Rapidly Changing Cannabis Industry Offers Plenty of Growth in Horizontal Markets

NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage

News provided by

Sep 26, 2017, 08:35 ET

NEW YORK, September 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

From Main Street to Wall Street, the cannabis industry is branching out into a variety of business opportunities for not only the key players involved but smaller startup firms as well. Projected growth estimates for the legal marijuana industry are impressive, with ArcView Market Research predicting a massive leap from just under $7 billion in 2016 to $22 billion by 2021, and that's just the North American market. Globally, the market is estimated to reach over $55 billion by 2025. No matter how you crunch the numbers, a hefty segment of that revenue is streaming from subsidiary services supporting the cultivation, processing and eventual sale of the highly regulated plant. For companies like SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) (SING Profile), Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), Solis Tek Inc. (OTC: SLTK), Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTC: SPRWF) and Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), moving into parallel business ventures makes economic sense.

SinglePoint's (OTC: SING) approach of building a diversified portfolio through the acquisition of high-potential, ancillary cannabis-related targets is paying off. Earlier this month, SinglePoint acquired a majority stake in Arizona-based Dr. FeelGood, a leading medical marijuana distribution company whose extension plans include adding a proprietary delivery and ordering technology application. Also in the pipeline is a Dr. FeelGood mobile application that will both enhance the experience for users and streamline the company's operations. Once completed, the app will allow both SinglePoint and Dr. FeelGood to license the technology to other distribution companies throughout the United States (http://nnw.fm/3CqEj).

SinglePoint's earlier majority purchase (http://nnw.fm/3YFg6) in Jacksam Corp. (dba Convectium), a profitable California-based provider of a revolutionary vape pen filling/sealing system, moves SinglePoint closer to its goal of adding revenue-enhancing joint-ventures to its portfolio. Include SinglePoint's 90 percent stake of California-based Discount Indoor Garden Supply ("DIGS") Hydro (http://nnw.fm/Op4V6 ), which provides cultivation hardware and consulting services to the cannabis industry, and it's apparent that the company's strategy is working. With these acquisitions, SinglePoint's revenue has increased 378-fold in comparison with the first quarter of 2017, ideally positioning the company to further increase revenues. This approach highlights SinglePoint's winning philosophy of acquiring an interest in undervalued subsidiaries, which translates into a rich, diversified holding base.

Meanwhile, SinglePoint's SingleSeed subsidiary (www.SingleSeed.com ) supplies various services to marijuana businesses and has become a hub for dispensaries that are looking for payment processing solutions and other business tools. SingleSeed also provides payment processing and text message marketing solutions for marijuana businesses, and it has taken a proactive approach to solving an industry-wide payment problem that's plaguing the expanding legal cannabis market: a way to process debit and credit card transactions independent of banks and the FDIC.

The choices are endless when it comes to providing support to an industry riddled with regulations imposed at the federal, state and local levels. Most of those regulations target companies that actually "touch" the marijuana plant, leaving secondary business ventures with fewer legal and financial risks. As a result, firms that provide testing and lab services, banking and payment processing, insurance, accounting, legal work, technology and software, security, professional education and training, hydroponics, lighting and packaging - pretty much anything that involves cannabis without touching the actual plant itself - are earning solid profit margins.

Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), is another company with a portfolio of products and services focused on serving the legal hemp industry. One of its subsidiaries, KannaLife Sciences, a pharmaceutical and phyto-medical company, has signed former three-time NFL Pro Bowl and Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Nick Lowery to its corporate advisory board. Lowery is tasked with speaking out about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma. KannaLife's efforts to bring a clinically-approved treatment for CTE to market could be a game changer for treatment of this devastating type of head injury. Evidence of CTE is being seen in post-mortem examinations of prominent football players who suffered severe violent mood swings, depression and other cognitive difficulties that may have contributed to their deaths, according to a company news release.

On the other end of the spectrum, you can't produce a quality pharmaceutical product without first providing the right atmosphere for growing the cannabis plant. Solis Tek Inc. (OTCQB: SLTK) has been bringing lighting solutions to the cannabis market for nearly a decade, providing products that commercial cannabis growers depend on for a more consistent grow, a better end product, and, ultimately, a more significant, profitable harvest. According to a recent test of six lighting companies and products specifically serving the cannabis industry, Solis Tek's Digital Lighting solutions scored highest in overall value for cultivators. Solis Tek was the first cannabis lighting company to offer a "light diet," which is now the standard among many top commercial cannabis growers.

With the industry moving so fast, it's crucial for companies that provide medical-grade cannabis to keep up with the momentum. Canada-based Supreme Pharmaceuticals (OTC: SPWRF), through wholly-owned subsidiary 7ACRES, combines the best technology of indoor production with the efficiencies and sustainability of a greenhouse. As a federally licensed producer of medical cannabis under the country's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), Supreme Pharmaceutical is making its name known among firms that serve patients of medical marijuana. In a news release, Supreme Pharmaceuticals reported its first sale of dried cannabis to Aurora Cannabis Inc, one of Canada's leading licensed producers serving over 19,000 registered patients.

While not directly involved in the cannabis industry - and that's really the point of some of these support businesses - there are huge corporations getting into the hydroponics end of growing plants. Hydroponics, which allows plants to be cultivated by placing roots in liquid nutrient solutions rather than soil, is booming. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), globally known for its lawncare and plant products, has been snapping up specialty fertilizers, lighting and other hydroponics supply companies, increasing its footprint in a specialty market that includes cannabis. Among the company's investments are Gavita, a Dutch grow lighting company; Botanicare, a plant nutrient and hydroponics products provider; Boulder's AeroGrow, an indoor gardening company; and California's General Hydroponics. In a news release (http://nnw.fm/4QoAj), company's chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn reminded investors that the strength of the company's core U.S. business is being strengthened by the success of the hydroponics businesses in its portfolio.

There's an old proverb which accurately reflects today's business opportunities when it comes to the rapid changes facing the cannabis industry as it becomes more acceptable in the medical community and with the public at large: "Necessity is the mother of invention." Companies that buckle in for a wild ride, plan accordingly and aren't afraid to be creative and step into the role of service provider are sure to rise to the top.

For more information on SinglePoint please visit: SinglePoint (OTC: SING) or www.SinglePoint.com

About NetworkNewsWire

NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) NetworkNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. NNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NNW is where news, content and information converge.

NetworkNewsWire (NNW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
[email protected]

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with NNW or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by NNW are solely those of NNW and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable NNW and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. NNW and FNM and their respective affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.

The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author, and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, NNW, FNM, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment.

NNW & FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and NNW and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.