Category: Cannabis

22nd Century Partners for Cannabis Breeding

Photo: Ian Miller
22nd Century Group has added strategic partnerships with expert commercial-scale plant breeders Sawatch Agriculture and Folium Botanical. The partnerships with these two northern hemisphere breeders add to the breeding capabilities that 22nd Century already has through its close partnership with Aurora Cannabis and another southern hemisphere-based breeder that will be announced shortly, providing 22nd Century year-round growing capabilities.
With decades of combined specialized alkaloid plant breeding and plant biotechnology experience, these expert breeders have proven next-generation technologies and innovations on breeding, commercial scale-up and cultivation, many of which are far beyond those of independent competitive breeders or in-house breeding in consumer product companies, according to 22nd Century Group. Under 22nd Century’s direction, proprietary plants will be developed with optimum levels of cannabinoids that meet high-quality standards when grown at commercial scale.
“We are thrilled to announce the addition of these world-class alkaloid-based plant breeding specialists to complement 22nd Century’s capabilities in our upstream value chain,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group, in a statement.
“Our four breeding partnerships complete our portfolio of comprehensive plant science capabilities, enabling the rapid creation and scale-up of stable, tailored, highly disruptive plant lines with predictable yields critical to the mass cultivation of hemp/cannabis, which will be absolutely necessary to meet the rapidly growing market demand for improved, stable genetics.
“We are giving growers a competitive advantage by substantially improving crop yield and optimizing the time that it takes to develop new lines to a two-year cycle, a reduction from the 7 to 10 years that would typically be necessary to create new lines using our proprietary capabilities.”
With today’s announcement of these expert breeding partnerships, 22nd Century says it has secured all key partnerships needed to maximize and support each of the segments of its cannabinoid value chain: plant profiling (CannaMetrix), plant biotechnology (KeyGene), plant breeding, commercial-scale plant cultivation and ingredient extraction/purification (Sawatch Agriculture, Folium Botanical, Aurora Cannabis, Needle Rock Farms and Panacea).
July 14, 2021
22nd Century Reworks Panacea Investment

Photo: Mitch
22nd Century Group has signed a definitive agreement to restructure its strategic investment in Panacea Life Sciences in line with the ongoing development of 22nd Century’s strategic partnership network.
Under terms of the agreement, 22nd Century’s existing $7 million note in Panacea will be exchanged for ownership of Needle Rock Farms, located in a Colorado hemp/cannabis growing location and valued at $2.2 million. The company will also receive a new $4.3 million note and $500,000 in Panacea equity. The new note is backed by a mortgage on the Panacea Life Sciences operations building located in Golden, Colorado, appraised at $10.7 million. Panacea will retain certain farm assets under its own nameplate of PANA Organic Botanicals at Needle Rock.
Also under the agreement, $7 million in Panacea Life Sciences Series B Preferred Stock held by 22nd Century will be converted into 91 million shares of Exactus as part of a business combination transaction via share exchange with Panacea under which Panacea will become publicly traded. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to 22nd Century.
“This exchange is an exciting leap forward for 22nd Century as we advance our upstream value chain strategy to bring highly disruptive hemp and cannabis plant lines to market. It is also highly attractive to 22nd Century on a financial basis, creating immediate value, asset-backed future value and potential future liquidity from an existing investment,” said James A. Mish, CEO of 22nd Century Group, in a statement.
“Needle Rock Farms is a world-class farming operation in a prime growing location where we already have plants in the ground toward our goal of revenue recognition from our cannabis franchise in the second half of 2021. We will also retain access to Panacea’s extraction, purification and testing equipment located in Golden, Colorado, for the benefit of our customers.”
“Rapidly growing demand means that mass cultivation is quickly becoming the critical challenge in the cannabis industry. Most existing plant lines do not exhibit the stable genetics, predictable yield or specific composition of cannabinoids required to fully unlock the value of the cannabis industry,” said Mish. “22nd Century can provide the stable, predictable plant solutions required to achieve true commercial scale and do so in as little as two years versus 7 to 10 years through traditional processes.”
July 2, 2021
22nd Century Keen to Maximize Opportunities

