• Historically developed lithium mine site shows hitherto unexplored resources
• Electric vehicle battery demand driving lithium supply shortage fears
• Manitoba generating new excitement as mining companies seek untapped potential

QMC Quantum Minerals Corp.’s (OTC: QMCQF) (TSX.V: QMC) (FSE: 3LQ) exploration of a forgotten treasure in Manitoba’s southeastern climes may yield a significant source of lithium amid exploding demand for the tech-friendly metal during the coming decade. Notably, lithium is on the U.S. Government’s Final List of Critical Minerals for 2018 (http://ibn.fm/tBDMC).

The company’s hard rock mining operation is rebooting a 60-year-old production field that contains 13 adjoining mineral claims across 6,538 acres located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Winnipeg. The Irgon Dike property’s lithium potential has been known since it was developed by The Lithium Corporation of Canada Ltd. (“LCOC”) in the 1950s, but more recent technological analysis is reporting possible resources beyond the estimated 1.2 million tons of lithium oxide-bearing pegmatite graded at 1.51 percent concentration that LCOC identified over a length of 365 meters and to an explored depth of 213 meters (http://ibn.fm/gOU38).

Recent 3-D modeling indicates that exploration and underground development has only occurred on the upper and central parts of the dike, which means that there’s a large part of the dike that may yet yield untapped tonnage. The dike is open both along strike and to depth, raising the likelihood of rapidly firing up the shuttered operation. In the 1950s, a complete mining plant was built at the site to process 500 tons of ore per day, and a three-compartment shaft was sunk 74 meters deep, but work stopped as the lithium oxide market proved too unfavorable for further outlays by the company at the time.

Manitoba’s modern era is a different world from what LCOC encountered, in a variety of senses. Most significantly, lithium has become a promising metal whose current supply levels are expected to fall far short of demand, sparking a race by corporations and national governments to secure supply chains where possible. China’s aggressive bid for 30 percent ownership of lithium triangle corporation Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile was rebuffed by the Chilean government last year, raising the specter of political discord before an agreement was reached this month allowing China’s Tianqi Lithium to buy a $4.07 billion stake for 24 percent of the Chilean company (http://ibn.fm/GTlWn).

Much of the reason for lithium’s outlook is that the metal has become a key element of modern devices, whose technology is becoming ubiquitous in society. Smartphone ownership is almost as much of a “necessity” as having a car and reaches a younger demographic than automobile ownership. The batteries powering those phones rely on lithium as a key component but are only a fraction of the use potential exhibited by the batteries for electric vehicles, which are gaining ascendancy as consumers and world governments alike look for ways to reduce the pollutant impact of petroleum fuels powering the traditional auto industry. France and Britain are making plans to end the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars by 2040 (http://ibn.fm/IL5I0), China’s government is pushing for two million EV sales by 2020 (http://ibn.fm/vjXYu) and, in the United States, California is pushing for five million EVs on the road by 2025, with eight other states following that state’s sales target of 15.4 percent EVs by that year (http://ibn.fm/3TXEx).

Manitoba’s mining industry is also acquiring a new level of interest from a variety of exploration companies. The province in Canada’s south-central region has historically had the ups and downs typical of mineral endeavors, but a recent economic summit provided some information on Manitoba’s outlook (http://ibn.fm/JhNyc).

“I was at the mining conference in Toronto back in the beginning of March and I was surprised at the enthusiasm shown for Manitoba by both mining exploration companies and the mining companies,” Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen said during the event. “We know it’s a long haul. To develop a mine takes a long time but the mining companies and exploration companies were calling Manitoba the untapped jewel of potential.”

The Irgon site assays conducted by LCOC decades ago showed 2.3 percent lithium oxide over 7.3 feet, as noted in a recent report issued by QMC (http://ibn.fm/RHtRA). That puts the deposits there in the high-grade class, commercially feasible at present lithium prices. QMC Quantum Minerals’ portfolio also includes two volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) properties collectively known as the Namew Lake District Project, which has metal-rich mineral deposits over approximately 23,000 hectares (about 57,000 acres) within the productive Flin Flon/Snow Lake VMS mining district of northwestern Manitoba.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.QMCMinerals.com

• Sports industry continues healthy growth with four percent CAGR
• Sports fans are the wealthiest Americans
• Sports app gives fans an avenue to cheer and vent

The sports industry in America is thriving. With some 60 percent of Americans identifying as sports fans, the revenues from games, accessories, TV rights and hot dogs must be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Sports fans, it seems, have money to spend, an observation borne out by Gallup, which found that a higher proportion of wealthier Americans are sports fans than their less well-heeled neighbors. FANDOM SPORTS Media Corp. (CSE: FDM) (OTC: FDMSF) (FRANKFURT: TQ42) is out to score with these big spenders. The company is launching an aggressive digital marketing campaign to launch its Android Sports App.

