royalties in the second half of 2020.

CTI provides licensed BHO concentrates for white label manufacturing, toll processing, and packaging to brands and cultivators in California. FinCanna recently commented that CTI’s management team is working on growing their core business and expanding into other large-scale activities. FinCanna expects these activities to result in an increase in royalty revenues in 2021.

FinCanna’s second portfolio company is QVI Inc (QVI), doing business as The Galley, and is FinCanna’s largest investment and potentially the largest source of royalty revenues.

The Galley is a modern, 8,300 square foot, cannabis facility located in Santa Rosa, California. It operates as a co-manufacturer to provide large scale production and packaging for all types of edibles, topicals, and tinctures in California.

The Galley began operations in July 2020 and has already on-boarded 25 established brands. FinCanna expects to start receiving recurring royalty payments from QVI starting in early 2021.

An important note to make is that edibles market growth outperformed the overall cannabis industry growth in 2020 as consumers chose edibles over inhalables. This surge prompted edible manufacturers to invest more in product development and manufacturing making QVI an important player in that market.

FinCanna’s third portfolio company is ezGreen Compliance, which offers Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant point-of-sale (POS) software for cannabis dispensaries. Features include integrated management and multi-store functionality with taxation and reporting functionalities.

In August 2020, FinCanna announced the acquisition of ezGreen and in October completed the transition of ownership. Recently, ezGreen began a marketing initiative with a marketing partner to focus on sales efforts, targeting dispensaries in California.

California is King of the Cannabis Market

California ranks as one of the largest legal cannabis market in the world and over 30% of the U.S. legal cannabis market. The COVID-19 shut-in measures resulted in higher purchase volumes and a very substantial and positive shift for the cannabis industry.

In California, legal cannabis retail sales are expected to exceed US$5 billion in 2020, up almost 70% from US$3 billion in 2019.

2021 Outlook

FinCanna’s management recently reported that it expects to see a “sizeable increase” in royalty revenues in 2021 and the positive cannabis market outlook, especially in California, should help generate operating profits that will grow throughout the year.

FinCanna is currently trading at $0.11 with a market cap of $8.5 million.

In a recent InvestorIntel interview, Tracy Weslosky speaks with Dr. Jon Gluckman, President, CEO and Founder of Sixth Wave Innovations Inc. (CSE: SIXW | OTCQB: ATURF) about what a Biden presidential win means for an energized and revitalized cannabis sector.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Dr. Gluckman, “that in addition to the Biden win it was pretty clear that the referendums on the state ballots in the U.S. were extremely positive and forward-looking for the future of cannabis and the significant expansion in the United States which is obviously a huge market.”

Asked about what it means, Dr. Gluckman said that Sixth Wave sees it “as a tremendous opportunity for licensed producers to expand their footprints into different spaces and certainly for new equipment requirements which will include Affinity, so we’re stoked.” Affinity™ is Sixth Wave’s cannabinoid purification system.

Discussing the Affinity cannabinoid purification system revenue model, Dr. Gluckman explains that it work on a “total system performance license” basis, where Sixth Wave provides the technology to licensed cannabis producers on a “small profit margin basis”, but then partners to provide upgrades and maintenance in exchange for a portion of the producer’s revenue stream. As Sixth Wave’s Affinity optimization can save a projected 50% of a producer’s production costs, this mutually beneficial arrangement can create a substantial revenue stream for both the producer and Sixth Wave.

Dr. Gluckman explains to Tracy how the application of Sixth Wave’s patented Molecular Imprint Polymers (#MIPs) technology creates “consistent and high purity” cannabinoid from a producer’s raw material that is essential to creating a commercial product.

Regarding revenue expectations, Dr. Gluckman said that they expect to see revenue through a deal with Green Envy as early as December, and ramping up in the first quarter of 2021. Answering Tracy’s question about investors who missed the “first wave” of cannabis investment, he said that “the very interesting thing now is that what we have seen is that the growers are all growing,” and that “as new states come on board they are all going to need new licensed producers.” And since there are federal restrictions on interstate movement of cannabis, production will have to be local to each state, requiring multiple production facilities

“We’re really looking forward to it and scaling up significantly next year,” Dr. Gluckman said.

To watch the full interview on YouTube, click here.

