Midas Letter

Wayland Group (CNSX:WAYL) (FRA:75M) (OTCMKTS:MRRCF) CEO Ben Ward sees the company as a trendsetter in the cannabis space. Ward believes that “you have to make the moves ahead of time, you have to plan, and if you’re just following the trends, piling on to the latest and greatest craze of things like funded capacity , registered patients, you’re really behind the ball and then you’re a follower, not a leader.” Wayland’s forward-thinking approach led the company to acquire its EU GMP certification nearly two years ago and is now a leader in Western Europe’s medical cannabis space. Wayland is one of only four companies with EU GMP certification to export cannabis to Europe and it intends to move more Canadian product to countries like Germany while there is no domestic production. Ward anticipates increased stability in the medical cannabis space globally by 2024 and is particularly excited by the potential of the Italian market, where regulators are also interested in the profitability of the industry.

James West:    Welcome back. My guest returning to the show is Ben Ward, CEO of Wayland Group, trading on the CSE under the symbol WAYL. Ben, welcome back.

Ben Ward:Thanks so much for having me, James.

James West:    And every time I talk to you, the developments within Wayland are leapfrogging the last development, and so, you know, I’ve got to say I’m just very impressed. So right now, it was interesting: we were talking earlier, and we were talking about EU GMP-certified facilities who are actually in a po

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc (TSE:IN) (OTCMKTS:IMLFF) (FRA:MWG2) is using biosynthesized cannabinoids for medical research. While most companies developing synthetic cannabinoids use yeast, InMed Pharmaceuticals is the only company in the world using e coli in its fermentation process. CBO Josh Blacher shares details of the company’s development of a treatment for Epidermolysis bullosa or EB, a serious genetic condition with no current approved treatment. Blacher believes InMed Pharmaceuticals is a year away from Phase I clinical trials for its EB treatment and hopes the treatment will be on the market by 2022. Blacher discusses the advantages and cost savings of synthetic cannabinoids and believes all cannabis derivative products could soon be made from synthetic ingredients.

James West:   Josh, you know, we just covered InMed’s quarter yesterday, and, you know, I’m like – or much like – most of the sector; you’re still in a development phase, so there wasn’t a lot of, well, there’s no profit, obviously. But you were making advances in one of the drugs in particular that caught our interest: INM 750, which was an approach to treating the disease that is probably one of the most horrible things that anybody could go through.

Josh Blacher: Right. Epidermolysis bullosa.

LGC Capital Ltd (CVE:LG) (OTCMKTS:LGGCF) CEO John McMullan and EasyJoint Founder Luca Marola provide details of LGC’s partnership with EasyJoint, an Italian cannabis company. LGC Capital is a cannabis production operator with facilities around the world and a roster of established cannabis brands. THC isn’t legal in Italy but there is a healthy market for CBD products, which are legal. As a result, EasyJoint started as a producer of CBD branded products, such as tinctures and oils. 25 percent of EasyJoint’s products are sold online and the company’s products are in over 450 retail stores throughout Italy. McMullan outlines LGC Capital’s international strategy, including the company’s plans to offer over 150 different products to consumers.

James West:   Hey, welcome back again. My guests in this segment are John McMullen, who’s the CEO, and Luca Merolla, who is the founder of EasyJoint. John’s the CEO of LGC Capital, trading on the TSX Venture under the symbol LG. Gentlemen, thank you for joining me today.

John McMullen: Thank you for having us. Good day.

Luca Merolla: Hi.

James West:   Yeah. So, John, why don’t we start with an overview of LGC Capital: what’s the business?

John McMullen: The business is simple: we have partnered invested with domestic operations globally, in Jamaica, Australia, Italy, and also in Geneva, plus, as we also have an operation in Montreal, Canada. So we have operations growing and producing cannabis and cannabis life products throughout the world, with brands such as EasyJoint, now, with our partners which we’re very proud to be partner

Eve & Co Inc (CVE:EVE) (OTCMKTS:EEVVF) is a women-led company that prioritizes female cannabis consumers. CEO Melinda Rombouts believes Eve’s leadership group brings an authentic attitude when addressing women’s cannabis concerns and wellness goals. The company knows that while the appeal of dried flower is universal when it comes to cannabis, derivative products have tremendous potential with female consumers. Women are enthusiastic about cannabis infused products such as wines, cosmetics, sensual and sexual enhancement products, and menstrual health products, which represent tremendous value for potential investors. The company has supply agreements with British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Ontario as well as an agreement to export its products to Germany; consequently, Rombouts believes Eve, with its great brands, supply agreements, unique focus, and expertise, is an obvious value buy for investors.

Fraser Toms:  Hey, welcome to Midas Letter Live. I’m joined with Melinda Rombouts, the CEO of Eve & Co Incorporated. How are you?