Even though the sports industry in America continues to grow at a CAGR of four percent, up from $60.5 billion in 2014 and expected to reach $73.5 billion by 2019, according to Forbes, the proportion of American “sports fans” remains steady at around 60 percent (http://ibn.fm/e85Cb). Football tops the list of sports, with 37 percent of respondents choosing it as their favorite. Rounding out the selections, 13 percent chose basketball, 10 percent picked baseball, five percent chose auto racing, four percent went for ice and figure skating and three percent picked ice hockey. Other games, including golf, tennis, soccer, boxing, gymnastics, rodeo, motocross and wrestling, mustered two percent or less.

Not surprisingly, men (66 percent) are much more likely to be sports fans than women (51 percent), and significantly more upper-income Americans (68 percent) regard themselves as sports fans than the 55 percent of middle-income and 54 percent of lower income Americans who do the same (http://ibn.fm/gHqoM). Upper-income Americans have consistently been much more likely than their less wealthy brethren to identify themselves as sports fans. Indeed, taking into account both income and gender, it turns out that 76 percent of upper-income men are sports fans. These are the guys driving industry growth. FANDOM SPORTS is hoping to make them fans… of its Android Sports App, now in its second incarnation.

FANDOM SPORTS Media is a sports entertainment company that aggregates, curates and produces unique fan-focused content. The company was established to allow sports fans to play out and give expression to their passion for their sports of choice. Through the social media environment of the platform, they can express their adoration for their teams and players… and bash the other side. The App facilitates uncensored and unfiltered dialogue and rewards fans with virtual currency for their comments.

To touch base with sports fans, FANDOM SPORTS Media has hired an industry leading mobile app marketing and strategy firm to conduct aggressive marketing outreach (http://ibn.fm/2ASDu). The campaign is designed to increase growth and discovery, drive engagement, refine potential revenue opportunities and better position the FANDOM SPORTS App for the successful rollout of its v2 product, scheduled for release in early Q4 2018. Version 2 of the App is an Android adaptation of an earlier iOS version, which the company will now put into hibernation.

The company is employing the tagline, “Pick a Fight”, signaling it intends to go about acquiring users by an appeal to their competitive instincts… an appropriate strategy in the land of free competition.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.FANDOMSPORTSMedia.com

• Company recently announced that its 2015 and 2016 YE audits have been finalized, its Form 10 has been submitted and it has commenced its 2017 fiscal year audit
• Strategically working to improve treatments for different diseases on a global scale
• Addressing the national health crisis of opioid addiction

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST), an innovative biotech company focused on developing medical devices for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical fields and marketing high-grade hemp cannabidiol (CBD), recently announced that its 2015 and 2016 audit process has been finalized and Form 10 has been submitted. ETST has now begun the 2017 fiscal year audit, which is required to uplist to the OTCQB Venture Market, along with the approved Form 10.

In a news release (http://ibn.fm/Xa90R), Dr. Michel Aube, CEO and chief science officer of ETST, stated, “Transparency is a key tool that we needed to accelerate the growth of our business. Since all of our amazing projects are ongoing with our partners, investor confidence will grow, and we will be able to complete our first big round of financing. We are in touch with institutional and private investors that were waiting for ETST to become a fully reporting company before investing the necessary amount to commercialize our projects. We can now resume our discussions with them.” Becoming a fully reporting OTCQB company is expected to open many opportunities while simultaneously boosting investor confidence. An Audio Press Release (APR) of this announcement is available at http://ibn.fm/itTdR.

