Midas Letter

International Cannabrands Inc (CNSX:JUJU) (OTCMKTS:GEATF) (FRA:31G) CEO Steve Gormley talks about consolidating the company’s share structure and removing the “A” from its stock symbol. Gormley believes that with these changes International Cannabrands now has a structure that is capital and acquisition-friendly. International Cannabrands buys revenue-generating cannabis businesses with franchising potential, which Gormley believes is crucial for capitalizing on the rare opportunity legalization represents.

James West:   I’m going to have a conversation with International Cannabrands, trading under the symbol JUJU on the CSE. Steve, tell me about your background in the cannabis industry, and that of your partner, Neal Pomroy.

Steve Gormley: He’s sort of the brains. Neal is a Harvard MBA, 25 years on Wall Street including a decade at Credit Suisse. He actually operated the Hard Rock Casino in Vegas, so he’s squeaky clean, because you know what it’s like getting a gaming license.

I got involved in cannabis seven years ago. I ended up working for a US-based, publicly traded company in 2011, and it was a rough run then. It was still a really tenuous time in the market; at that point, we might have had, you know, a little bit more than a dozen states that had cannabis laws on the books, and you know, maybe a little bit less than half of Americans supporte

Valens GroWorks Corp (CNSX: VGW) (OTCMKTS:MYMSF) (FRA:7LV) CEO Tyler Robson explains that a recent bought deal for $25 million provides Valens GroWorks with the financing for expansion, with a focus on extraction, distillates, and beverages. Robson details Valens GroWorks’ international distribution plan and notes that the company has signed letters of intent in South American and Australia. Valens GroWorks is in the process of increasing its monthly extraction capacity from 6,500 kilograms to 12,000 kilograms. A unique feature of the company is that it uses different extraction processes for different products. Robson believes that an evolution is beginning in the marketplace where certain CBDs are developing higher value than others, especially in terms of pharmaceutical development.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is Tyler Robson, CEO of Valens GroWorks Corp., and it trades on the CSE under the symbol VGW. Tyler, welcome back.

Tyler Robson: Appreciate it, thanks for having me.

James West:   Yeah. You closed a bought deal for $25 million?

Tyler Robson: We did, yeah. We closed just the other day.

James West:   Okay. Tell me, how did that come about? What’s the purpose, what are you going to

NorthBud Capital is an equity player providing early-stage seed level capital to primarily US-based companies operating in the cannabis space. NorthBud Capital was a seed player in NorthBud Farms Inc, which took over a late-stage ACMPR application from Tetra Bio Pharma Inc (CVE:TBP) (OTCMKTS:TBPMF) (FRA:JAM1), and it is going public in late September. CEO Ryan Brown shares that the return on investment for NorthBud Capital has been approximately 120 percent over the past 14 months and all the appreciation has occurred in the private sector. NorthBud Farms plans to develop unique cultivars that can be used by its biopharmaceutical partner, Tetra Bio-pharma, in addition to other biopharmaceutical and food-grade companies. The segment concludes with a discussion of the value catalysts in 2018 and 2019 that will drive NorthBud stocks when it goes public.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest this segment is Ryan Brown, CEO of NorthBud Capital and NorthBud Farms, Inc. Welcome to the show.

Ryan Brown:   Thanks for having me.

James West:   Hey, Ryan, so tell us: What is NorthBud Capital, and what is the difference between NorthBud Capital and NorthBud Farms?

Ryan Brown:   So NorthBud Capital is an incubator fund that we started about 14 months ago. Our goal was to provide early-stage seed level capital to companies that were operating within the ancillary space, primarily in the United States. You know, unique companies backed by savvy operators that had identified a niche for their products or services within the ever-expanding cannabis space. So we raised some capital a little over a year ago and have deployed the majority of it over the past year to help incubate and develop these companies, as they’ve all moved on to subsequent financing rounds based on our initial capital investment.

James West:   Right. Okay, so essentially a royalty player, then, much like iAnthus or CannaRoyalty?

Ryan Brown:   No, we went straight equity. We got in early with a lot of these companies; we secured ourselves equity positions, anywhere between 7 to 15 percent, leaving a little bit of, you know, equity on the table for subsequent financing rounds knowing that we were in early, and all of these companies have subsequently gone through Series A and Series B financing rounds which have provided us a really healthy return on the initial capital that we put in.

James West:   Okay, so you started with some capital and you’ve grown it, and now you’

Backstageplay Inc (CVE:BP) (FRA:DOZB) CEO Scott White provides an update on the company’s recent developments including prospective additions to its gamification lineup from the sports world and among internet influencers. Backstageplay Inc has also added additional music acts to its lineup, including Wayne Thompson and Jory Boy. White provides details on an emerging Backstageplay affiliate model with an established music brand operating casinos and restaurants in the recreational market. Backstageplay is currently targeting intermediate-sized acts to increase the company’s cash flow and build its reputation as the premier source of music industry gamification.

