Body and Mind Obtains Ownership Interest in Ohio Medical Cannabis Dispensary License
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Body and Mind Inc. (CSE: BAMM) (US OTC: BMMJ), (the "Company" or "BAM") is pleased to announce the Company and its strategic in-state investment partners received notification that the State of Ohio awarded a medical cannabis dispensary license to NMG, Ohio LLC ("NMG Ohio", "Applicant"). The Company's subsidiary, Nevada Medical Group LLC ("NMG") currently has a 30% ownership interest in NMG Ohio and is currently pursuing an option to increase its ownership position. It is anticipated that NMG will sign a management agreement in the near term to become operator of the dispensary.
Ohio Medical License Highlights:
- Obtained 1 of only 56 medical cannabis dispensary licenses awarded by State of Ohio, a state which has a population of approx. 11.5 Million.
- Location of license is in the city of Elyria, Lorain County, Northeastern Ohio.
- Only 3 medical dispensaries awarded in Lorain County, a county which has a population of approximately 300,000+.
- State of Ohio received approximately 370+ medical cannabis dispensary license applications.
- First-mover position in Ohio provides the Company with the ability to expediently expand its Body and Mind brand name to another state.
Robert Hasman, President of NMG, stated "We are very pleased with our group being awarded one of the dispensary licenses located in Ohio and confirms the commitment and skill of our team. We have worked hard to submit numerous low cost strategic license applications to grow the company and create shareholder value. We currently have the following additional license applications pending and/or in progress as follows:"
- Ohio - NMG Ohio has 1 production license application submitted and in progress. NMG Ohio's cultivation license is currently going through an appeal process.
- Arkansas - 2 dispensary applications submitted and in progress. One cultivation license initially denied, however an Arkansas judge barred the issuance of any cultivation licenses and the process is currently, or expected to be shortly, under review by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The Arkansas submissions are under Letter of Intent between NMG and an in-state investor group (the "Investor Group"), who have agreed to fund the application process.
In the event the application is successful, Body and Mind will manage the Arkansas operations with terms to be determined. Both parties have agreed to finance the construction and start-up costs on a 75% BAM and 25% Investor Group basis, with BAM's contribution convertible up to a 40% equity interest in the Investor Group.
- Nevada - NMG has 2 dispensary applications nearing submission. It is anticipated that the Nevada Department of Taxation will be seeking applications from existing Medical Marijuana Certificate owner(s) to be awarded Medical Marijuana Dispensary Registration Certificates in the next 60 to 90 days. This application process is only open to existing Nevada license holders with Nevada having a limited number of dispensary, cultivation and production licenses. The Company has secured highly desirable real estate for both applications. The company has submitted a special use permit on one location and is finalizing submissions for the second location. Both locations are in high traffic, underserved areas of Las Vegas.
Pepper Lane North Update
In 2017, a real estate investment group, led by the NMG's president, initiated the purchase of an approximately 30,000 square foot building adjacent to the existing NMG facility. In May 2018, the real estate investment group completed the purchase of the Pepper Lane North building and now owns the facility. The Company recently made the decision to terminate its lease back agreement regarding the Pepper Lane North facility as it was unable to relocate a church that was leasing office space in a building which is in close proximity to the Pepper Lane North facility. The Pepper Lane North building may still be an opportunity for the Company to lease storage and administrative space and the Company will continue to evaluate this opportunity.
The Company initiated a claim with the surveyor's insurance company stating the surveyor made an error and did not disclose the church location in their report to the Company. The primary claim, amongst other damages, is to recover the non-refundable USD $200,000 deposits made by each member of Pepper Lane North LLC.
Mr. Hasman commented: "The Company has grown considerably over the past two years and is constantly evaluating and assessing the various opportunities in front of us. With the medical dispensary license recently awarded in Ohio, our team is confident that working with the right in-state partners, the Company can provide low cost opportunities to expand Body and Mind's footprint into a multi-state and vertically integrated business."
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
About Body and Mind
Body and Mind Inc. is a publicly traded company investing in high quality medical and recreational cannabis cultivation and production. Our wholly owned Nevada subsidiary was awarded one of the first medical marijuana cultivation licenses and holds cultivation and production licenses. Body and Mind products include dried flower, edibles, topicals, extracts as well as GPEN Gio cartridges.
Body and Mind marijuana strains have won numerous awards including the Las Vegas Hempfest Cup 2016, High Times Top Ten, the NorCal Secret Cup and the Emerald Cup. Body and Mind continues to expand operations in Nevada and is constantly reviewing accretive expansion opportunities.
For more information please visit our web site at http://www.bammarijuana.com
Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including the inability of the Company to obtain shareholder and exchange approval, or to raise additional equity as well as the various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on http://www.sedar.com. Body and Mind Inc. undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law or the Canadian Securities Exchange. We seek safe harbour.
For further information regarding Body and Mind Inc. please contact:
Michael Mills
+1-778-389-0007
mmills@bammarijuana.com
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