Melinda Rombouts:  Good, and you?

Fraser Toms:  Good, yeah. So we’ve had you in here before.

Melinda Rombouts:  Yes.

Fraser Toms:  And I just wanted to start off by asking a few questions about just basic stuff like how you got in the industry in general.

Mixed Martial Artist and UFC Middleweight Elias Theodorou is taking his latest fight outside The Octagon and into the ring of public opinion. Theodorou is trying to end the stigma against medical cannabis in the sports world, a stigma that has led the medical treatment to be categorized as “performance enhancing” by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and has seen cannabis banned by sporting bodies such as the IOC, NHL, and UFC. Theodorou uses cannabis to manage pain from a medical condition and is the first professional athlete to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to use the treatment “in competition” periods under guidance from his doctor and team at Solace Health Inc, a subsidiary of TerrAscend Corp (CNSX:TER) (OTCMKTS:TRSSF). Despite a growing body of evidence that cannabis isn’t a performance enhancing drug (PED), Elias Theodorou faces a two-year ban from UFC events if medical cannabis is found in his system “in competition”.

James West:   And joining me now in studio is the main event himself: Mr. Elias Theodorou is here. Elias, do you think you could kick my ass in an MMA cage fight?

Elias Theodorou:   Yes, I do.

James West:   Elias, you’ve been working with the anti-doping agency on their medical marijuana policy for athletes during in competition periods. You want them to allow the use of cannabinoids as a recovery tool.

Elias Theodorou:   Yeah. Moreover, allow them to recognize what my doctor’s already diagnosed and prescribed as a medical cannabis patient. So what comes in to play is the fact that obviously being in Canada, we have certain, you know, medical guidelines, etcetera, and a process that we are doing; and you saw that the anti-doping agency is an American-based. So there is a little difference in regards to the way they treat medical cannabis. Obviously, with America still classifying cannabis as a Schedule I drug, they technically don’t see there being a medical property to cannabis.

Where Canada, and moreover, the CCS, which is the, you saw it as alternative in Canada, or subsequent, anti-doping agency in Canada, it’s called the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, and they actually lobbied to remove cannabis from the prohibited list where it currently resides. And the big issue with what I’m trying to do is the fact that, and also talk in public, is that cannabis right now is on the prohibited list deeming it a performance-enhancing drug, but it simply is not.

James West:   Performance-enhancing? I would think quite the opposite.

Elias Theodorou:   Well, that’s exactly the point, and for me as a patient, what I personally use it is for pain management. I have a condition called bilateral neuropathic pain. It’s essentially nerve damage; it’s prevalent in my upper extremities, and the way to kind

Outlier Solutions Inc Founder and CEO Amber Scott is an expert in anti-money laundering practices. Scott joins James West in the Midas Letter studio to discuss the application of anti-money laundering legislation and anti-fraud techniques to the digital currency space. Scott talks about forthcoming regulations for cryptocurrency and indicates that this new global financial enforcement of the digital currency space will be similar to traditional anti-fraud practices with which consumers are already familiar. While Scott admits that most of the anti-fraud alerts generated for money laundering are false positives, these security measures are important to prevent crimes such as drug and arms dealing as well as human trafficking. Outlier Solutions works with cryptocurrencies, investment firms, and more traditional banks and credit unions to ensure regulatory compliance and advises currency operators to have in-house compliance officers to better prevent fraud.

James West:   And now I’m going to talk to Amber Scott, who’s the founder and CEO of Outlier Solutions, an anti-money-laundering consulting services and strategies. Amber, welcome to the show.

Amber Scott:  Thank you for having me.

James West:   Anti money laundering – how much of a problem is that in the world of cryptocurrencies in Canada?

Amber Scott:  I don’t know that it’s necessarily a problem; I would say that money laundering is probably the problem, and then anti0-money-laundering is part of the solution.

James West:   Money launderers would say getting caught is the problem.

Amber Scott:  [laughter]

James West:   Okay, so how do you go about – what is the anti0moneylaundering landscape looking like right now?

Amber Scott:  So right now, we have proposed legislation. It was released in draft in June of this year, and we’ll probably see a final version of that published in the Canada Gazette next year. That will see businesses that are dealers in virtual currency regulated as money services businesses, and some of them are already, if they’re already doing some additional activities But buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other virtual currencies is going to become a regulated activity.

James West:   Sure. So anti-money-laundering compliance and certification is pretty much part of opening of any account with any financial institution now, and even with some institutions that aren’t necessarily financial. So what are the sort of nuances of anti-money-laundering provisions as it pertains to virtual currencies, relative to anti-money-laundering positions as it pertains to a normal banks, and/or a brokerage account for trading stocks?

Amber Scott:  They’re actually very similar. So one of the important nuances is that they haven’t rewritten new laws; so it’s not like ‘know your customer’ is going to be entirely new for virtual currencies. It’s going to look a lot like opening a bank

Wright State University Political Scientist Dr. Lee Hannah shares his expectations for the US midterm elections. Dr. Hannah believes the elections will be positive for the cannabis industry as four more states will potentially liberalize cannabis laws. He notes the increasing pressure for federal de-prohibition from a growing number of US states as well as the nation’s neighbours, Canada and Mexico, who will no longer have the same enforcement efforts at the federal level. Dr. Hannah points to republican hardliners like Jeff Sessions as possible stumbling blocks to federal legalization but suggests the support of high-profile party members like John Boehner and framing cannabis as a states’ rights issue might sway more moderate republicans. Dr. Hannah also indicates that President Trump could decriminalize cannabis by executive order if he decides to seize on the issue as a matter of national economic interest.

James West:   Hey, welcome back. My next guest is Dr. Lee Hannah. He’s the assistant professor of Political Science at Wright State University. Dr. Hannah, welcome to our show.

Lee Hannah:   Thanks so much for having me, James.

James West:   So Lee, it’s great to be talking to you on this day – this is the day of the midterm elections. What is happening in the United States? I mean, there’s an expectation that the Senate will flip, but the House will not?

Lee Hannah:   Well, the expectation is that the House will likely flip to Democratic control, and the Republicans, who have a two-seat majority in the Senate, are likely to hold if not gain a seat.

James West:   Okay. So then, how is that expected to impact the path towards legalization of cannabis, which is one of the bigger hot button issues emerging now?

Lee Hannah:   Sure, yes. So we have the potential of four more states liberalizing their cannabis laws, either with medical marijuana or with recreational marijuana. Three of those are polling pretty strongly, and along with that, you have this kind of increasing pressure. You know, Mexico just had a court ruling that came down on the 1st that effectively legalizes some form of recreational there; of course, Canada has passed their own laws. And so now we’re living in a country with the majority of our states with some type of liberal or some type of legal access to marijuana, more medically than recreationally, but that’s picking up as well. And at the same time, you have pressure from both of our neighbours now, to where they’re not going to have kind of the same, I guess, enforcement efforts that we still do, at least at the Federal level, here.

James West:   So then at the Federal level, it seems that the President is – well, its unclear as to what his real sentiment is towards legalization, but certainly some people around him are hardliners against legalizations. Of course, I’m referring to Jeff Sessions. What kind o

Time Machine Capital Ltd Founder Philip Walsh and Co-Founder and Director John Sanderson have nothing but enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and its potential as a game-changer in the tech space. The company sources AI developers from mid-tier universities, provides seed capital for AI tech start-ups, and commercializes AI products. Walsh walks viewers through an example of a project from Time Machine Capital’s portfolio: a subscription-based, music editing program designed to quickly add soundtracks to short videos with applications for YouTubers and other social media users. The company is going public in Q4 of 2018 and the pair believe that the portfolio investing Time Machine Capital offers is a softer way for many retail investors to enter the AI space.

Original article: VIDEO: Time Machine Capital Ltd Commercializing Artificial Intelligence

©2018 Midas Letter. All Rights Reserved.

Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc President and CEO Steve Hawkins talks about the strength of the firm’s Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (TSE:HMMJ) (OTCMKTS:HMLSF) in light of the US midterm elections and the Jeff Sessions resignation. Hawkins believes neither event will impact Canadian companies in the short term and that US cannabis companies will still list on Canadian exchanges because of access to capital markets. Hawkins emphasizes that Canadian companies aren’t simply trying to meet the demand of the new Canadian recreational market, but are also continuing to expand into international markets. He believes cannabis is still a long term investment play and that retail investors should be interested in companies that are investing in more efficient production methods.

Original article: VIDEO: Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc (TSE:HMMJ) on USA Cannabis Climate

©2018 Midas Letter. All Rights Reserved.

Biome Grow Inc (CNSX:BIO) CEO Khurram Malik explains how the company’s approach to the crowded Canadian cannabis space is different. Malik indicates that the level of automation in Biome’s facilities sets the company apart from other producers as automation is the key to creating consistent products. Biome’s state-of-the-art facilities are modular and the smaller grow rooms protect crops, produce better products, and are just as cost effective as the large “sea of green” growing spaces other Canadian LPs use. Despite going public in early October, the company’s stock hasn’t taken off but Malik hints that Biome has major announcements coming in the next few weeks that should boost its shares. Biome is looking to enter new international medical markets with a first-mover advantage.

Original article: VIDEO: Biome Grow Inc (CNSX:BIO) CEO on Largest East Coast Supply and Production Agreement

©2018 Midas Letter. All Rights Reserved.