James West:   Hey, welcome back. My guest this segment is Scott White, CEO of Backstageplay Inc., trading on the TSX Venture under the symbol BP. Scott, welcome back.

Scott White:  Great to be back.

James West:   Scott, you’re making all these press releases, you’re knocking it out of the park, as I like to say, and now you’re telling me that you’ve got a pipeline full of projects that are outside of the music industry?

Scott White:  Right. So again, the model that we created is a model that applies to any hero, and there are heroes in professional sports, there are heroes in the internet influencer sphere, there are heroes all outside of music. So you know, the finders that we recently have announced have deep connections in various sectors: the professional sports sector is a sector that is a

American Pacific Mining Corp (CNSX:USGD) (OTCMKTS:USGDF) (FRA:1QC) CEO Warwick Smith provides viewers with details about gold deposits at the company’s Tuscarora project. American Pacific purchased the project from Novo Resources Corp (CVE:NVO) (OTCMKTS:NSRPF) (FRA:1NO) and the site has seen extensive exploration, with 61 previous holes drilled. However, American Pacific has located one of 11 high-grade epithermal veins and plans to undertake exploratory drilling in phase two of the project to pinpoint additional veins. Smith believes “grade is king, and this has real cracker grades.” Smith thinks the gold price is at the lower end of its cycle and that a reversal will happen soon making the Tuscarora project one with great potential for investors.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is Warwick Smith, CEO of American Pacific Mining Corp., trading on the CSE under the symbol USGD. Warwick, welcome back.

Warwick Smith: Thank you, Jimmy. Appreciate being here.

GrowForce Holdings Inc is a Toronto-based indoor grow operation that is going public in October. Executive Vice-President of Operations James Lowe explains that the company is a spinout and affiliate of the US-based MJardin Group, the largest grower of cannabis in North America. GrowForce plans to participate in the recreational and medical space and has recently completed a $38 million round of financing. Lowe believes the future of the industry in Canada is indoor facilities not greenhouse grows, and GrowForce’s seed-to-sale approach includes indoor facilities, extraction, and retail.

James West:   Hey, welcome back. My guest in this segment is James Lowe; he’s the Executive Vice-President of Operations for Growforce Holdings Inc. James, welcome.

James Lowe:   Glad to be here.

James West:   James, let’s start with the obligatory overview: what does Growforce Holdings do?

James Lowe:   So, Growforce Holdings, Canadian LP. We have a little bit of a different approach, little different history – our roots are in the United States. We’re a spinout of a company, MJardin Management. They’re the largest cannabis cultivator in North America to date, they produced over 100,000 kilos of cannabis in their history, manage or own 38-plus facilities spread out over a wide geographical area from Hawaii to Vermont. So Growforce was kind of born out of those roots; completely independent company based here in Toronto, and we are leveraging, I guess, the experience that group has built over the last decade to essentially be the most experienced LP in Canada, believe it or not.

James West:   So that’s probably a shock and a revelation to not just myself, but a lot of people watching – Mjardin is the largest grower of cannabis in North America?

James Lowe:   Yeah. Biggest grower you never heard of.

James West:   Right!

James Lowe:   So, and that’s – not to get in too much of their story, but you know, they’ve switched to an owner asset model instead of just management, but because of years of management with different licensees around the country, you know, they were responsible for operating those cultivation businesses for the clients, not just really in a consulting role, actually hands on – all the employees were theirs. So they quietly built up a massive data pool, you know, hundreds of harvests, thousands of tests, millions of grams of cannabis grown over 10 years, you know, all of which was done in the shadows.

So we’re excited to be the exclusive international partner that utilizes their IP and expertise here in Canada and other locations.

James West:   Very cool. So the general game plan is to be another licensed producer providing recreational, mostly? Or medical, or both?

James Lowe:   Both. You know, the way that we look at it, this is lap one of a 600-lap race. You know, we’re not in a hurry to make a splash on October 17th; we have a very measured approach to what we’re doing here, and we’re not in the business of building millions of square feet o

Aurora Cannabis Inc (TSE:ACB) (OTCMKTS:ACBFF) (FRA:21P) CCO Cam Battley shares the company’s plans to list in the US in October and details of recent acquisitions such as ICC Labs Inc and Agropro. Battley notes that Australis will list on the CSE on September 19th under the symbol AUSA. Hemp is a crucial part of the company’s strategic plan and by acquiring Agropro, Aurora now controls the largest hemp company in Europe. This acquisition adds to Aurora’s leadership in the European market, which includes Aurora Deutschland and a new million square foot Sky Class facility in Odense, Denmark as part of Aurora Nordic. Battley addresses how Aurora’s acquisition strategy has impacted shareholder value and indicates that when results from the current quarter are released in November the developments will be favourable for shareholders.

James West:   Welcome back. My next guest needs no introduction, though I am going to introduce him. Cam Battley is the Chief Corporate Officer of Aurora Cannabis Inc., trading on the TSX under the symbol ACB and Cam, welcome to the show.

Cam Battley:  How are you this fine day?

James West:   I’m extraordinary, thank you.

Cam Battley:  And that shirt is definitely extraordinary.

EnWave Corp (CVE:ENW) (OTCMKTS:NWVCF) (FRA:E4U) has developed a proprietary low-temperature dehydration technology that can quickly remove moisture from organic materials, such as cannabis, without damaging the material profile. CEO Brent Charleton explains that EnWave licenses its technology to food manufacturers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and licensed cannabis producers. EnWave combines vacuum and microwave technology to create a low-temperature drying environment that works for both the combustible product and for extraction, maintains 100 percent retention of CBD and THC, and typically takes less than one hour to complete. Charleton reveals EnWave already has a commercial license with Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) (FRA:2HQ) and plans to market its technology to other LPs.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is Brent Charleton, CEO of EnWave Corporation, trading on the TSX-V under the symbol ENW. Brent, welcome.

Brent Charleton:   Thanks very much.

James West:   Brent, give us an overview: what is it that EnWave does?

Brent Char

Biome Grow Interim CEO Khurram Malik outlines the company’s plan to win the east coast market despite being a relatively new entry to the cannabis field. The company’s leadership has considerable institutional knowledge in the cannabis industry as well as significant corporate management experience, which gives Biome an advantage over other cannabis start-ups. Biome will capitalize on strong consumer loyalty in Atlantic Canada by producing province-specific branded products. Malik believes Biome’s unique corporate strategy will allow the company to thrive when the cannabis market stabilizes in 2020. With Biome investors get “the valuation of a newbie license, with a very credible, done-it-before team.”

James West:   Welcome back. My guest this segment is Khurram Malik. He’s the CEO of Biome Grow. It says interim CEO here, Khurram. What is with ‘interim’?

Khurram Malik: Well, yeah, I mean, my background is investment banking, and, you know, building companies or telling other people what to do.

James West:   Sure.

Khurram Malik: So you know, we don’t have what we call, affectionately, founder’s syndrome. So we have a really credible management team coming on board to run this, and also a Board of Directors which I think will be second to none in the industry.

James West:   Wow.

Khurram Malik: Because, at the end of the day, look: we’ve been forecasting and selling in the sector for a while, so there are a lot of things lacking. So the two things that lack there, just to go into it: lack corporate governance on the Board side of things, and then on the management side of things, you don’t have a lot of managers running these cannabis companies that have run large, complicated businesses before, right? You’ve got people that have run 20, 30-person businesses, or high growth to a certain point. But yeah, running companies where you’ve got a couple hundred employees, a variety of distribution platforms and production assets, different jurisdictions – it’s quite an ask.

So having a credible team is key, which is why the interim fellow has brought it to the point that we could, and now we’re going to have an entire team come in and sort of run it, which we’ll announce very shortly.

James West:   Oh, okay. Tell us what BIOME Grow does, because nobody knows at this point.

Khurram Malik: Yeah, it’s sort of our cannabis project we’ve sort of kept under covers for the last two years, we’ve been working on just releasing product out, because we weren’t public. So I think the world should know what we’ve been up to.

James West:   Sure.

Khurram Malik: Basically what it came down to was, you know, we looked at the Canadian market and we looked at the international market, and Canada’s looked at as a global leader right now in terms of at least one thing, you know: producing cannabis at industrial scale. Rightly or wrongly, that’s what we’re looked at. That’s a narrow window of opportunity there where we can leverage that and sort of establish our Canadian way of doing things, elsewhere. That’s a very large market out there.

But you know, to do it properly, you’ve got to have a beachhead in C

OrganiGram Holdings Inc (CVE:OGI) (OTCMKTS:OGRMF) (FRA:0OG) CEO Greg Engel and Hyasynth Biologicals Inc CEO Kevin Chen explain OrganiGram’s recent $5 million investment in Hyasynth. Hyasynth has developed the technology and procedures to produce cannabinoids from yeast, which would be beneficial to both recreational and medical production. Hyasynth will use the OrganiGram investment to transition from research and development scale to large-scale production; however, Chen believes Hyasynth is 12-18 months away from producing quantities of specific micro-CBDs and THC isolates. Engel believes Hyasynth has developed a disruptive technology, which is infinitely scalable and incredibly affordable. Engel is excited about Hyasynth’s pure form extraction process because current extraction methodologies only yield between 60 and 80 percent for THC and CBD.

James West:   Hey, welcome back. My guest in this segment is going to be a bit different – I have Greg Engel, who is the CEO from OrganiGram Holdings, OGI on the TSX Venture; and I have Kevin Chen, who’s the CEO of Hyasynth Biologicals Inc., who is recipient of an investment from OrganiGram. So Greg, let’s start with you: what is the nature of the investment, and what’s the strategy behind it?

Greg Engel:   Yeah, so we’ve been interested in Hyasynth for over a year, and certainly met Kevin and his team, and have visited each other’s sites, and really looked at the technology that they’re bringing. So at the end of the day, this is