Evolution of Marijuana Industry Creates Wealth of Opportunity for Companies With Foresight and Action

NEW YORK, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The marijuana industry continues to evolve at a breakneck pace in the United States, and an increasing number of businesses are finding their niche in this rampant market as it burns toward nationwide legalization. In the wake of this evolution, various new types of businesses are emerging to provide the consumer and commercial markets with products and services such as branding and packaging, smoke lounges, cultivation operations, grow equipment, pain management, payment solutions and numerous others. SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) (SING Profile), Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), Kush Bottles, Inc. (OTC: KSHB), Scott's Miracle-Gro Co. (NYSE: SMG) and Canopy Growth Corp. (OTC: TWMJF) represent a handful of innovators finding ways to cash-in on the plentiful opportunities within this budding market.

A quick browse through marijuana-related news provides just a glimpse of the progress being made in the mammoth industry. In Vermont, a landmark bill legalized marijuana for adults over 21, marking the first time a state legislature has ever originated and passed a marijuana legalization bill. Previously, adult-use legalization measures in the U.S. were passed by popular citizen vote. Massachusetts and Maine are also moving forward, with retail stores expected to open in both states in 2018. In Oregon, the City of Portland is backing cannabis businesses in lobbying for a bill that would permit marijuana consumption at licensed lounges, similar to tobacco smoking patios. These are only the latest in a wave of headline-making happenings related to marijuana legalization efforts throughout the country.

Companies like SinglePoint (SING) are well-aware of these developments and are making headway in their respective niches. SinglePoint is building an acquisition portfolio of undervalued subsidiaries with a focus on innovative technologies. When it comes to opportunities in the marijuana industry, SinglePoint's strategy is to provide various ancillary services and non-plant-based solutions to dispensaries, growers and consumers.

Due to federal restrictions, marijuana businesses lack access to banking options, but industry experts expect this to change. Anticipating the need for electronic payment options once the industry does become bankable (http://nnw.fm/8oB02), SinglePoint has structured its cannabis brand subsidiary, http://www.SingleSeed.com, as a hub for the online sale of cannabis products to marijuana dispensaries. When the tide turns, SinglePoint will be a 'first mover' in providing payment solutions to cannabis businesses through its SingleSeed Payments, which is geared up to provide payment solutions such as mobile marketing, cashless ATM, Pay-by-Text™ and text message marketing (http://nnw.fm/W84Lt). Ready at the gates, SingleSeed.com has become a standout resource for marijuana dispensaries seeking merchant payment processing solutions and other business tools.

Waiting on this opportunity doesn't mean inaction, however. SinglePoint in early May announced (http://nnw.fm/QjJ9m) its plans to start onboarding 'high risk' merchant accounts, a category of more than 100 types of businesses, including auctions, vape pen sales, gambling, online gaming and more, which typically offer higher margins than traditional accounts.

"We are providing multiple solutions to the cannabis space and we are trying to do the same in the payments space as well," SinglePoint CEO Greg Lambrecht stated in the news release. "Being able to offer a payment solution to multiple different verticals gives the company a larger target market to tap into. We believe high risk is a huge opportunity and an underserved market at this point."

SinglePoint's core business strategy (http://nnw.fm/obb8Z) is one of diversification and the relentless pursuit of building corporate value. On point, the company earlier this year announced its investment in Convectium, a profitable provider of equipment, branding and packaging solutions to the marijuana industry. Convectium has developed the very first cartridge and vape pen oil filling machines created for wholesale distribution to cannabis dispensaries. The company's 710Shark and 710Seal machines, currently sold through its EquipCanna.com brand, can fill and package more than 100 cartridges or disposable vape pens in 30 seconds, providing an attractive alternative to the traditional, time-consuming method of hand-filling cartridges. Also, operating consumer brands HazeSticks and BlackoutX, Convectium has a market reach into more than 52 countries.