Earth Science Tech is a biotechnology company based in Florida that’s focused on the science, research and study of high-grade hemp cannabinoid (CBD) oil as a nutraceutical and dietary supplement. ETST is working to improve treatments for different diseases on a global scale through its subsidiaries: Earth Science Pharmaceutical, Cannabis Therpeutics Inc., Kannabidioid Inc., and Canna Inno Laboratories Inc. Its Earth Science Pharmaceutical subsidiary is focused on becoming a world leader in the development of low cost, non-invasive diagnostic tools, medical devices, testing processes and vaccines for sexually transmitted infections and/or diseases (STIs). Cannabis Therapeutics is also a subsidiary of ETST, and it was formed as an emerging biotech company poised to become a world leader in CBD research and development. In the recreational space, ETST owns Kannabidioid, a subsidiary focused on manufacturing and distributing vapes/e-liquids and gummy edibles. The acquisition of Canna Inno Laboratories in Quebec granted ETST access to the growing Canadian market and government funding. It has already received a supporting grant for innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. The company has plans to apply for additional funding under Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit program.

ETST has also taken on a new fight – opioid addiction. Human clinical trials are scheduled to begin in 2019. With the opioid epidemic projected to claim nearly 500,000 American lives by 2027 (http://ibn.fm/x4tI2), the company seeks to improve the treatment of those fighting dependency. The goal of the study is to reduce the cravings of opioid addicts and reduce the danger of side effects while making the drug more effective. This is just one of many ways that ETST is committed to improving treatments for different diseases worldwide.

Additional transparency, a strengthening of current subsidiaries through new studies and markets, the rise of the cannabis industry, access to government grants in Canada and a commitment to finding solutions to the national epidemic of opioid addiction are all small key parts in a much larger strategic plan for accelerated growth.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com

• Landmark ruling strikes down federal law that bans states from allowing sports gambling
• Legal experts posit that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision has important implications for state-legal marijuana programs
• Sunniva’s core subsidiaries, licensed tenant cultivators gear up to supply multibillion dollar recreational, medical cannabis industries in Canada, California

Sunniva Inc. (CSE: SNN) (OTCQX: SNNVF), a vertically integrated medical cannabis and services provider operating in Canada and California, joins a growing cadre of voices lauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a federal ban on sports gambling. The 7-2 landmark ruling in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (http://ibn.fm/qOuwm) is hailed as a positive move for the cannabis industry by legal scholars, cannabis insiders and others interested in cannabis law reform (http://ibn.fm/0wzEc).

There currently are nine states in the U.S. with legalized sales of recreational cannabis on the books – with the District of Columbia legalizing its use, but not sales – while some form of cannabis use is allowed in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Meanwhile in Canada, which has allowed medical cannabis since 2001, lawmakers are poised to finalize a law allowing recreational adult-use cannabis throughout the country sometime later this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision could have implications for the cannabis industry at large, according to SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe, who wrote: “Challenges to the federal government’s recent efforts to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug for either recreational or medical use may also be based on the 10th Amendment” (http://ibn.fm/Ep5ER).

Sunniva is actively targeting cannabis markets in Canada and California as it constructs cannabis grow facilities in both locations and diversifies its products and service offerings. A 126-acre Canada Campus at Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, will house a 700,000 square foot facility with an expected output capacity of 100,000 kg annually (http://ibn.fm/uiM6A). Phase one of the company’s California Campus, a 325,000 square foot greenhouse in Cathedral City, is well underway and is expected to produce 60,000 kg annually once it’s up to full operational scale in Q3 2018.

Sunniva CEO Dr. Anthony Holler notes that the company has received all temporary state licenses required in California. Sunniva’s U.S. subsidiaries hold eight 10,000 square foot cultivation licenses, two manufacturing licenses, one 22,000 square foot cultivation license, one 22,000 square foot nursery license and one 10,000 square foot nursery license. Another seven 22,000 square foot cultivation bays will be leased to selected licensed tenants, with all of Sunniva’s annual state license applications completed and submitted under state mandated deadlines.

“This is a very significant milestone for Sunniva’s operations in California. An important aspect of the licensing process has been completed and now our focus is on completing construction on time and entering into supply contracts with distribution partners, leading brands and creating Sunniva branded products for the California marketplace,” Holler said in a company update (http://ibn.fm/X1s94).

