- New appointment expected to strengthen EVIO’s Biosciences division
- Licensed cannabis sales expected to reach $21 billion by 2021 due to industry strengthening and legislative changes
- U.S. administration signals shift on cannabis legalization, considers leaving leave the decision with each state
A leading provider of testing services for the regulated cannabis industry, EVIO Inc. (OTCQB: EVIO) announced the appointment of a new member to its board of directors on June 19, 2018. Felipe Campusano has joined the EVIO board as an independent director. Campusano has extensive experience in operating Canadian pharmacies, which could prove to be invaluable for the EVIO business environment, including the company’s new biosciences division (http://ibn.fm/grT0h).
A University of Toronto Faculty of Pharmacy graduate, Campusano has accumulated interest in over 50 Canadian pharmacies over the past 12 years. He is the founding partner of Liver Care Canada (current president) and Cannabis Care Canada. The second organization was renamed ‘National Access Cannabis Medical’ after 51 percent of the entity was sold to National Access Cannabis.
In a news release, EVIO CEO William Waldrop noted that Campusano’s insight into Canada’s pharmacy industry, as well as his knowledge of the medical cannabis sector, will prove invaluable to the EVIO business model. His expertise in pharmaceutical business management is expected to strengthen the company’s ability to foster key partnerships in the health care field.
The appointment is also expected to strengthen EVIO’s new biosciences division, which was launched at the end of May 2018. The biosciences division will support cannabinoid research, focusing on emerging health benefits and advanced delivery models. Both in vitro trials and clinical research will take place to explore combination drug therapeutics.
Both moves aim to strengthen EVIO’s position on the market. The Oregon-based company is a leading provider of cannabis testing and research, operating across North America via its EVIO Labs division to ensure both the safety and the high quality of the licensed cannabis supply in the country. Currently, the company is working toward having 18 testing facilities by the end of 2018.
These developments are in line with the evolution of the U.S. licensed cannabis industry. Even though marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, sales generated over the course of 2017 reached nearly $9 billion, according to BDS Analytics Managing Director Tom Adams, quoted by the CNN (http://ibn.fm/LVQgT). These statistics were released before the opening of the California market in January 2018 – a development that’s expected to have a massive positive impact on the industry over the year. According to Adams, national sales are expected to jump to $9 billion in 2018 and to $21 billion by 2021, due to the addition of the Californian market.
Legislative changes are expected to help the growth of the industry even further. On June 8, President Donald Trump announced that he was likely to support a legislative proposal pertaining to cannabis legalization (http://ibn.fm/S22SV). The proposal, introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), suggests that it should be up to each individual state to decide on whether or not to legalize marijuana.
For the time being, marijuana is legal for medicinal or recreational purposes in 30 states and the District of Columbia. The new bill would enable the principle of federalism to prevail, Gardner explained. At present, a person distributing medicinal marijuana in Colorado, for example, is complying with state regulations while violating federal laws. The aim of the new bill is to overcome this dichotomy.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EVIOLabs.com
