Day: May 11, 2018

Known as a powerful remedy for treating chronic pain, opioids can provide relief. However, the negative effects of opioids are becoming more dangerous.

According to a report from the American Academy of Pain Medicine, opioids such as oxycodone, morphine, and hydrocodone are reasons for overdose incidents and addiction rates doubling. Irresponsible intake of opioids is now the number one cause of death in America. This ‘opioid crisis’ has led researchers and doctors to look for alternative medications to cure severe body pains.

Their study has presented various options but ended up with an unusual choice: the use of medical marijuana or medical cannabis.

Marijuana was discovered to have many therapeutic usages. For example, two of its active chemicals—cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) —can influence the mind without becoming high and can produce pain relieving elements.

Opioids and medical cannabis also share the same component called analgesia, a widely-used painkiller. Analgesia has the capability to block pain signals in the nervous system.

Jeff Chen, the Director of New Cannabis Research Initiative in UCLA, said, “We’re not just saying opioids make you feel good and so does cannabis, and now you’re addicted to cannabis. There are direct reasons why this could actually help people get off opioids. If there is a chronic pain component, the cannabis can address the chronic pain component. We also find opioid addicts have a lot of neurological inflammation, which we believe is driving the addictive cycle. We see in preliminary studies that cannabinoids can reduce neurological inflammation, so cannabis could be directly addressing the inflammation in the brain that’s leading to opioid dependency.”

Presenting medical marijuana as the newest antidote for chronic pain is actually an easy part. Legalizing it is a completely different story.

What Would Happen If Medical Marijuana Were Widely Prohibited?

Authorizing a law is not a simple task. There are many factors that need consideration. For example, what is the sole purpose of the law and how will it affect the society?

In all 50 states in the United States, only 29 have passed rules for permitting the use of medical cannabis. But because medical cannabis is uncharted territory, the remaining states cannot be blamed for not yet legalizing.

Despite the doubts, researchers and scientists are continuing to look for more proof that the so-called ‘forbidden drug’ is effective in curing body pains. But the discoveries continue. It’s been proven that cannabis has the ability to alleviate or cure symptoms of ailments such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.

Medicare added, “In medical marijuana laws, states typically specify a list of conditions that are eligible for medical marijuana, and most states have included in the list generic terms such as ‘severe pain’, ‘chronic pain’, or intractable pain unrelieved by standard medical treatment and medications.”

Medical Marijuana Paving A Way For Companies To Be Successful

Experts mentioned that by the year 2025, the market value of medical marijuana is predicted to reach $55.8 billion. The demand for medical marijuana allows companies that cater to the growing market to be recognized.

• Green House. Green House is a well-known company in the Netherlands that has popular consumption clubs, globetrotting documentaries, and prominent genetics. The company is working side-by-side with its sister brand called Strain Hunters. Arjan Roskam is the founder of Green House.
• Organa Brands. Chris Driessen heads the Colorado-based company. He is working to make Organa Brands the biggest and best cannabis corporation in the USA.
• Canopy Growth. Being able to achieve a market cap of $3.8 billion, Canopy Growth is a force to be reckoned with. The Ontario-based firm manufactures and markets oil extracts, strains, and marijuana edibles. Bruce Linton is the CEO of the startup company.

Over the years, the healthcare industry has come up with many medical innovations that helped patients suffering from different illnesses. Using medical marijuana as the alternative medication for chronic pain is going to affect and potentially change negative impressions of medical marijuana.

The legal cannabis business in the United States was estimated to be worth $9.7 billion in 2017, with the global market expected to reach $31.4 billion by 2021. Marijuana is a growing industry not just in the U.S. but also in the rest of the world. Fueling this growth are hundreds of startups which are addressing various needs and niches. Along with these startups are companies which are investing venture capital, betting on the continued growth of the marijuana industry in the next few years.

Although the federal government prohibits marijuana, recreational use is legal in 9 states, and medicinal use is legal in 30 other countries. In 2012, medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado and Washington State, and the first outlets or dispensaries were almost strictly mom-and-pop stores which were heavily regulated. Nowadays, the investments are in another marijuana-based tech, including edibles, real estate exchange platforms, point-of-sale software, grow management software, cannabis-based social media, and others.

Venture Capital Funding

Separate from these companies are others with a more creative approach to funding. One of these is Privateer Holdings. This is a funding company which invests in cannabis tech companies. Founded in Seattle in 2010, it has evolved from being a regular venture capital firm to one that invests exclusively in cannabis startups and tech companies. Privateer Holdings recently had a Series C funding which raised its total to $200 million, on valuation over $600 million.

The cannabis VC firm disclosed that it has investments in 4 companies: Leafly, Tilray, Marley Natural, and The Goodship. Leafly describes itself as the “largest cannabis website in the world.” It was designed to provide services like those on TripAdvisor and Wikipedia and has 13 million visitors per month. Users can rate and give reviews on different varieties and strains of cannabis, as well as the dispensaries.

Tilray, on the other hand, is a Canadian producer and distributor of medical marijuana. It also delivers door to door to its clients. Marley Natural is the official brand of Bob Marley. It was developed in a partnership between his estate and Privateer Holdings and is based in Seattle, Washington. It offers cannabis in different forms, body care products, as well as lifestyle and smoking accessories. The Goodship, for its part, is a manufacturer of premium recreational marijuana products including chocolates.

Opportunities for Growth

MedMen used another innovative VC approach. It has raised $53 million in funding to build a chain of stores for cannabis products. What makes it different is that even with only a small amount of funding, it has a valuation of $1 billion. According to the company, it raised $15 million from Cap-Meridian Ventures in 2016. This was used to expand its presence in California. Almost immediately, it launched the MedMen Opportunity Fund I, a private equity fund which raised $60 million. MedMen Opportunity Fund II began the following year, raising another $78 million.  It also raised $38 million through a private placement in 2018. The company had a valuation of $1 billion, with Captor Capital investing $25 million for a 2.5% share.

There are diverse opportunities for investments in cannabis startups, and VC firms are willing to invest in them. It is expected that more startups and opportunities are going to pop up in the years to come, creating a bold impact not only in the healthcare scene but in mainstream economics as well.