The economic impact of legalized cannabis continues to evolve, with New Frontier Data estimating the state-licensed cannabis market in the U.S. to be worth over $24 billion by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/i6yuw). Support for legalization of cannabis continues to rise, with 64 percent of respondents in a national survey voicing support, according to a Gallup poll (http://ibn.fm/vEFQa). While the full impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is still being debated, Sunniva and its management team firmly believe the ruling ushers in good news for the future of state-legalized cannabis and related industries.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.sunniva.com

• New FDA restrictions on Big Tobacco take effect
• Tobacco manufacturers turning to ‘reduced-risk’ products
• No edible nicotine products currently available
• DehydraTECH improves bio-absorption of nicotine taken orally

Smoking may be a dying trend, but consumption of nicotine is not only very much alive; its longevity is assured by Big Tobacco’s foray into alternative tobacco and ‘reduced-risk’ products. Driven by increased public awareness and government policy, the pressure has been turned up on smokers to quit, and cigarette manufacturers are feeling the heat, as well. New regulations mandating warnings against the adverse health effects of smoking and the addictive power of nicotine have already gone into effect, and the FDA is mulling a plan that would require manufacturers to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes so that they are essentially non-addictive, a proposal that the tobacco industry fears will substantially curtail sales. It is responding by turning to lower-risk technologies that deliver nicotine without the deadly effects of traditional cigarettes, like that developed by Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP). The company, recently uplisted to the OTCQX, has developed technology that allows nicotine to be absorbed without smoking.

The tobacco industry is disentangling itself from cigarettes and smoking, after fighting (and losing) a rearguard action that lasted for 18 years. In 1999, in order to recover funds spent on treating smoking-related health issues, the federal government sued tobacco companies. After hearings that lasted for seven years, a federal district court ordered the companies involved in the suit ‘to make “corrective statements” about addiction and the adverse health effects of smoking using television, newspapers, store displays and corporate websites’ (http://ibn.fm/kWFjs). The industry challenged the ruling, but now, after exhausting the appeals process, has been forced to start the anti-smoking campaign. It has, since 1971, been barred from advertising on TV and radio advertising.

Adding to the pressure are the plans under consideration by the FDA. The agency ‘recently finalized a rule that extends its regulatory authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah and pipe tobacco, as part of its goal to improve public health’ (http://ibn.fm/edJJQ). Previously, such products could be sold without any review of their health risks. The agency says that it is encouraging ‘manufacturers to explore product innovations that would maximize potential benefits and minimize risks.’ It has already approved a number of such products, including nicotine gum, nicotine skin patches, nicotine lozenges, nicotine oral inhaled products and nicotine nasal spray, as well as non-nicotine medications called varenicline and bupropion, reinforcing the consensus that it is smoking and not nicotine that is the problem.

This bodes well for Lexaria, which has developed and is already licensing technology, known as DehydraTECH™, that could allow nicotine to be ingested orally. This is an important development. The human GI system struggles to process nicotine in the forms in which it is presently offered, presenting one reason why there are currently no edible nicotine products available. However, DehydraTECH employs a patented, cost-effective delivery mechanism that improves the bio-absorption and bioavailability of ingestible substances, as well as their taste and smell. It does this by enabling delivery of lipophilic active agents present in such substances. As Big Tobacco casts about for ‘reduced-risk’ products, DehydraTECH may have a role to play.

Application of the technology extends beyond nicotine to non-psychoactive cannabinoids, vitamins and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and Lexaria has licensed the technology to a number of companies, including chocolate maker Nuka Enterprises; cannabis beverage manufacturer GP Holdings; and Biolog, which markets hemp-based, cannabidiol (CBD)-infused products and vitamins. Lexaria is expected to sign 6-12 more licensing agreements in 2018. These are typically six-figure contracts in the first year and potentially seven-figure contracts over the life of the deals. Licensing is a lucrative business model that typically yields 90-100 percent of revenues as profit. The tobacco industry generates about 20 times more revenue than the cannabis industry, and Lexaria’s strategy of disrupting nicotine delivery methods could reasonably be many-fold more impactful than its cannabinoid licensing business.

