Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTCMKTS:MJNA) Picks Up Speed, Holder Heralds Banking for Legal Pot
After a slower start in 2014, at least compared to the majority of other pot-sector companies, the last two sessions pushed Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTCMKTS:MJNA) up the charts and the ticker gained 40% in just two pushes. Yesterday’s market saw MJNA put on another four cents and stop at $0.27 by the bell.
The company came up with a couple of press releases over the last two days. The first of those informed that HempMedsPX, MJNA‘s distribution and marketing company, logged gross income of $1.3 million, amounting to a significant increase driven by ‘direct product sales’. This is certainly encouraging news, as MJNA‘s total sales for Q3 of last year amounted to just $604 thousand.
Yesterday’s news release was related to HempMedsPX ‘accelerating’ MJNA‘s plan to educate the broader public on the benefits of cannabidiol (CBD) oil and related products. Those same products are the main focus of MJNA‘s product lines and include oils, tinctures, capsules and chewing gum, among others.
The appearance of news releases, especially ones containing upcoming report numbers, likely helped MJNA speed along up the charts. However, another bit of news hitting the wire late last afternoon has the potential to cause a far bigger stir in the sector.
Yesterday U.S. Attorney General, Mr. Eric Holder, stated that the current state of marijuana businesses operating with cash only creates opportunities for violent crime. He went on to explain that the Obama administration has plans to implement new regulatory legislation ‘soon’ that will allow banks to work with legal marijuana companies and businesses.
This is pretty big news for the entire industry and its impact will very likely be immediately visible in today’s session. What this also means is that the foundation of the business plan of companies such as Growlife, Inc. (OTCBB:PHOT) may be seriously shaken when and if banks start working with pot companies.
The focus of PHOT‘s current efforts is the launch of its ‘GIFT’ program, aiming to provide financing for smaller marijuana startups who are denied funding by banks. It remains to be seen how PHOT‘s share price will move in reaction to the news.
