VANCOUVER, June 7, 2018 /CNW/ – BLOCKSTRAIN TECHNOLOGY CORP. (the “Company” or “BLOCKStrain“) (TSX-V: DNAX.V) is pleased to announce that cannabis pioneer Derek Pedro has agreed to join the Company’s Advisory Board.
Mr. Pedro was a co-founder and Master Grower at Maricann Group Inc., an early Licensed Producer under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), and is currently the Design, Cultivation and Production Partner at WeedMD Inc., where he designed and supervised construction of that company’s production facility in Ontario.
Mr. Pedro’s experience in the legal Canadian cannabis industry extends back to 2003 when he first cultivated cannabis for medical patients under the older Medical Marijuana Access Regulations, which he turned into a co-operative business with 14 locations, designed to provide low-cost medical cannabis to patients with lower incomes. Mr. Pedro later built the first ‘hybridized’ cannabis greenhouse in Canada, allowing growers to produce high quality cannabis in a modified greenhouse setting.
As Canada shifted to the new, government controlled model of cannabis production under the ACMPR, Mr. Pedro again played a pivotal role by bringing 54 live strains and 25,550 seeds into the legal cannabis system. Today, many of those strains form a major part of Canada’s genetic seed bank for cannabis. Mr. Pedro is also heavily involved in research and development as one of Canada’s premier breeders of new cannabis strains, including Pedro’s Wine Gums, the most popular strain currently sold by WeedMD.
Robert Galarza, CEO of BLOCKStrain, says having Pedro’s deep expertise on the Advisory Board is critical as the company develops its software for use in the evolving legal cannabis industry in Canada.
“There are very few people in the world who have the breadth and depth of knowledge of our industry as Derek Pedro,” stated Galarza. “He is both a pioneer and a legend in this industry, and his knowledge of strain genetics and production systems is incredibly beneficial to us as BLOCKStrain builds and adapts its platform for Licensed Producers and other industry stakeholders in Canada.”
Pedro says he is keen to join the Advisory Board, as he feels BLOCKStrain’s proprietary software answers a core issue that has plagued his own business since the beginning of the legal cannabis industry under the MMAR.
“A while ago I was asked by a colleague, ‘how can you protect your intellectual property of the strains you develop in this industry’, and my answer was, ‘right now, you can’t,” Pedro says. “But I had long thought it was very important that we develop such a system, so when the team at BLOCKStrain explained what they were doing, and how they were doing it, I was very excited.”
Pedro says the key elements he wants to see developed are the ability to protect a grower’s intellectual property and the ability for governments to accurately ‘track and trace’ shipments of cannabis.
“BLOCKStrain’s system addresses both those issues with a very elegant solution, and I have no doubt that this company and its software will play a major role in the growth of the legal cannabis industry, not just in Canada, but around the world,” Pedro said.
Mr. Pedro has been granted 500,000 stock options for his role on the BLOCKStrain Advisory Board.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Robert Galarza”
Robert Galarza
Chief Executive Officer and Director
About BLOCKStrain Technology Corp.
BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSXV: DNAX) has developed the first integrated blockchain platform that registers and tracks intellectual property for the cannabis industry. Strain protection and genetic identification are major issues for growers and breeders, and this new technology allows them to identify and secure rights to their valuable intellectual property (IP). The BLOCKStrain platform also streamlines the administrative process of genetic and mandatory quality-control testing for legal cannabis, cutting the administrative time and expense in half.
BLOCKStrain’s proprietary, immutable, cryptographically-secure blockchain-technology establishes a global ‘single source of truth’ for cannabis strains, their ownership, potency and chemical makeup. In an industry where a popular strain can be worth millions of dollars, it is crucial to the industry’s future to quantify genetics, potency and equivalencies between cannabis products. BLOCKStrain delivers needed transparency to growers, retailers, regulators, and consumers who have struggled to find realistic solutions to these logistical challenges. The good news is that the blockchain technology implemented by BLOCKStrain is ideally suited to solve these kinds of problems by implementing an immutable and non-corruptible record of transactions.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the Company’s future business plans. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements relating to the expected benefits of, and impact on, WeedMD’s business as a result of the use of BLOCKStrain’s technology; and the expected security and other benefits of BLOCKStrain’s technology generally. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including that: BLOCKStrain’s platform may not operate as expected; WeedMD may not derive the expected benefits from use of the BLOCKStrain platform; legislative changes may occur that negatively impact BLOCKStrain’s business; and other factors beyond the Company’s control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE BLOCKStrain Technology Corp.
For further information: please visit the Company’s website at: www.strainsecure.com or contact Paula Arab at (403) 889-9128 or email at paula.arab@blockstrain.io
