Growth Potential for Cannabis Market in Canada May Just Be Underestimated

PALM BEACH, Florida, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent research article questions just how big the Canadian legal market cannabis market will be, but like most others it really means just how large it could be! The report stated: "On October 17, 2018, Canada became the first G7 nation to fully legalize recreational cannabis. As a massive, formerly black market transforms into an above-board one, companies from around the globe in a range of disparate industries—agriculture, yes, but also tobacco, beer, software, and even fashion and design—aim to cash in. But no one knows exactly how large this market will be. Both immediately and in the coming years, attitudes about marijuana in Canada inevitably will change. Meanwhile, the unknowns are impacting everything from share prices to government policies. As jurisdictions in the U.S. and around the world ponder changing their own cannabis laws, they're watching to see how the numbers shake down in Canada. According to Stastics Canada, 4.9 million Canadians used cannabis in 2017, spending $5.7 billion Canadian dollars on pot, 90% of that on the illegal market. For context, Canada has a population of 37.1 million, which is about one-tenth of that of the U.S. It's actually close in size, population wise, to California, which has 39.7 million residents. Active companies in the industry making moves to ready that include: IONIC Brands Corp., (CSE: IONC), SLANG Worldwide Inc. (CSE: SLNG) (OTC: SLGWF), Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB.TO), Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED: TO), Newstrike Brands Ltd. (OTC: NWKRF) (TSX-V: HIP.V).

In the wake of full legalization, estimates of the market's potential vary. The Canadian bank CIBC predicts the market will grow to $6.8 billion CAD by 2020. Provincial governments, it speculates, will take in $3 billion CAD in earned profits and taxes." The article revealed that: "Most researchers round up by a third when estimating true cannabis use, and even this method may be overly conservative.

IONIC Brands Corp., (CSE: IONC) BREAKING NEWS: IONIC Brands announces the commencement of trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the trading symbol IONC.  IONIC BRANDS is led by a team of successful entrepreneurs, that are dedicated to building a multi-state, consumer focused portfolio of luxury cannabis brands. IONIC BRANDS's flagship asset is their #1 vaporizer pen brand in Washington State under the branded name "Ionic". The Company's initial focus was to dominate the most competitive state in the US and focus on building a premium brand within the cannabis concentrate products segment of the market,  currently the fastest growing segment of the legal marijuana industry. The Ionic vaporizer pen is currently the top producer of concentrates in Washington State and has experienced year over year growth.  IONIC BRANDS is taking their team, proprietary techniques and blueprint for dominating  marketplace, as evidenced in Washington State and is aggressively expanding via entrances into new markets (Oregon and California) and accretive acquisitions as outlined below. IONIC BRANDS's strategy is to be the leader of the highest-value segments of the supply chain in the west coast markets and expand eastwards via acquisitions.

Highlights of IONIC BRANDS - Premium luxury portfolio of cannabis concentrate products:  Established in 2015, IONIC BRANDS is an industry leader building a multi-state consumer-focused Brand portfolio consisting of award-winning premium and luxury brands in the concentrates space, the fastest growing segment of the legal marijuana industry. IONIC BRANDS has proven the ability to expand and operate multiple brands in multiple markets across the western United States, including California, Washington and Oregon.

Scaling Nationally and Integrated Operations: In 2018, IONIC BRANDS expanded their vaporizer pen business into Oregon and California. Continuing to deliver on our pillars of Quality, Responsibility and Respectability. The IONIC BRANDS strategy is to own the highest-value segments of the supply chain in the west coast markets and expand eastwards via acquisitions: Further discussed below, the Company most recently adding the desirable Nevada market with a binding letter of intent ("LOI") to acquire of Vegas Valley Growers ("VVG").  In Washington State, the Company will acquire a 140-acre cannabis farm located in Eastern Washington to cultivate input material for extraction.  In 2019, the Company will deploy an aggressive national expansion strategy into new geographic markets and new product segments

Disruptive entry into the cannabis-edibles and cannabis-infused beverage market via strategic acquisitions: Further discussed below, the Company entered into a binding LOI to acquire Zoots, a premium cannabis edibles company, and also acquired two of the very first cannabis-infused coffee patents granted by United States Patent and Trademark office from Canna Cafe. Together with Zoots and the coffee patents, Company will use its premium production touches and synergistically utilizing the IONIC brand name to disrupt the highly sought after cannabis-infused beverage market, valued at over $4 billion in Canada and the United States by 2022, according to a report by marijuan market research company The Arcview Group. Cowen and Company recently released a report in which it pinpoints Starbucks as the likely first major chain that will market products featuring cannabinoids (CBD).  IONIC BRANDS plans on adding domain expertise and engaging various consultants to explore how to best monetize owning these critical patents.   Read this entire announcement  for IONC at:  https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-ionc/   

Additional industry related developments from around the markets:

SLANG Worldwide Inc. (CSE: SLNG) (OTCPK: SLGWF) recently announced that co-founders Peter Miller and Billy Levy have been honored as High Times 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis for 2019 for their leadership in the cannabis industry. High Times 100 is recognized as the highest honor for a cannabis executive or entrepreneur.

In 2012, SLANG Worldwide co-founders Peter Miller (CEO) and Billy Levy (President) co-founded Mettrum Health Corp, a leading Canadian licensed producer that was acquired by Canopy Growth in 2016. An experienced entrepreneur with a decade of leadership in cannabis and a track record in agriculture, operations, tech, and clean energy, Peter is also the Chairman of the Canadian licensed producer Agripharm. Billy's visionary leadership in consumer tech and marketing has resulted in a number of start-ups including Virgin Gaming (acquired by Cineplex Media 2015) and Virgin Mega (acquired by NIKE June 2016 ) with Sir Richard Branson .

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB.TO) recently that the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary CanniMed Therapeutics, have added product information numbers (PINs) to 78 medical cannabis products to better facilitate and track insurance coverage for their Canadian patients. The products that received PINs include dried flower, capsules, soft gels, topicals and oils.

PINs help employers and insurance companies classify and incorporate health care products into benefit coverage plans. Patients submitting claims to their third-party insurer can now identify specific products and thereby speed up the adjudication and medical coverage process.  MedReleaf, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Aurora, introduced PINs to 57 medical cannabis products in 2018.

Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED: TO) recently welcomed Houseplant, a new brand of Canadian cannabis, to the Canopy Growth family today. Founded by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg , Houseplant represents years of product expertise and an unmatched attention to detail within each strain that has been carefully selected and grown.  

Commitment to cannabis quality begins with selecting the best genetics and doesn't stop until the customer opens the jar. Canopy Growth has witnessed how carefully Houseplant has chosen each component of their offering to deliver the highest quality product to Canadians.

Newstrike Brands Ltd. (OTCPK: NWKRF) (TSX-V: HIP.V) recently announced that it is making a US$5 million investment in Green Tank Technologies ("Green Tank"), one of North America's premiere manufacturers of cannabis vape hardware and technology. The investment by Newstrike strengthens the existing partnership between Newstrike's wholly-owned subsidiary, Up Cannabis, and Green Tank, as both companies prepare for the legalization of cannabis oil vaping.

"In anticipation of revised cannabis regulations coming into force in late 2019, we are gearing up for the commercial launch of our full line of cannabis vape products.

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