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Disclaimer: Sixth Wave Innovations Inc. is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp

“Waves are inspiring not because they rise and fail, but because each time they fall. They never fail to rise again.” — Josh Billings

The Democratic “blue” wave failed to materialize during the recent U.S. elections but the “green” cannabis wave continues to build. Five states (Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota) easily passed ballot initiatives for the legalization of either recreational or medical cannabis use.

Currently, the medical use of cannabis is legalized in 35 states and the recreational use of cannabis is legalized in 15 states. Although federally illegal in the U.S., there is speculation that the Biden win is an important first step on the path towards the federal decriminalization of cannabis.

In the U.S., medical and recreational cannabis sales are on pace to exceed US$15.5 billion by the end of 2020, an increase of approximately 40% over 2019, and grow by 30% in 2021.

To meet the higher demand, technology advancements have manifested in all parts of the supply chain, especially in the extraction and purification process.

Extraction

The three main methods of cannabinoid extraction are (1) ethanol or alcohol extraction; (2) hydrocarbon extraction, using butane or propane; and (3) carbon dioxide (“CO2”) extraction. If higher purity levels are required, a distillation process, often using chromatography technology, can increase purity levels into the high 90%.

As the industry shifts into pharmaceutical-grade production to meet medical and cannabis-infused products, cannabis extract producers continue to search for innovative ways to improve the purity of cannabinoid isolates and control costs.

One of the challenges for cannabis extract producers is that organic material has varying properties from batch-to-batch and a potential processing risk when scaling operations.

Sixth Wave – Cannabis Extraction Using Nanotechnology

Sixth Wave Innovations Inc. (CSE: SIXW | OTCQB: ATURF) is a nanotechnology company focused on the detection and extraction of target substances (e.g. cannabinoid, gold, or Covid-19) at the molecular level using patented technologies.

Led by a team of PhDs and scientists, Sixth Wave’s Affinity™ System uses a proprietary Molecular Imprinted Polymers technology in the process of extracting cannabidiol (“CBD”) and tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) from hemp and cannabis.

The extraction process uses porous polymer beads and the polymer is designed to attract a specific molecule. As CBD and THC are both molecules, Sixth Wave created proprietary polymers to specifically target those molecules in the extraction process.

Benefits of Sixth Wave’s Technology

Unlike other batch processes that purify components out of a product in various stages, Sixth Wave’s process can take a wide variety of input materials, run it through the solution, and the polymer will selectively extract the specific cannabinoids. The resulting cannabinoid isolate can be up to 99.9% pure.

Chromatography, the legacy technology for purifying cannabinoid extractions, is considered to have issues with high capital and operating costs, efficiency, and scalability.

The Affinity™ System was designed to be highly automated and user friendly, requiring minimal training and human intervention. The system uses lower-cost components, minimizes the need for intermediate batch processing, and can be operated continuously, making it a more cost-effective solution.

Dr. Jonathan Gluckman, President and CEO of Sixth Wave, said, “As we know, a major challenge for the cannabinoid purification industry will be the delivery of customization and flexibility, with medicinal and recreational applications demanding exceptional product diversity. The Affinity™ System is highly capable in this regard, with the potential to tailor extraction media to recover any one of the hundreds of cannabinoids available to us.”

Market Size

According to a recent study, the cannabis extraction market is expected to be worth US$28.5 billion by 2027, growing at 16.6% annually.

The growing legalization of cannabis in various countries and the use of CBD and THC for treating illnesses such as arthritis, anxiety, and nausea are the main factors driving growth.

Sixth Wave is currently working with several customers designing larger processing capabilities. In April, the Company announced an agreement with Green Envy for the purchase of a minimum of three Affinity™ extraction units. It expects to deliver the first revenue-generating system to Green Envy by the end of this year. Expect more deals to be announced as the Company shifts from development to production.

The Company is well funded as it recently closed a $1.15 million financing and intends to use the proceeds for the deployment of its Affinity™ cannabis extraction units as well as for other general corporate purposes.

Time to jump on Sixth Wave to ride the resurging cannabis trend.

SOURCE

Greenlight for Red Light Holland as Distribution Agreements Grow

Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (“RLH”) engages in the production, growth, and sale of a premium brand of magic/hallucinogenic truffles to the recreational market in the Netherlands.

The Company is pre-revenue, with lots of potential, as it builds out a custom, 3000 square foot growing facility in Horst, the Netherlands.

