ESCONDIDO, Calif., Aug. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkWire – MARIJUANA COMPANY OF AMERICA INC. (“MCOA” or the “Company”) (OTC: MCOA), an innovative hemp and cannabis corporation, and its joint venture partner Global Hemp Group Inc. (CSE: GHG) (OTC:GBHPF) (FRANKFURT: GHG) (the “Partners”) are pleased to provide an update on their CBD hemp farming joint venture in New Brunswick, Canada (the “Project”).
Dryer Installation
Drying of the biomass is an important first step in the extraction of the cannabinoids from the hemp plant. The partners are pleased to announce that the Project’s industrial scale dryer from Cann Systems was delivered last week and has now been installed.
The dryer holds multiple bins of material, for a total processing capacity of just over one tonne of fresh hemp biomass per load. Initial testing is in progress and will be completed by the end of this week. Once the biomass has been dried from this year’s harvest, it will be stored until the implementation of the Cannabis Act on Oct. 17, 2018, at which time the biomass can be legally sold for extraction. Health Canada has recently issued a new Class Exemption to the Industrial Hemp Regulations that allows hemp cultivation license holders to legally harvest, dry and store flowers, leaves and branches prior to the passage of the Cannabis Act. Management is currently in discussions with potential offtakers for selling the dried biomass in bulk, as well as exploring potential strategies for toll extraction and the marketing and distribution of processed and refined oils.
Innovation in the Hemp Industry
It is now nearing harvest time at the New Brunswick Hemp Project. To maximize profit, it is important to harvest as much of the higher CBD content flowers and leaves as possible, without undue amounts of the low to no CBD straw (the stalk). This year’s drought has complicated matters as the hemp plants have tended to be shorter than usual, and the weeds are taller as they were able to get a head start before the hemp began growing, although the hemp is still displaying very healthy and weighty inflorescence. These issues that are perceived as problems at they occur, may benefit the hemp plants which tend to produce more biomass as a result of stress from competition with weeds and the effects of the drought.
In order to succeed in the hemp industry, a certain amount of ingenuity and innovation is required more often than not. Our farming group is a good example of this ingenuity. Sometimes repurposing existing equipment on hand will work to achieve the required result. To combat the higher than normal weed height and to maximize the value of the harvest by taking just the most valuable parts of the hemp plant, a small harvesting trial was conducted by one of our farmers using an OXBO bean harvester. The bean harvester is able to strip the plant of all leaves and inflorescence, while picking up very little straw, which is ideal for this year’s crop. Based on the positive results of this trial, the bean harvester will be used to complete the harvest of the entire 125 acres of hemp cultivated under the joint venture project with MCOA this year.
In non-drought years, other harvesting tools will be required and the innovative farmers of our group have already begun strategizing on potential solutions that will be applicable next year when the Partners move forward with an aggressive expansion strategy to significantly increase CBD acreage as well as fully exploit the whole hemp plant and process the straw for industrial applications.
New Research Collaboration
The drought in northeast New Brunswick has not affected all fields uniformly. One of our fields is reported by DAAF field agrologists as “one of the finest of the province”. Aside from the obvious economic benefit in terms of increased yields, this field offers the opportunity to contrast high and low performing plants of a given variety in the same location, shedding some light on the role of plant nutrition in explaining the performance of hemp plants. Dr. Ron Smith from University of New Brunswick will spearhead a research project focused on the issue. The Partners and the National Research Council have committed to provide financial support for the study.
About Marijuana Company of America, Inc.
MCOA is a corporation which participates in: (1) product research and development of legal hemp-based consumer products under the brand name “hempSMART™”, that targets general health and well-being; (2) an affiliate marketing program to promote and sell its legal hemp-based consumer products containing CBD; (3) leasing of real property to separate business entities engaged in the growth and sale of cannabis in those states and jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized and properly regulated for medicinal and recreations use; and, (4) the expansion of its business into ancillary areas of the legalized cannabis and hemp industry, as the legalized markets and opportunities in this segment mature and develop.
About Global Hemp Group Inc.
Global Hemp Group Inc. (CSE: GHG) (OTC: GBHPF) (FRANKFURT: GHG), is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with base operations in Montreal and Los Angeles. The Company is focused on a multi-phased strategy to build a strong presence in the industrial hemp industry in both Canada and the United States. The first phase of this strategy is to develop hemp cultivation with the objective of extracting cannabinoids (CBD, CBG, CBN & CBC) and creating a near term revenue stream that will allow the Company to expand and develop successive phases of the strategy. The second phase of the plan will focus on the development of value-added industrial hemp products utilizing the processing of the whole hemp plant, as envisioned in the Company’s Hemp Agro-Industrial Zone (HAIZ) strategy.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-12G, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov.
For more information, please visit the Company’s websites at:
MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com
hempSMART.com
NetworkNewsWires/MCOA
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