Photo: felix brönnimann
22nd Century Group has announced new initiatives to strengthen and maximize revenue opportunities in its hemp/cannabis franchise. Included in these developments are strategic partnerships with two plant breeders in the northern and southern hemispheres, providing the company with year-round growing capabilities, close partnership activities with Aurora Cannabis and the establishment of a newly created Canadian subsidiary.
“The addition of breeders who specialize in alkaloid-based plant cultivation to our network of strategic partnerships provides us with the competitive edge to commercialize our second-generation IP and technologies,” said James A. Mish, CEO of 22nd Century Group, in a statement. “As cannabis regulation evolves, we believe that companies able to control the traits and consistency of the plants will command a premium price and margin in the marketplace. 22nd Century is well positioned to capitalize on the tremendous potential in the global legal cannabis space by creating hemp/cannabis plants that have stable, specific cannabinoid levels at commercial scale for various end-use markets.
“As a matter of preparedness, earlier we announced a $40 million registered direct offering through Cowen and Company,” Mish continued. “Cowen is well-known as a pioneer in the cannabis institutional markets, and with this registered direct placement, 22nd Century is now squarely positioned in the mainstream of the cannabis equity space. Proceeds from this offering will be used as needed for future strategic growth opportunities as our hemp/cannabis market activity continues to increase. With the Special Equities Group as our financial advisor on this transaction to the company, we now have ample financial flexibility for this franchise as we advance our revenue-generating initiatives later this year.”
Incorporated in April 2021, 22nd Century’s Canadian subsidiary will serve as a base for the company’s expanded activities in tobacco, hemp/cannabis and its yet-to-be announced third franchise.
22nd Century Canada will also serve as a hub for expanded reduced-nicotine tobacco activities in Canada, to include a possible future launch of VLN and the potential expansion of its reduced nicotine tobacco-growing programs.
June 8, 2021
Malawi President Urges Diversification

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Malawi’s president, Lazarus Chakwera, urged a switch to high-growth crops like cannabis, stating that tobacco, the country’s leading foreign exchange earner, was in terminal decline, reports Reuters.
Chakwera said tobacco was expected to earn less than $200 million in 2021, below previous earnings of $350 million.
“The inconvenient truth … is that while Malawi has come a long way by relying on tobacco as our … largest single crop contributor to our GDP, this reliance is now seriously threatened by declining demand worldwide,” Chakwera said. “Clearly, we need to diversify and grow other crops like cannabis, which was legalized last year for industrial and medicinal use.”
Last February, Malawi’s parliament passed a bill legalizing cultivation and the processing of cannabis for medicines and hemp fiber used in industry. It did not decriminalize recreational use, however.
The agriculture ministry will “search for a basket of alternative crops so that by 2030, Malawi can do away with its reliance on tobacco,” according to Chakwera.
Zimbabwe also recently changed regulations to encourage investment into cannabis. Zimbabwe’s new rules will allow investors to wholly own cannabis businesses instead of partnering with the government. Cannabis will now also be allowed to be produced anywhere in Zimbabwe instead of just in restricted locations. According to a government statement, investors can keep export earnings in U.S. dollars for up to four years.
May 13, 2021
U.S. House Passes Cannabis Banking Bill

Photo: Feelgoodsk | Dreamstime.com
The U.S. House of Representatives on April 19 passed legislation that would allow banks to serve cannabis companies in states where it is legal, reports Reuters.
The bill clarifies that proceeds from legitimate cannabis businesses would not be considered illegal and directs federal regulators to craft rules for how they would supervise such banking activity.
Banks have generally been unwilling to do business with companies that sell marijuana or related products, fearing they could run afoul of federal laws.
That has left companies in the marijuana industry with few options, including relying on just a handful of small financial institutions or doing business in cash.
Thirty-six states have legalized medical cannabis while 17 states now allow adult use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Lawmakers voted 321-101 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate.
April 21, 2021
Cannabis Consumers Types Identified
Picture: Riel Roussopoulos from Pixabay
The legal cannabis market is expected to increase more than 200 percent by 2025. According to research by Euromonitor International, the market will rise from $30 billion in 2020 to over $90 billion in 2025 as consumers increase their usage in diverse parts of their lives.
In a recent white paper, Breaking Stereotypes: Getting to Know the Cannabis Consumer, Euromonitor explores six adult cannabis consumer archetypes making up the emerging legal cannabis consumer base in 2021.
The report lists the six archetypes as:
The Seasoned Consumer: Long-time regular consumers who use cannabis to enhance their well-being. Twenty-four percent of these consumers suffer from high or extreme stress while 64 percent are strongly in favor of recreational legalization.
The Casual Social: Younger, newer consumers leveraging cannabinoid products as part of their wider lifestyles. Seventy-five percent of them take vitamins or health supplements at least monthly while 61 percent are strongly in favor of recreational legalization.
The Dabbler: Occasional cannabis users, familiar and comfortable with the substance but unlikely to see it as a key part of their lifestyle. Sixty-eight percent are in favor of its legalization for medical use while 45 percent believe legal cannabis should be at least as widely available as tobacco and alcohol.
The Canna-curious: A broad consumer group with an interest in adult-use cannabis consumption if legalized in their countries but with limited knowledge about cannabinoid products. Fifty-six percent are in favor of legalization for medical use while only 43 percent support adult-use liberalization.
The Unsparked: Consumers who are outwardly negative toward cannabis use but express enough uncertainty that many could be persuaded to engage further. Eighteen percent of these consumers believe that cannabis is unsafe while 8 percent see cannabis as something that enhances a user’s lifestyle.
The Naysayer: Strongly against adult use—only 8 percent are in favor of legalization—they are not an immediate target for producers and brand owners. Fifty-one percent state that they either have no or low levels of daily stress—the least stressed of all profiles.
As legalization expands and the normalization of cannabinoid use continues, organizations need to understand the motivations of the modern cannabis consumer and look beyond typical stereotypes.
Shane MacGuill, senior industry manager for Nicotine and Cannabis, Euromonitor
Seasoned cannabis consumers are established, long-standing and often traditionalist cannabis users “who will form the backbone of the legal industry” as it evolves, according to MacGuill. Companies need to understand and address the priorities of this group without alienating newer consumers whose product and brand priorities are often divergent, he notes.
“As legalization expands and the normalization of cannabinoid use continues, organizations need to understand the motivations of the modern cannabis consumer and look beyond typical stereotypes,” says MacGuill. “The legal cannabis industry must mirror the views and values of its consumers, given its history and the nature of its often countercultural evolution. Industry players can only achieve this with a nuanced segmentation and holistic understanding of participants in the sector.”
April 20, 2021
Concern Over Tobacco Takeover of Cannabis

Photo: Terre Di Cannabis from Pixabay
Big Tobacco must be prevented from utilizing “its profit-driven product engineering of addictive and deadly products, predatory marketing practices and anti-regulatory expertise” to dominate the legal cannabis industry, according to Andy Tan and Shaleen Title.
Writing in Tobacco Control, the academics say the tobacco industry has a demonstrated history of resisting government regulation, co-opting scientific experts, engineering tobacco products to be more addictive and using substantial marketing budgets to maximize sales and profits of its products. “If tobacco companies are permitted to dominate the legal cannabis industry, this will risk exacerbating public health harms on groups that are disproportionately harmed by tobacco use,” they write.
Driven by declining sales of tobacco products and spreading legalization of cannabis, the tobacco industry has been diversifying into cannabis in recent years.
In January 2016, Philip Morris International invested $20 million in Syqe Medical, which developed a medical cannabis inhaler. In June 2018, Imperial Brands invested in Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies.
In December 2018, Altria Group invested $1.8 billion in Cronos, a Canada-based multinational cannabis company. Imperial Brands in July 2019 acquired a stake in Auxly Cannabis.
If tobacco companies are permitted to dominate the legal cannabis industry, this will risk exacerbating public health harms.
Andy Tan and Shaleen Title
And just last month, British American Tobacco signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Organigram, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Organigram Holdings.
In their piece, Tan and Title urge authorities to restrict Big Tobacco’s participation in the cannabis industry, for example, by placing limits on the seizes of cannabis businesses by enforcing regulations on how many stores or plants one individual can own.
Tan is an associate professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Title is a distinguished cannabis policy practitioner in residence at the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
April 14, 2021
Jujuy Province Eyes Cannabis as Cash Crop

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Governor Gerardo Morales has suggested that tobacco farmers in Argentina’s Jujuy Province begin growing cannabis to offset declining tobacco sales, reports The Buenos Aires Times.
“Cannabis is one of the most important projects that we have, and it’s going to generate more profits than lithium and solar energy,” said Morales, whose provincial government has worked to foster marijuana production in the region’s dry, sunny terrain for export.
“I hope that with this [growing cannabis market] we will begin a change in diversification and that 10 years from now we will stop planting tobacco and plant cannabis,” he said.
Tobacco producers, however, were not undividedly enthusiastic. Pedro Pascuttini, president of the Jujuy Tobacco Chamber, said his group would fight to continue producing tobacco.
He added, however, that the group was not completely closed to the idea. “We hope that it will be treated in a way in which they explain to us what it is about, and we are listened to,” he said.
Ten years from now, we will stop planting tobacco and plant cannabis.
Gerardo Morales, governor, Jujuy Province
Last month, Argentinean lawmakers sent a bill to legalize the production of medicinal cannabis to Congress after a decree authorized personal cultivation for the same purposes last year.
“The global industry for medical cannabis will treble its turnover in the next five years,” Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez predicted in March.
April 14, 2021
Organigram buys The Edibles & Infusions Corp

Photo: Erin Stone from Pixabay
Organigram Holdings has acquired The Edibles & Infusions Corp. (EIC) in a CAD35 million ($27.88 million) stock deal, reports Reuters.
EIC specializes in pot edibles, like gummy bears, brownies and drinks, and have been the biggest beneficiaries of increased demand for cannabis products during coronavirus lockdowns.

Edible products remain an important product category to Organigram, and EIC represents an ideal partner with which to expand our market presence in this category as well as other derivative cannabis categories.
Greg Engel, CEO, Organigram
“Edible products remain an important product category to Organigram, and EIC represents an ideal partner with which to expand our market presence in this category as well as other derivative cannabis categories,” Organigram Chief Executive Greg Engel said.
In March, British American Tobacco announced it would buy a nearly 20 percent stake in Organigram for about £126 million ($174.30 million) as it looks to diversify beyond its main tobacco business.
Organigram said it currently expects first sales of EIC-manufactured soft chews in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has approved the EIC deal, according to Organigram.
April 7, 2021
PAX Labs Launches Era Life Cannabis Vaporizer

Photo: PAX Labs
PAX Labs has launched the Era Life cannabis vaporizer, created for the on-the-go consumer. According to the company, Era Life delivers an effortless experience without compromising on full flavor, vapor or consistency. The device brings together a high performing battery with PAX’s most compact device yet. Era Life works with any PAX Era pod, featuring curated, high-purity cannabis produced by one of PAX’s carefully selected partners across the country. Era Life is available in the colors Onyx, Grass, Blaze and Indigo.
“We designed the Era Life to provide a simple, fun way to enjoy cannabis while still carrying the PAX promise of iconic design and enduring quality that our customers have come to know and trust,” said Colt Stander, head of product at PAX Labs, in a statement.

We designed the Era Life to provide a simple, fun way to enjoy cannabis while still carrying the PAX promise of iconic design and enduring quality.
Colt Stander, head of product, PAX Labs
“Cannabis is one of today’s fastest-growing industries, and we’re seeing new consumers enter the space rapidly. We’ve taken the best PAX has to offer, perfected the core functionality and packaged it up in our most portable design yet—perfect for those who want the easiest possible experience but still care about durability, aesthetics and safety in the products they use.”
PAX’s temperature control checks the temperature 125 times per second, ensuring a consistent temperature that delivers a full, never-burnt flavor throughout the life of the pod. Whether using lower temperature for more flavor or higher temperature for more vapor, Era Life creates smooth airflow through laser cut sidings and achieves better hits every time.
Era Life provides more than 150 puffs per charge and an easy-to-read LED low battery indicator ensures it’s never without juice. The product is UL-certified, meeting the leading safety standards.
Priced at $35, Era Life is available for purchase by those 21 and over on pax.com and at licensed retailers in legal U.S. states where PAX products are sold.
March 31, 2021