Does mixing cannabinoids into tobacco make for a safer cigarette? Multistate medical cannabis producer Vireo Health seems to think it does. Reports Leafly
Making A Spliff
Making A Sandwich
Leafly write. The physician-led company announced on Thursday that it has secured a patent for “tobacco products infused with cannabis,” including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. According to US Patent and Trademark Office documents, Vireo intends to market the cannabinoid-infused products as safer alternatives to traditional tobacco.
“As a physician, I am passionate about finding ways to use cannabis to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco,” CEO Kyle Kingsley said in a press release, “We look forward to collaborating with research institutions and tobacco companies committed to developing less harmful tobacco products.”
To be clear, mixing cannabis and tobacco is hardly a new invention. In many parts of the world, including much of Europe and the Caribbean, consumers regularly roll the two together into what American consumers refer to as a spliff. Another common cannabis consumption method, the blunt, consists of cannabis rolled in a tobacco wrap or leaf.
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/did-corporate-cannabis-just-patent-the-spliff
THE PRESS RELEASE
MINNEAPOLIS, April 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Vireo Health International, Inc. (“Vireo” or the “Company”) (CSE: VREO), a leading science-focused, multi-state cannabis company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued a Notice of Allowance for its patent application titled, “Tobacco Products with Cannabinoid Additives and Methods for Reducing the Harm Associated with Tobacco Use.”
“This patent is a component of our strategy to disrupt the tobacco industry and help save lives,” said Chief Executive Officer, Kyle Kingsley, M.D. “As a physician, I am passionate about finding ways to use cannabis to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco. We look forward to collaborating with research institutions and tobacco companies committed to developing less harmful tobacco products.”
Vireo’s allowed patent application covers cannabis-based additives that can be formulated into tobacco products to reduce the harm associated with tobacco use. This novel application of cannabis covers the use of one or more carefully formulated cannabinoids as harm reducing agents in tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and smokeless tobacco products. A Notice of Allowance is issued after the USPTO determines that a patent can be granted from the application, which was filed in March 2017.
Potential benefits associated with cannabinoid additives in tobacco products include the reduction of irritation, inflammation, and carcinogenicity. According to a 2016 study, scientific evidence supports that cannabinoids may have substantial anti-cancer effects.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention report that the use of tobacco is not only the leading cause of preventable disease in the U.S., but also imposes significant economic costs. Specifically, smoking-related illness in the United Statescosts more than $300 billion a year, including nearly $170 billion in direct medical care for adults. In 2017, an estimated 14.0% (34.3 million) of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers.
About Vireo Health International, Inc.
Vireo Health International, Inc.’s mission is to build the cannabis company of the future by bringing the best of medicine, engineering and science to the cannabis industry. Vireo’s physician-led team of more than 300 employees provides best-in-class cannabis products and customer experience. Vireo cultivates cannabis in environmentally-friendly greenhouses, manufactures pharmaceutical-grade cannabis extracts, and sells its products at both company-owned and third-party dispensaries. The Company currently has operations in ten states including Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. For more information about the company, please visit www.vireohealth.com.
Contact Information
Investor Inquiries
Sam Gibbons
Vice President, Investor Relations
samgibbons@vireohealth.com
(612) 314-8995
Media Inquiries
Albe Zakes
Vice President, Corporate Communications
albezakes@vireohealth.com
(267) 221-4800
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United Statesor to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Forward-Looking Statement Disclosure
This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, based on current expectations. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “look forward to”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “will continue”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “potentially”, “might” or “will be” taken, “occur” or “be achieved.” Forward looking information may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, milestones, strategies and outlook of Vireo, and includes statements about, among other things, future developments, the future operations, potential market opportunities, strengths and strategy of the Company. Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management’s current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are based upon certain material factors, assumptions and analyses that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including Vireo’s experience and perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that are believed to be reasonable in the circumstances.
Examples of the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to those related to: the achievement of goals, the closing of acquisitions, obtaining of necessary permits and governmental approvals, future market positioning, as well as expectations regarding availability of equipment, skilled labor and services needed for cannabis operations, intellectual property rights, development, operating or regulatory risks, trends and developments in the cannabis industry, business strategy and outlook, expansion and growth of business and operations, the timing and amount of capital expenditures; future exchange rates; the impact of increasing competition; conditions in general economic and financial markets; access to capital; future operating costs; government regulations, including future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical and recreational marijuana and the timing thereto; receipt of appropriate and necessary licenses in a timely manner; the effects of regulation by governmental agencies; the anticipated changes to laws regarding the recreational use of cannabis; the demand for cannabis products and corresponding forecasted increase in revenues; and the size of the medical marijuana market and the recreational marijuana market.
Although such statements are based on management’s reasonable assumptions at the date such statements are made, there can be no assurance that it will be completed on the terms described above and that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information. Vireo assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by applicable law.
By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to risks and uncertainties, and there are a variety of material factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and that may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: denial or delayed receipt of all necessary consents and approvals; need for additional capital expenditures; increased costs and timing of operations; unexpected costs associated with environmental liabilities; requirements for additional capital; reduced future prices of cannabis; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the cannabis industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; title disputes; claims limitations on insurance coverage; risks related to the integration of acquisitions; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of certain commodities (such as diesel fuel and electricity); changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries where the Company may carry on business in the future; liabilities inherent in cannabis operations; risks relating to medical and recreational cannabis; cultivation, extraction and distribution problems; competition for, among other things, capital, licences and skilled personnel; risks relating to the timing of legalization of recreational cannabis; changes in laws relating to the cannabis industry; and management’s success in anticipating and managing the foregoing factors.
SOURCE Vireo Health, Inc.
