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Articles Posted in Marijuana Investments

Petrotech Oil & Gas Inc. (PTOG) is a company based in Bedford, TX, and claims it is involved in petroleum recovery from oil wells that are considered “empty.” Using their own extraction technology with CO2 and N2 called “Gas-Injection EOR” (Enhanced Oil Recovery), Petrotech is able to recover 20% or more than previously thought possible.

The SEC Has Proposed New Regulations for Fiduciaries on silverlaw.comOn February 19, 2014, the company announced that it would also be entering the legal cannabis market in Washington and Colorado, causing their stocks to surge. Petrotech’s deal created subsidiary Legalizepot.us Management Group, Inc. (the site is now a blank page.) LP.US Management was intended to manage the growing companies where cannabis became legal, starting with Washington and Colorado.

On March 14, 2014, the SEC suspended trading for the company “because of questions that have been raised about the accuracy and adequacy of publicly disseminated information concerning, among other things, the company’s operations.” Trading resumed on March 28, 2018. The company was in the process of completing a 2-year audit to comply with SEC reporting standards to achieve full reporting status.

Marijuana is still an illegal substance in a number of states (and on the federal level.) But with the increased evidence of medical benefits, many states have begun legalization for medical use. Some, like California and Colorado, have also legalized it for recreational use. Companies are now looking for ways to cash in on this new “green” industry, from growing to manufacturing and processing, as well as associated industries like equipment, real estate and legal services.

FINRA-Permanently-Bars-Gary-Eugene-Donovan-for-Stock-Manipulation-300x200One company that began dealing with acquiring and leasing land for growing marijuana is CannaBusiness Group out of California. CannaBusiness was founded in 1985, and became a publicly traded company (CBGI) in 2005. CannaBusiness is in the business of the marijuana industry support services, not growing, harvesting and processing. However, the company seems to have fallen off the radar.

According to the company’s Facebook page and other pages that discuss it, CannaBusiness is about “real estate acquisition, leasing, and management firm whose primary focus is on zoning issues.”  Calling itself “services for the medical marijuana industry,” the description includes that the company has: “also developed an acquisition plan to acquire companies that sell products and services to include security services, e-commerce store fronts for both grow and dispensary operations, technology solutions, software solutions, and miscellaneous solutions. It is actively involved in the capitalization, development and acquisition of marijuana based consumer products as well as the supporting technologies.”

It seemed like a good investment—a company that repurposes and refits old shipping containers into hydroponic growing “pods” for local Denver agriculture, as well as the state’s burgeoning cannabis industry. These refurbished containers, complete with installed grow lighting, were known as “PharmPods.”  They were marketed as portable hydroponic greenhouses that would solve the problem of finding viable land for agriculture by creating vertical growing spaces in urban areas.

An affiliated company, Vertifresh, was responsible for selling lettuce to local restaurants that was alleged to be grown in PharmPods.

Unfortunately, while the “pods” were real, the company that sold them wasn’t.

In the rush to get into the newest investment markets ahead of the curve, some companies will say anything, even if it’s wrong. Our law firm is actively involved in several Cannabis investment lawsuits.

The SEC Has Proposed New Regulations for Fiduciaries on silverlaw.comThis week, the SEC filed charges against the Dallas, Texas based Greenview Investment Partners L.P. and its founder Michael E. Cone. The complaint alleges that Cone and his company defrauded investors out of more than $3.3 million with the idea that they would loan money to marijuana-related businesses. The company closed after an FBI probe earlier this year.

“Greenview allegedly exploited investor interest in the marijuana industry and lied about high returns and the backgrounds of its key executives,” said Shamoil T. Shipchandler, Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.

Home growers of medical marijuana will find no shortage of gardening supplies available made just for their crops. Our marijuana litigators are seeing many bogus suppliers.

One company that supplies equipment and supplies for the home grower is GrowLife, (PHOT) headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. With stores in Encino, CA, Portland, ME and Calgary, Alberta in Canada, GrowLife offers hydroponic equipment, nutrients, soils, lighting, indoor cultivation equipment and plant growing systems.

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On September 19, 2018, the company issued a press release announcing a rights offering, allowing company shareholders to acquire additional shares of GrowLife common stock. Calling it The Offering, the company gives shareholders the opportunity to invest in the company to help it raise additional funding and continue to expand. This stock currently trades at around $0.0122, and is considered a “penny stock” or “microcap stock.” However, because these stocks are smaller, they don’t meet the minimum for trading on a national exchange like the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ. Information may be more difficult to find.

General Cannabis, formerly known as Advanced Cannabis Solutions, is a service provider based in Denver, CO, that provides consulting and assistance to cannabis-related companies for production, cultivation and retail operations. (The company does not actually grow crops.)

Like any company offering securities for sale, Advanced Cannabis was required to supply certain types of company information. It was listed on both the OTC Bulletin Board and OTC Link, “alternative stock exchanges” to the NYSE and NASDAQ.

Any company that trades securities on these platforms have to meet strict requirements and qualifications, and are required to answer to a regulating agency such as the SEC or the FDIC. Securities are traded directly by dealers. Penny stocks, shell companies, or in bankruptcy are not traded here.

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