To generate some immediate revenue and build its brand, the Company procured 10,000 units of psychedelic truffles for re-sale and started selling its Microdosing Packs of magic truffles in September through existing Smart Shop operators and its e-commerce platform. Its Microdosing Pack contains a small amount of magic truffle promoting responsible use, with the drug benefits but without the intensity of a full psychoactive experience.

Distributions Deals

In September, RLH signed a distribution agreement for its Microdosing Packs with Super Smart’s location in Tiel, the Netherlands.

Then in October, the Company reached a distribution arrangement with Smartshop Oss, in Oss, the Netherlands.

Finally, RLH completed a distribution arrangement with 3 House of Smart locations in the Netherlands, located in the cities of Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Den Bosch.

Todd Shapiro, CEO of RLH, commented, “clearly we are excited for a broad and diverse adult demographic, within all of these beautiful areas, to soon have the opportunity to see our brand and potentially purchase our responsible-use product.”

Psychedelics Industry

The psychedelics industry is similar to where the cannabis industry was 10 years ago as it fights for legalization in various countries. The use of psychedelic products is currently illegal in most jurisdictions, however countries such as the Netherlands and Jamaica have legalized some forms of psychedelics.

Psilocybin is the chemical alkaloid that induces psychedelic effects, often found in psilocybin mushrooms (“magic mushrooms”) or psilocybin truffles (“magic truffles”).

RLH is currently growing 3 different strains of magic truffles: Psilocybe Mexicana, Psilocybe Galindoi, and Psilocybe Tampanensis, and expects to have an initial batch of 100,000 grams of magic truffles available this quarter.

Retail establishments in the Netherlands that specializes in the sale of psychoactive substances, such as magic truffles, are called Smart Shops. There are an estimated 100 Smart Shops operating in the Netherlands, generating over US$100 million in sales annually.

New Clinical Market

The psychedelics industry has since gained some traction with pharmaceutical companies starting to research the effects of psychedelics on a range of medical ailments from mental health to cancer.

In September, RLH announced that its science division, Scarlette Lillie Science and Innovation, entered into a relationship with Jinfiniti Precision Medicine in order to explore the potential roles that psilocybin and magic truffles can play for age-related and psychiatric disorders.

Jinfiniti has created a blood test that can detect key factors that drive aging and other genetic instabilities. Jinfiniti’s fast and low cost test allows for scientists from both companies to clearly evaluate the potential for psilocybin treatments that go beyond what is currently being explored.

The relationship with Jinfiniti opens up a whole new clinical market that goes beyond the recreational market.

High Profile Management Team

RLH has several prominent management executives and celebrities to help drive its growth and brand recognition, including: Ann Barnes, co-founder of Peace Naturals; Bruce Linton, founder and former CEO of Canopy Growth; Tony Clement, the former Health Minister of Canada (2006-2008); and, Russell Peters, a comedian with international brand recognition and over 5.5 million people on his social media platforms.

Funded for Growth

The Company had $6.6 million in cash as of June 30, 2020, after raising over $4 million in private placement in June.

RLH is currently trading at $0.08 with a market cap of only $17.2 million has plenty of room for upside gains.

iMicrodose Pack of Magic Truffles by Red Light Holland

Source

InvestorIntel’s Tracy Weslosky spoke with Andriyko Herchak, CEO of FinCanna Capital Corp. (CSE: CALI | OTCQB: FNNZF), about FinCanna’s cannabis royalty portfolio and its competitive advantages in the cannabis industry. “We are the only pure royalty company in the cannabis sector,” he said. “We don’t need much revenue to be profitable.”

Andriyko went on to say that while other companies in the capital-intensive cannabis sector “are losing money quarter to quarter, we are opposite. We have low capital cost, low operating cost and we are designed to be profitable.” He added, “The companies we invest in are synergistic. They are working together to expand their customer base and market together.” By investing in FinCanna, he said, “you are investing in different companies that don’t compete against each other but actually work with each other to maximize revenue. FinCanna is like an index that works together.”

Andriyko also provided an update on QVI, FinCanna’s largest investment that just started operations and is scaling up. He said, “They are located in Sonoma county California. They are offering a co-manufacturing edibles facility in large scale. They can produce essentially any type of edible under one roof. Demand is off the charts for them right now.”

To watch the complete interview, click here

Disclaimer: FinCanna Capital Corp. is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp.