• In MoneyTV interview, Warren Wang, CEO of CIIX, stated that CBD division has started selling in China and California, planning expansion to more U.S. states and globally to Canada and Japan
• CIIX begins two tier referral sales program of CBD in China, offering consumers a cash commission based on referred sales and an added incentive with company stock
• Citing CV Sciences, Inc. valuation, Wang projects that CIIX’s CBD subsidiary’s market cap could reach $10-20 million; he hopes it will qualify for a future OTC or Nasdaq listing

ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) subsidiary ChineseHempOil.com, Inc. is planning to expand its operations to more states in the U.S., as well as Vancouver and Toronto in Canada and Asian markets such as Japan, CEO Warren Wang said in an interview on MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon (http://ibn.fm/iyH29). It is already selling in China and Los Angeles, California.

Wang hopes that CIIX will spin off its CBD subsidiary, ChineseHempOil.com, Inc., by year-end. “I cannot promise anything,” he noted in the interview. “But we are looking for a listing on the OTC or a national listing on the Nasdaq Exchange within 12 months.” CIIX’s CBD division includes CBD Biotechnology Co. Ltd.; Hemp Logic, Inc.; and ChineseHempOil.com, Inc., which, combined, have already built relationships with 70 retailers in the Los Angeles market.

For now, Wang said that CIIX is one of only three companies selling CBD products in China. Wang added that CIIX recently ran its first sales seminar on CBD in China from a hotel in Shanghai. The goal is to increase and broaden the company’s consumer base, he said.

“In CBD, we are now only in Los Angeles,” Wang said of the U.S. market. “After a month or two, we have plans to expand into Northern California, then to New York, Texas and Colorado. We plan to reach Chinese-Canadians in Vancouver and Toronto. We will also look in Asia, to countries such as Japan.”

In China, it is seeking to expand its CBD cosmetic product consumer base by utilizing a two-tiered sales system. It will offer to customers who generate referral sales a commission based on those sales, as well as company stock. The goal is to build ownership of CIIX among Chinese consumers, Wang said.

Wang hopes that its CBD division will perform as well as CV Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: CVSI). In the interview, he projected a long term $10-$20 million future market cap for ChineseHempOil.com, Inc., driven in part by sales in China. After the spinoff of CBD assets, CIIX will return to its roots in consulting, brand building and educating for the Chinese-speaking community in the U.S. and international markets.

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

• Phivida has been awarded DTC and CNS eligibility for its common shares
• Company is a premium food and beverage leader in the use of infused cannabinoids
• Phivida’s mission is to help lessen the world’s dependence on pharmaceuticals

Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE: VIDA) (OTCQX: PHVAF) is a premium functional food and beverage business based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company infuses all of its products with organic cannabinoids from hemp, and it offers premium beverages and clinical products for everyday health.

Phivida recently announced that it has been awarded full DTC (Depository Trust Company) and CNS (Continuous-Net-Settlement) eligibility for its common shares listed for trading on the OTCQX® Best Market under the symbol “PHVAF” in the U.S. (http://ibn.fm/m8WdI).

DTC’s emphasis is worldwide trading activity. It processes trillions of dollars of securities transactions daily. DTC provides an electronic process of clearing securities that expedites the receipt of stock and cash while speeding up the settlement process. CNS is an automated book-entry accounting system. Its focus is on centralizing the settlement of security transactions. It does so while maintaining an organized flow of security and money balances between those participating in the market.

Phivida’s expectation is that achieving DTC and CNS eligibility will simplify and fast-track settlement for investors while boosting the liquidity of its common shares on the OTC Market. CNS eligibility ensures that all DTC eligible trades and cash balances are centralized, cleared and settled in an efficient and systematic way.

Regarding its business, Phivida’s belief is that overall body health and balance are best maintained through whole plant nutrition and natural ingredients. Phivida sources its products from premier organic hemp and natural ingredients. These products are third-party lab tested for quality, purity and potency at world-class facilities. Hemp is a source of full-spectrum cannabinoids and is high CBD/low THC.

Phivida’s product line-up includes beverages, capsules and tinctures. Oki is its newest brand of hemp extract-infused flavored iced teas, flavor-infused waters and tinctures and capsules. In addition, the company offers the Vida+ line of premium hemp-infused products, including hemp oil extract and hemp oil capsules.

Phivida is cGMP-compliant (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) to ensure pharmaceutical quality. The company fuses ancient eastern traditions of whole plant medicine with contemporary western principles of naturopathic science. Phivida employs encapsulation technology. It converts phytocannabinoids into a water-soluble delivery format. This format improves bioavailability and timed released within the body.

Recently, Phivida signed an agreement with Acosta’s National Specialty Sales division, which gives the company access to 2,400 national specialty retailers throughout the United States.

Moreover, Phivida and WeedMD (OTC: WDDMF) have signed a final definitive Joint Venture (JV) agreement. This agreement is to develop and operate Cannabis Beverages, Inc. (CanBev), with each company retaining 50 percent of the Class A shares in CanBev.

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

• Results from second in vivo study of 2018 a success
• DehydraTECH™ had a 90.2 percent greater absorption rate in the first 10 minutes
• Clients are improving high-quality products through the enhancement of this drug delivery platform

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP), a company focused on developing and out-licensing its disruptive drug delivery platform DehydraTECH™, recently announced the results of its second in vivo study of 2018 evaluating this edible technology’s use as a nicotine delivery system (http://ibn.fm/s03xG).

The study was carried out by a third-party laboratory, which discovered that the absorption of nicotine was significantly greater when delivered by DehydraTECH™. In comparison with the tested control, the DehydraTECH™ system delivered a 90.2 percent greater absorption rate in the first 10 minutes. Because smoking gets the drug into the body so quickly, the speed of absorption for this edible form of nicotine delivery is very important in the overall success of providing a smoking alternative.

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH™ drug delivery platform offers a solution to the high numbers of smoking-related deaths and diseases. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), six million people die every year worldwide as a result of smoking, and 30 times that are living with serious illnesses related to a history of smoking (http://ibn.fm/xhoVm).

This disruptive drug delivery platform has multiple uses. Lexaria out-licenses DehydraTECH™ to entities whose goal is to deliver healthier ingestion methods of cannabinoids, vitamins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), nicotine and other molecules. With eight patents and nearly 50 more pending worldwide, Lexaria is enhancing the high-quality products of clients, not competing with them. Clients are improving upon high-quality products by increasing absorption rates, as well as improving taste and smell of the final product.

Clients are utilizing this edible technology in chocolates, beverages, dissolvable infusion products and more. Eighty percent of the company’s total revenue in 2018 is anticipated to come from the licensing of DehydraTECH™, with a number of licensing agreements currently in the works through its four wholly owned subsidiaries serving the nicotine, hemp, pharmaceutical and cannabis industries.

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

• Following the legalization of recreational cannabis in California in January 2018, the cannabis market in the U.S. is expected to balloon to $23.3 billion by 2022.
• The global cannabis market could increase three-fold by 2022 with a projected worth of $32 billion.
• The sector will become increasingly competitive and Hybrid-aeroponics blended with big data and predictive analytics is expected to produce maximum cannabis yields, driving the market for premium cannabis products.
• The vertical farming market, which utilizes aeroponics for growing crops of all kinds, is expected to reach nearly $10 billion by 2025. Innovation and IP within the cannabis sector can be carried over into the urban farming sector.

Green Hygienics Holdings Inc. (OTC: GRYN) is a full-scope, premium cannabis cultivation company targeting the high-end medical and adult-use recreational market. With more than 25 years of experience in agricultural science and innovation, Green Hygienics is establishing itself as a leader in the advancement of science-driven cannabis cultivation systems. The company will grow by generating revenues from the sales of premium grade cannabis products, developing and licensing valuable IP, making strategic acquisitions, and creating trusted global consumer brands.

The company has integrated and is developing its own IP assets related to proprietary systems and apparatus, software, algorithms and custom-engineered hardware. This provides ultimate efficiencies in a commercially controlled cultivation environment. Utilizing the advantages of hybrid-aeroponics, Green Hygienics creates a sterile growing environment that produces consistent, high-quality product while maintaining the lowest possible carbon footprint. The company utilizes state-of-the-art, quality-controlled commercial cultivation methodology to assure production of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis at much higher yields and greatly reduced costs.

Hybrid-aeroponics produces quality cannabis faster than traditional methods since it doesn’t require natural sunlight or soil and can be operational and produce plants anywhere. Plants grown under aeroponic conditions receive water and nutrients directly to their roots via a fine mist in a controlled environment, dramatically reducing spoilage while keeping the product organic and the environment pest-free. The plants are given the exact amount of nutrients and moisture precisely when needed. Green Hygienics maintains ultimate control over every aspect of this cultivation process, which allows the company to operate with conservation of natural resources in mind. The technology that uses 90-95 percent less water and does not require the use of pesticides or fungicides.

Additionally, the company’s state-of-the-art engineered, controlled environments include electrical, mechanical and HVAC designs that meet mandatory fire and energy codes while improving energy efficiency significantly.

Through these practices, Green Hygienics is establishing itself as a leader in the advancement of science-driven cannabis cultivation systems. The company continues to develop and incubate software as well as engineer hardware to provide additional control over the commercial cultivation method. The company’s science-based approach reveals any growth anomalies before the human eye can see them. This makes it possible to monitor all facets of production, identify cultivation problems based upon scientific data, and implement immediate corrective action, if needed.

The future of commercial cannabis cultivation hinges on using science to control the growing environment in order to remain competitive and deliver a premium grade of product on a consistent basis. The company holds a competitive advantage through its ability to produce premium cannabis products at a significantly lower cost per gram than direct competitors and others in the cannabis industry.

Innovations within the sector that create efficiencies and successful brands will become highly valued. Green Hygienics and its forward-thinking management team are constantly studying the market dynamics of the cannabis industry in North America and abroad while actively pursuing possible expansion opportunities. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and establishing operations in San Diego, California, targeting the $5 billion California cannabis market.

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

• Preventative health care market expected to see 15 percent CAGR in build toward $196.9 billion in revenues by 2024
• PreveCeutical Medical conducting five R&D programs that aim to boost preventative health for cancers, head injuries
• Recent investor update highlights company’s cannabis product development efforts, including sleep aid product agreement with Asterion Cannabis Inc.

PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) recently published an investor update detailing its corporate activities (http://ibn.fm/37FYr), particularly as they relate to its efforts to improve public health through a novel delivery method for cannabis-related products. The report notes PreveCeutical’s successes, underscored by its completion of a $6.5 million financing to inject new capital into its research efforts, as well as general capital purposes.

PreveCeutical CEO and President Stephen Van Deventer has a long history of building up cutting edge companies, including Aurora Cannabis Inc., together with PreveCeutical co-founder Kimberly Van Deventer. Since 2015, PreveCeutical’s mission has been one of developing preventive therapies for health-conscious consumers who want nature-based products.

In recent months, the company has advanced the testing of its Nature Identical™ peptides toward the treatment and prevention of cancers such as the glioblastoma, the disease that took the life of Sen. John McCain. The company’s research team identified eight peptide candidates for the anticipated line of wellness products earlier this year, building on analysis of the Caribbean blue scorpion whose venom is widely reputed to have had a historical benefit among islanders of treating and staving off cancers.

Under the second phase of development, PreveCeutical’s researchers are working to redesign the eight venom peptides to improve their stability and usefulness in drug applications (http://ibn.fm/aDmsx). Once that work is completed, the company will begin screening the peptides in cell-based cancer models.

PreveCeutical has been simultaneously developing its Sol-gel formulation as a nasal gel that will deliver cannabinoid solutions in a rapid-pass mechanism from the nose to the brain, avoiding the destructive aspects of the digestive system that seek to vet and eliminate chemicals that are foreign to the body.

By using Sol-gels to deliver cannabis derivatives in a non-smoked method, PreveCeutical expects to engineer better ways of responding to pain, inflammation, anxiety, seizures and other neurological disorders that cannabis has a history of alleviating. The company is currently testing several custom applicators to facilitate safe and consistent delivery of the cannabinoids to the central nervous system in defined measurements, all with the intent of creating a way to present medications directly where they will do the most good with the fewest side effects.

To further its cannabis research, PreveCeutical created an Australian subsidiary, through which the company conducts its development projects in conjunction with the Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence at the University of Queensland. PreveCeutical secured the licenses to have cannabis shipped from Canadian cultivators to the university earlier this year.

In mid-August, 2018, privately held Asterion Cannabis Inc., where Van Deventer also serves as CEO and board chairman, announced that it had granted PreveCeutical a worldwide license to use, manufacture, distribute and sell three natural health sleep aid products that are Health Canada-approved. The news followed on Asterion’s July announcement that it will build the world’s largest automated greenhouse in Queensland, using renewable energy to power the 4.3 million-square-foot facility (approximately 99 acres, or 40 hectares) for cannabis extraction, processing and research and development.

The company intends to begin manufacturing the Natural Health Products line of sleep aids and sell them in retail pharmacies and health-focused stores, as well as on PreveCeutical’s website.

PreveCeutical also has R&D programs targeting dual gene therapy for type 2 diabetes and obesity, non-addictive analgesic peptides as a replacement to highly addictive analgesics and a therapeutic product for treating athletes who suffer from concussions. Through these initiatives, the health sciences company aims to become a leader in preventative health sciences.

Crystal Equity Research noted that the company’s successful efforts to raise new funding in June for useable capital (http://ibn.fm/DK4Vl) put PreveCeutical’s potential “into a higher gear with its development pipeline,” predicting that preventative health care will remain lucrative as it builds toward an anticipated $196.9 billion in revenue by 2024 with a 15 percent CAGR. Grandview Research found that 60 percent of the world’s population uses some type of medicine, whether traditional or non-conventional. The National Center for Disease Control reported that 20 percent of the United States’ population uses alternative therapies (http://ibn.fm/U3PIP).

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

• Sharing Services owns, operates or controls an interest in companies specializing in the direct selling industry
• The company has its unique ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ to promote successful entrepreneurship
• Direct Selling continues to be a major growth industry

Texas-based Sharing Services, Inc. (OTC: SHRV) focuses on direct selling. The company owns, operates or controls an interest in an array of companies specializing in the direct selling industry. Sharing Services’ mission is to transform the direct selling industry model by creating a diversified holdings company that maintains an ownership interest in numerous direct selling operations. Its mission relies heavily on its implemented ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’.

Sharing Services’ subsidiaries either sell products directly to consumers via independent representatives or offer services. These services include health and wellness, travel, auto and home insurance, life and health insurance, energy brokerage and training. The United States is the world’s largest direct selling market, and, in 2017, 18.6 million people were involved in direct selling in the U.S. (http://ibn.fm/IVPBy).

The company’s ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ combines important components together to execute its mission. This includes elevating home-based entrepreneurs, called “Elepreneurs” (Elevated Entrepreneurs), using direct selling channels to generate 100 percent organic growth while creating as many successful independent business leaders as possible. Elepreneurs, LLC is a 100 percent wholly owned subsidiary of Sharing Services. The aim of Elepreneurs is to contract with companies to promote and sell products by employing a direct selling model.

Direct Selling is a growth industry that gives individuals the opportunity to be independent entrepreneurs. Direct Selling News reported (http://ibn.fm/KgTkC) that, “In 2017, global direct selling recorded US$189.6 billion (2017 constant U.S. dollars) in estimated retail sales – a 1.6 percent increase over 2016 – and up nearly $20 billion since 2014, resulting in a 3.7% compound annual growth rate over the 3-year period from 2014 to 2017.”

Recently, Sharing Services signed a joint venture agreement with Health Wealth & Happiness Limited (“HWH”). The focus of this agreement is to expand the company’s “Elepreneurs” brand and market its products in Asia. “Elepreneurs Asia Limited” is the name of the newly created company. The joint venture anticipates market openings throughout Asia, leveraging marketing and sales rights in China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Papua, New Guinea.

Sharing Services also recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Elevacity Global, LLC, will launch its product line in Australia and New Zealand. Plans to complete the process this year to meet consumer demand are being fast-tracked. In a news release, Robert Oblon, chairman of Sharing Services, stated, “I am confident that the team of professionals we are working with in Australia and New Zealand will successfully launch our products. We are pleased to continue our ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ philosophy on the other side of the globe.”

With its aggressive business strategy, Sharing Services is revolutionizing the direct selling industry. The company has grown by more than 10,000 independent sales representatives over the last several months because of its emphasis on helping people become independent business leaders. It is working to mesh Elepreneurs with the Sharing Service brand to establish creative interaction that drives corporate success and develops successful entrepreneurs.

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

• Youngevity International announces second quarter 2018 results
• Coffee revenues rise by 40 percent
• Youngevity to enter the hemp CBD market

With the release of its second quarter 2018 results, Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) offers a glimpse into coffee’s influence on our social and commercial milieus. This simple beverage, often overlooked because of its ubiquitous use, has been credited with nothing less than catalyzing the industrial revolution (http://ibn.fm/UH03c). Before its introduction to Europe, standard breakfast fare included beer, a practice that may have contributed to the counsel “Eat breakfast like a king.” However, kings typically do not need to rise early to plough the fields or take the sheep out to pasture. Early morning draughts of beer are unlikely to foster good work ethics, but coffee can, according to some commentators. It’s responsible “for the increase in productivity and innovation that characterized the industrial revolution.” At Youngevity, this dynamic appears to be at work again. The company’s second quarter 2018 results reveal that revenues have risen, boosted by a sharp performance improvement from its coffee segment.

Youngevity’s coffee connection began in 2014, when Youngevity International purchased a 1,000-acre coffee plantation in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. The plantation had long been neglected but still housed 180 dedicated workers and their families. The first phase in getting it fully operational again focused on those workers. The company launched, what seemed at the time, a simple “Kindness Project” request for used clothing from distributors and customers. The response was overwhelming. Enough was received to provide clothing for workers on all of the plantations in the vicinity, including the one belonging to Youngevity. This led to the establishment of the ‘Youngevity Be the Change Foundation’ after the neighboring plantations began calling the Youngevity estate ‘The Giving Plantation’, an initiative that aligns with Youngevity’s desire to promote healthy and empowered lifestyles.

Youngevity has reported that, for the three months ended June 30, 2018, revenues increased 6.6 percent to $44.26 million, as compared to $41.53 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 (http://ibn.fm/clomt). Commercial coffee sales increased by $1.42 million, or 23.7 percent, to $7.41 million, compared to $5.99 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, an increase that was mainly due to increased revenues of $1.17 million from its green coffee business. During the quarter, approximately 17 percent of total revenues came from commercial coffee sales.

The rest of Youngevity’s revenues were derived from direct sales. Total sales rose to $36.85 million, registering a 3.7 percent increase of $1.31 million over the prior year period. This increase was primarily attributed to revenues from new acquisitions and price increases on certain products that went into effect on January 1, 2018. For the quarter, gross profit increased approximately 5.3 percent to $25.38 million, compared to $24.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017. Overall gross profit as a percentage of revenues decreased slightly to 57.4 percent, compared to 58 percent in the same period last year.

Youngevity is also moving into the cannabidiol (CBD) market (http://ibn.fm/YXxVT). In August, the company announced that it is entering the CBD market with a proprietary line of hemp-derived CBD oil products. At present, the CBD market is experiencing meteoric growth and is projected to reach $2.1 billion by 2020, with $450 million coming from hemp-based sources, according to estimates provided by the Hemp Business Journal. That’s a 700 percent increase from 2016. Demand for CBD has skyrocketed, due primarily to a wide variety of applications that ranges from cosmetics to food and beverage to health supplements.

Youngevity is a leading omni-direct lifestyle company offering a hybrid of the direct selling business model that also offers e-commerce and the power of social selling. Assembling a virtual Main Street of products and services under one corporate entity, YGYI offers products from the six top-selling retail categories: health/nutrition, home/family, food/beverage (including coffee), spa/beauty, apparel/jewelry and innovative services. The company was formed in the wake of a summer 2011 merger between Youngevity Essential Life Sciences and Javalution® Coffee Company (now part of the company’s food and beverage division). The resulting company became Youngevity International, Inc. in July 2013.

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

• Intelagy card processing solution promises to save merchants significant costs
• Business model is subscription-based instead of charging according to credit card processing volume
• Company’s flat fee structure begins at $29 per month

Accelerated Technologies Holding Corp. (OTC: ATHC) has reported an overwhelmingly positive response to its new credit card processing solution. ATHC’s managing director, Alex Lemberg, recently spoke to NetworkNewsAudio’s Stuart Smith about the company’s innovative business model and the goals that it has for the rest of the year (http://ibn.fm/o6iEf).

ATHC, which provides consulting and develops technology products and services, recently launched Intelagy, which provides a range of services, including credit card processing, branding, web development and hosting solutions, to small-to-medium businesses. “Yesterday we did our first fairly decent-sized marketing campaign,” Lemberg said in the interview (http://ibn.fm/XQzgu).

Intelagy is subscription-based, meaning that merchants can choose to pay for the level of service that suits their business needs. Instead of the traditional service model which charges clients according to the volume of their card processing payments, Intelagy charges its clients a flat fee. According to Intelagy’s fee structure, organizations that process $100,000 per year would pay a subscription fee of $29 per month, while those which process over $1 million per year would pay $199 per month.

Lemberg added, “Think about the ridiculous amounts of cost savings and just the logic behind that, right? Today, if your business is doing $500,000 in credit card processing, you’re paying a percentage of that to those independent sales organizations. And when your business goes from $500,000 to $1 million, you’re still paying a percentage. So, really, you’re getting dinged, for lack of a better word, the better your business actually operates. And there’s just no logical reason behind it.”

ATHC’s managing director spoke of the company’s two main goals for 2018: to reach 100,000 merchants and to launch subsidiary FinBridge, which will lend capital to alternative business lenders. Among these lenders would be independent sales organizations offering debit and credit card processing services to merchants. FinBridge is being designed to find inefficiencies in organizations the provide consumer loans and help them improve operations via better controls and lower risk factors.

The company’s portfolio also includes IconXchange, currently being developed to fund personality brands. The platform will use blockchain technology and provide an open, decentralized infrastructure that will allow individuals to obtain and exchange investment in personalities of the world of sports and entertainment.

ATHC also owns XStreamCorp, which is described as a revolutionary “reality gaming social network.” XStreamCorp was designed to compete with Facebook’s social gaming market and will incorporate proprietary technology to provide users with streaming video, audio and messaging capabilities.

Speaking of how ATHC hopes to impact small to mid-sized business, Lemberg voiced hope that his company will assist clients in becoming more cost effective, both in terms of credit card processing and securing sustainable financing for business growth.

“From a credit card processing perspective, we will begin to give them services that they would never be able to afford, or even know existed from a technology perspective. And then, more importantly, when they need money to actually grow or sustain or cover a particular time of the year, like a season where they can use more inventory, we will bridge them to more affordable, less predatory, more sustainable financing products,” he concluded.

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

• NUGL has hired a renowned attorney to serve as an IP and trademark law consultant
• NUGL has created one of the largest cannabis-related search app platforms and the world’s very first comprehensive cannabis search engine
• Company’s database includes only true, untainted user ratings and feedback, with no fake reviews or purchased top-spot listings

NUGL Inc. (OTC: NUGL), creator of the world’s first comprehensive cannabis software platform and a company setting a new technology standard for the cannabis industry, recently announced that it has hired renowned attorney Scott P. Shaw to serve as an expert industry consultant in IP and trademark law (http://ibn.fm/yNVQd).

Named a “Super Lawyer” in 2017 by Los Angeles magazine – an honor recognizing attorneys who rank in the top five percent for excellence in practicing law – Shaw is a shareholder with Call & Jensen and specializes in litigation and strategic client counseling for that firm. He was honored as a “Rising Star” for eight years and was been distinguished as one of the “2015 Top 25 Orange County Rising Stars” and the “Top 100 Southern California Rising Stars.”

In engaging Shaw’s services, NUGL aims to protect its brand and intellectual property – a necessary measure as the company continues to grow and build a diverse range in its network of profiles. As one of the largest cannabis-related search app platforms, offering unparalleled expertise in forming brands within the cannabis space, NUGL continues progressing toward its goal of becoming a household name in the cannabis industry.

NUGL stands out in the cannabis space by offering the only cannabis search app that provides pure search results that are equal and unbiased; the company does not sell top-spot listings or fake reviews.

NUGL’s app provides topnotch searchability to connect users with customer-rated dispensaries, cannabis strains and brands, but its services go far beyond that, delivering something greatly needed and truly unique in the cannabis space. NUGL’s application provides profiles for every type of cannabis brand, business and service, including listing physicians, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and other entities that offer cannabis-related services.

Other features that set NUGL’s application apart are its superior networking capabilities and its ability to arm novice startups with the marketing and business tools they need to move forward – tools that are otherwise largely unavailable in the cannabis space.

As the cannabis industry continues to grow and as consumers become more knowledgeable, demand for specific marijuana brands will increase, and brands will emerge with more narrowed focuses. The startups and developers behind these brands will need an improved means of getting their products on the right shelves and in front of consumers, and NUGL provides that. NUGL’s new technology gives cannabis brands and service providers the ability to actively network and make crucial connections. Through NUGL’s technology, a brand holder can reach out to dispensaries, for example, to forge deals to get his or her brand on the necessary shelves. This provides a brand with physical availability addresses, which, in turn, gives the consumer the necessary content to conduct a superior search for products and services.

Notably, NUGL’s comprehensive, flexible technology has been built on a web app, with the user interface and client-side logic running in a web browser. This web application communicates seamlessly with both iOS and Android.

NUGL has launched numerous features, including exclusive profile claiming, features for brands and listings and honest consumer-based reviews. The company is quickly gaining market share and now has directory services that span North America. The company’s B2B and B2P application is one-of-a-kind in the cannabis industry, providing a crucially needed service as the cannabis space continues to evolve at breakneck speed.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/NUGL

• Easily integrated BLOCKStrain platform tracks cannabis supply chain from genome to sale
• Blockchain-based genetic registration process provides verification security for growers and consumers alike
• Protection of proprietary cannabis strains is critical, as eventual entry of Big Pharma and Big Ag companies into newly legalized cannabis space is certain

As the legal cannabis space expands and major players enter the industry, the need for supply chain verification is growing dramatically, with real-world problems already becoming apparent. These include:

• IP lawsuits that have not stood up in court;
• Known copying of major brands in dispensaries by illegal growers; and
• Gray market products being passed off as legal.

Cannabis industry suppliers and consumers are currently faced with a major gap in supply chain transparency and verification, a gap that’s feeding a growing industry demand for an effective solution.

The team at BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSX.V: DNAX), a full-service software company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wisely predicted that it would take an immutable, powerful technology to accomplish this critical task. To that end, BLOCKStrain has developed the first integrated blockchain platform that registers and tracks cannabis intellectual property (“IP”) from genome to sale.

“This industry is growing at such an exponential rate,” Robert Galarza, CEO and co-founder of BLOCKStrain, said in an exclusive interview with NetworkNewsAudio (http://ibn.fm/kMNJi).  “You need to be able to create a method, utilizing technology, to verify that product and make sure the product that’s being put on shelves is tested and safe… You want to make sure what you’re putting in your body is healthy.”

Through the use of BLOCKStrain, cannabis growers can defend intellectual property rights with an authentic, verifiable chain of evidence embedded in the blockchain from genome to sale. For companies in the cannabis space, efforts to secure intellectual property protection should start early and remain a top priority. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) routinely grants patents for cannabis and cannabis-related inventions, according to an article in The Legal Intelligencer (http://ibn.fm/hukAC), but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy process. Patent claims cover a wide range of technologies, with all requiring proof of invention or the product of human ingenuity through selective or genetic breeding, the article states.

That’s where BLOCKStrain’s platform comes in by providing a gene-registration defense of intellectual property rights and establishing historical proof of ownership. That’s huge for cannabis growers seeking to develop their own brands for an increasingly astute and knowledgeable base of loyal consumers. The authenticity of a particular cannabis strain is followed from genome to sale, providing reliable, transparent cannabis supply chain tracking via BLOCKStrain’s unique platform.

With a solid foundation in place, BLOCKStrain is looking toward the future with a near-term focus on the Canadian cannabis market ahead of the country’s scheduled October 2018 legalization of adult-use recreational cannabis.

“Our goal is to help this industry develop and unfold,” Galarza stated, adding that BLOCKStrain is well positioned to grow its market share by “putting the best solution in front of the industry and all of the participants here.”

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