SinglePoint also recently signed a Letter of Intent (http://nnw.fm/0iSI1) to acquire 90 percent of California-based Discount Indoor Garden Supply ('DIGS'), a provider of growing equipment and accessories for individual or commercial plant cultivators. In addition to its online store (http://www.DIGSHydro.com), DIGS operates two store-front locations with plans for a third in the near future.

This acquisition is expected to bring immediate revenues to SinglePoint as it deepens its reach in the State of California, which houses thousands of cannabis-related businesses. Through DIGS, SinglePoint will be able to offer soil and supplies similar to a household brand and recognizable player in the marijuana industry, Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG).

Well known for its lawn and garden care products, Scotts Miracle-Gro is also heavily investing in hydroponics - the method of growing plants without soil - a method primarily used in indoor and urban gardening. Hydroponics has also become the standard for growth in the marijuana industry. In May 2016, The Hawthorne Gardening Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scotts Miracle-Gro, spent $136.2 million on the acquisition of a 75 percent stake in greenhouse and hydroponic indoor lighting producer Gavita. In October 2016, The Hawthorne Gardening Company also acquired American Agritech, which is a hydroponic growing systems and plant supplements producer.

Industry peer Medical Marijuana (OTC: MJNA) is taking a unique approach to providing marijuana products without waiting for federal governmental approval to do so. The company has discovered a way to work within federal government cannabis restrictions to legally offer high-quality cannabis-derived products in the United States. The key to doing so pertains to non-psychoactive cannabinoids like cannabidiol (CBD), which has a wide variety of potential health applications but does not rely on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis. MJNA's approach is to grow low-THC varieties of cannabis (hemp) outside the United States, create CBD hemp oil, and import it to the United States. Taken from carefully cultivated hemp plants, CBD hemp oil is an extract that is completely legal, non-psychoactive, contains a full spectrum of phytocannabinoids, is high in CBD and has almost no THC, making it legal to sell in the U.S. MJNA's products, provided through the HempMeds and Kannaway distribution divisions, include pure CBD hemp oil extracts, sprays, tinctures, capsules, vaporizers, bath and body products and chewing gum. Along with selling CBD hemp oil products to more than 200,000 individuals in the U.S., MJNA has also been able to offer the first legal marijuana products in Brazil and Mexico. Recently, the company's Kannaway brand expanded into the European marketplace and is expected to be fully operational there by the fourth quarter of 2017.

Another company set to cash-in on the evolution in the marijuana industry is Kush Bottles (OTCQB: KSHB). Getting its footing in 2010 as a provider of cutting-edge packaging solutions for the marijuana industry, Kush Bottles has since expanded its product line, which now ranges from custom packaging and labeling items to point-of-sale products like grinders, papers, lighters and glass pieces. Kush Bottles serves thousands of cannabis dispensaries, retail shops, growers and consumers and has become a leading packaging supply and services company that exclusively addresses the needs of the marijuana industry. Recently, Kush Bottles added the web domain Roll-uh-Bowl.com to its list of acquisitions. Attracting an average of 39,500 web users monthly, Roll-Uh-Bowl.com is an online distribution platform for the retail sale of collapsible, unbreakable medical-grade silicone water pipes.

Canopy Growth (OTC: TWMJF) is also successfully navigating the marijuana market. A leading global diversified cannabis company, Canopy Growth operates various diverse brands and curated strain varieties that are supported by more than half a million square feet of indoor greenhouse production capacity and that are also partnered with some of the biggest names in the sector. The company's core brands include Tweed, which has become one of the most recognized marijuana production brands in the world; Bedrocan medical-grade cannabis; and the Mettrum natural health brand.

Consumer demand, political support, and public opinion are powerful drivers behind the movement toward legalized marijuana, and present an increasing number of opportunities for companies to profit. The named companies are among standouts in this sector that are successfully navigating the growing cannabis market and implementing smart strategies to capitalize on its manifold opportunities.

For more information on SinglePoint please visit: Singlepoint (SING) or http://www.SinglePoint.com

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