At present, Lexaria is the only company in the world that has been awarded a patent for the improved (oral or ingestible, including pills) delivery of all non-psychoactive cannabinoids. Patents have been awarded in the U.S. and Australia and are pending in 40 more countries. This puts the company in the unusually advantageous position of owning proprietary technology that can deliver a vast range of non-psychoactive cannabinoid-based drugs. Rather than being a competitor to clinical stage biotech companies, Lexaria is in effect an enabler and partner.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaEnergy.com

• Company acquires Legacy Direct to expand its training and marketing capabilities
• Legacy Direct provides entrepreneurs live, 24/7 global streaming capabilities
• Elevating the entrepreneur on a global scale

Sharing Services, Inc. (OTC: SHRV), a company that works to elevate home-based entrepreneurs through support of direct-selling programs, has announced an agreement with Legacy Direct LLC. The agreement gives SHRV complete management control beginning on June 1, 2018, and allows for the immediate expansion of products and services. This acquisition will allow the company to grow training and marketing capabilities and is a win-win for both SHRV and Legacy. “The ability to control the content, the customer dashboard and stream live 24/7 is unparalleled for a direct selling company,” SHRV Chairman Robert Oblon stated in a news release (http://ibn.fm/D3o6n).

Legacy Direct was founded in 2015. It is a leading designer and manufacturer of the latest state-of-the-art home entertainment hardware and streaming platforms. Legacy’s unique system allows anyone to create their own channel and stream original content to audiences everywhere with a pay-per-view option. The company created the B-Vision Network following the FCC deregulation of the broadcasting industry. Its network allows entrepreneurs and artists to showcase their visions on global live TV.

Sharing Services, Inc. believes in elevating the personal businesses and goals of entrepreneurs through network marketing and direct selling. To emphasize this, the company has renamed its home-based partners Elepreneurs, a combination of the words ‘elevate’ and ‘entrepreneur’. The company owns, operates or controls an interest in a variety of direct-selling programs and services targeted at home-based Elepreneurs. The services range from health and wellness to energy, technology, insurance services, training, media, travel benefits and, now, the added benefits of the Legacy Direct platform.

This live streaming global access is one strategic step in expanding direct selling internationally. A recent joint venture with Hong Kong-based Health Wealth & Happiness Ltd. has allowed the company to expand the Elepreneur brand and sell products throughout Asia. Now, with 24/7 live streaming capabilities, SHRV is capable of reaching its full network with room for further expansion.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SharingServicesInc.com

• An intelligent authentic platform centered on transparency and intellectual property
• WeedMD one of the first federally-licensed producers to integrate blockchain technology
• Provides a verifiable chain of evidence from genome-to-sale

BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSX.V: SR.H), a full-service software company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has developed the first integrated blockchain platform that registers and tracks cannabis intellectual property (“IP”) from genome to sale. The company is dedicated to making the platform safe, comfortable and financially rewarding for breeders and growers of all sizes. The platform protects the intellectual property of producers in the cannabis industry while giving customers full transparency. By combining traditional cannabis culture with modern crypto-technology, the company delivers an intelligent authentic platform that’s powered by the people. It is establishing a single source of truth for cannabis strains and their ownership that is helping fuel technology and innovation for the cannabis industry as a whole.

On March 19, 2018, WeedMD Inc., a company focused on providing medical cannabis to the seniors’ markets in Canada, announced a strategic investment in BLOCKStrain. “WeedMD has amongst the most robust and expansive library of genetics in the industry. After conducting an extensive review of the blockchain technologies being proposed for and utilized in the cannabis sector, we believe that BLOCKStrain is best positioned to protect our intellectual property by further validating and securing our best-in-class genetics,” Derek Pedro, Design, Cultivation and Production Partner at WeedMD, stated in a news release. “Our strategic partnership with BLOCKStrain will position and benefit WeedMD as we obtain and develop new strains to expand our wholesale genetics business and for the benefit of our medical patients.”

With the use of BLOCKStrain, the grower can defend intellectual property rights with an authentic, verifiable chain of evidence embedded in the blockchain from genome-to-sale. Consumers and regulators can leverage the technology to identify where the product was grown and sold, as well as if it meets quality control standards. The platform verifies and tracks critical steps as the cannabis moves through the supply chain, including pesticide use, quality and potency testing, transportation data and additional regulatory information. Both growers and consumers can rest at ease knowing that the origination, care and delivery of the product is held to the highest standards.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.BLOCKStrain.io

• Company’s joint venture (JV) with Global Hemp Group, Inc. covers a 109-acre farm in Scio, Oregon, to support over 20,000 high-yielding CBD hemp clones being purchased to meet the early June targeted planting schedule
• Company’s hempSMART™ subsidiary focuses on consumer access to the highest quality hemp-derived CBD products
• Politicians are increasingly getting behind the hemp industry

Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC: MCOA) offers investors the opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation in the legal cannabis and industrial hemp industries. The company’s goal is to create an umbrella under which it will place an array of portfolio companies within the industry.

The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, hempSMART™, is focused on offering consumer access to the highest quality hemp-derived product formulations and is committed to the development of cannabidiol (CBD)-based botanical supplements. Moreover, the company offers the opportunity to distribute its products as part of its affiliate network-marketing model.

Recently, Marijuana Company of America entered into a joint venture (JV) with Global Hemp Group, Inc. (CSE: GHG) (FRANKFURT: GHG) (OTC: GBHPF) of Vancouver, British Columbia. Global Hemp Group concentrates on acquiring and/or joint venturing with companies across all sectors of the industrial hemp industry. It does so to build a “soil-to-shelf” portfolio of complementary companies and JV partners. Marijuana Company of America signed the JV Agreement with Global Hemp Group to cultivate legal high-yielding CBD from industrial hemp at its newly acquired 109-acre farm in Scio, Oregon. The initial nursery and propagation rooms have been expanded to an additional attached greenhouse to produce clones for planting in the current season. The farm property is located in the fruitful Willamette Valley, located about 70 miles south of Portland, Oregon.

For the Scio, Oregon, farm, an additional 20,000 high-yielding CBD hemp clones are being purchased to meet the early June targeted planting schedule. The JV has bought five more greenhouses to increase greenhouse space by 12,096 sq. ft. Moreover, Marijuana Company of America and Global Hemp Group are looking into a field analytics software application to optimize farming operations via data collection and analysis.

In a news release, Donald Steinberg, Marijuana Company of America’s CEO, said, “Our evolving project in Scio, Oregon highlights the quality of the team in place as they continue to lean on their many years of experience cultivating hemp.  Activities such as these will help to secure the raw oil that we will need for our hempSMART brand of CBD infused products.”

Politicians are increasingly getting behind the revival of the hemp industry in the United States. For example, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell recently introduced a bill to legalize the cultivation of hemp for farmers throughout the country (http://ibn.fm/Gw57B). In addition, this bill has the support of Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). An additional companion bill has also been introduced in the House.

Forbes noted that “Hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) is projected to be a billion-dollar market in just three years, according to a new report by Brightfield Group” (http://ibn.fm/gVmuN).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

• SpeedyGrow is a Wyoming company with licenses in Colorado to grow and process hemp
• SpeedyVeg is designed to accelerate plant growth in the cannabis industry
• REFG’s integrated Green financial processing system creates a cashless environment for the cannabis industry

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) has expanded its role in the cannabis market through its acquisitions of Colorado-licensed SpeedyGrow and organic soil accelerator SpeedyVeg, with its proprietary formula geared to maximize plant yield (http://ibn.fm/hDaUc).

SpeedyGrow is a Wyoming company with licenses to grow and process hemp in Colorado. SpeedyVeg is focused on the cannabis industry, with an organic nutrient designed to accelerate the growth of plants using a formula which it claims results in a 20 percent faster growth rate. It includes 70 natural trace nutrients aimed at benefiting plants during the growing process.

REFG’s Green is a comprehensive financial program for state-legalized cannabis markets. The company enables licensed dispensaries and retail merchants to sign up online for its end-to-end system that creates a cashless environment for both merchants and consumers (http://ibn.fm/Vk0ao). Signing up online is simple for merchants, with Green offering a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) compliant system for the entire cannabis industry. Green also provides cryptocurrency payment processing.

The acquisitions represent a doubling down for REFG in the cannabis market. In a news release, Jeremy Roberts, CEO of REFG, said, “We weren’t initially anticipating entering this space. But after careful consideration, the opportunity to expand our footprint in the state-sanctioned cannabis space was too good of an opportunity for our shareholders to pass up.”

He explained that the acquisitions also represent a new revenue stream for REFG’s investors. The company, however, is continuing to concentrate on its core of providing best-in-class payment processing and a comprehensive banking system, he added.

Patients and customers may sign up for Green online. Consumers are issued Green cards which may be branded to the vendor, creating customer loyalty and repeat sales. The customer or patient can then pay directly from a bank account without requiring cash. In addition, the company now offers bank accounts for state licensed medical marijuana establishments through its www.Take.Green website. “We believe we offer the nation’s only truly compliant payment and banking solution for state sanctioned marijuana,” Roberts noted, alluding to the comprehensive nature of the company’s offering.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Take.Green

• 5G networks coming to America in 2018
• Hammer Wireless AIR systems considered a pre-5G architecture
• Potential for deployment in out-of-range cellular areas

5G wireless technology is making its debut in America this year. Now that the standard has been more or less agreed upon, all of the major carriers have promised rollout of 5G services by the end of 2018. Hammer Fiber Optic Holdings Corp. d/b/a Hammer Communications (OTCQB: HMMR) plans to take part in that infrastructural upgrade. The company recently launched its Hammer Wireless® AIR point-to-multipoint system. This industry trend is consistent with Hammer’s capability as a mobile network service provider. The company offers commercial solutions, including its last mile broadband DOCSIS over wireless omni-point technology, over the top applications such as VoIP, text messaging and content offerings, as well as Smart City and IoT capability in select markets across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Its product offerings include residential triple play (TV, telephone and internet) services in Atlantic City and surrounding communities.

Fifth generation (5G) wireless technology is bringing us closer to a high-tech world by turning entire neighborhoods into networks that look remarkably like Local Area Networks (LANs). The typical LAN can be found in any U.S. household where a broadcast signal is transmitted from a single source to devices such as a smart TV, a smartphone, a laptop or a streaming player. However, present networks operate more like Wide Area Networks (WANs). They rely on huge, high towers with enough power to transmit encoded data through radio waves over long distances, but 5G systems will generally be networks of much smaller fiber optic cells, perhaps no larger than a home router, covering a block or two, broadcasting signals that customers can pick up with their modems. Employment of smaller cells should reduce infrastructural costs and expand network capacity, since the more cells there are, the more data the network can handle.

5G networks will use a type of encoding called OFDM, which is similar to the encoding that 4G LTE uses, although the air interface will be designed for much lower latency and greater flexibility than LTE. Air interface is a term that refers to the specification of the radio transmission between the transmitter and the receiver. An air interface, or access mode, is the communication link between the two stations in mobile or wireless communication. It will encompass both physical and data connections.

Hammer has already begun working and testing compliance with possible 5G configurations, including LTE compatible service over 500 MHz wide broadband channels to fixed LTE subscriber modems and LTE small cells utilizing millimeter-wave or Ka/Ku band spectrum. The company has developed its Hammer Wireless AIR point-to-multipoint wireless system, which it expects to increase customer choice (an FCC goal) and improve service in rural areas. Since the system is designed with 5G standards in mind, Hammer considers its AIR system a pre-5G architecture.

The AIR System employs a Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System (MMDS) architecture. It runs DOCSIS 3.0 (scalable to DOCSIS 3.1) and utilizes frequency division duplexing (FDD) for upstream and downstream, requiring two frequency bands for operation with 200 MHz spacing between upstream and downstream edge frequency. The system is deployed using a base station with sector antennas designed for 90-degree coverage, typically placed as high as possible (e.g., on a cell tower or atop a building) in a centralized location. Sectors can be placed next to each other, alternating polarization from horizontal to vertical to avoid interference with neighboring antennas to achieve up to a 360-degree coverage area. Currently, the AIR System requires line of sight to the customer’s premises, where a bi-directional transceiver is installed using a standard satellite dish, after which a transceiver is connected to a cable modem or gateway via coaxial cable.

On May 17, 2018, Hammer and 1stPoint Communications announced the launch of their Mobile Network Services Provider program. Using its patented AIR technology, Hammer can provide high-speed wireless triple play service using the DOCSIS and pre-5G standards to residential communities and small businesses. 1stPoint’s technology and operator licenses will allow services such as Smart City, Internet of Things and Mobile-to-Mobile (M2M) on the same network platform.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.HammerCorp.info