Maybe it’s just a coincidence but California just legalized recreational marijuana a couple months ago and now Apple (AAPL) has filed a patent for a vaporizer, often referred to as a vape. Vapes are commonly used to smoke cannabis.
According to a recent article in Gizmodo, Apple filed the application back in July and was posted yesterday on the USPTO website.
According to the abstract, “A chamber body is to receive therein a substance that is to be vaporized or sublimated into a vapor. A plate whose bottom face rests on the substance inside the chamber body is temperature regulated, e.g., using a heater therein, which releases heat directly above the substance that lies below. The plate slides downward as the substance is consumed by vaporization or sublimation.”
Who knows what plans Apple has for this device? Who would have thought that a large cap stock like Apple might come out with a product that could be used in the marijuana (cannabis, hash, hemp, ganja, weed) industry?
If you thought that stocks in all the sectors seemed to be drifting downwards recently, you probably didn’t notice that the marijuana industry has been smoking.
For example, Cannabis Sativa (CBDS) jumped over 36% today. This is the company that Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate, resigned from in January as CEO and Director, in order to run for president.
General Cannabis (CANN) rose by 31%, Cannabis Science (CBIS) went up by 29%, and Medical Marijuana (MJNA) went up by about 21%.
So what’s the reason for all this activity? The upcoming election. Marijuana legalization in some fashion is on the ballot in ten states, which is a record in terms of marijuana measures in one election.
The states that are involved are as follows:
Arizona
Arkansas
Arkansas
California
Florida
Maine
Massachusetts
Montana
Nevada
North Dakota
Some measure just involved medical marijuana, such as Arkansas and Florida. Other states have measures to legalize recreational marijuana, in addition to medical marijuana. Most investors are looking at Proposition 64 in the state of California, due to the size of the state’s population. Many investors believe that if California legalizes, then the cannabis stocks will take off.
Marijuana Stock Index
Look at the above chart of the Marijuana Stock Index. Back in late 2013, the pot stocks skyrocketed. Many investors in the medical arena became millionaires almost overnight, at least on paper.
The companies that make up this list are as follows:
Advanced Cannabis Solutions
CANN
Cannabis Sativa Inc.
CBDS
Cannabis Science Inc.
CBIS
GreenGro Technologies, Inc.
GRNH
GrowLife Inc.
PHOT
Hemp Incorporated
HEMP
mCig
MCIG
Medical Marijuana Inc.
MJNA
Agritek Holdings (MediSwipe)
AGTK
Pharmos Corp.
PARS
Planda Biotech
PLPL
Psychemedics Corporation
PMD
Solvay SA
SVYZY
Terra Tech
TRTC
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl.
VRX
One thing to keep in mind before investing in these stocks are that most of them are very low cap and extremely speculative.
If you are looking for a list of over 120 stocks that are connected to the marijuana industry in some way, go HERE.
It remains to be seen what will happen to these stocks, or what happens with the ballot measures, for that matter. Just remember, if you invest in a small cap stock, be prepared to lose it all.
The following fascinating interview was provided by Rob Hunt, a partner and the Lead Industry Executive at Tuatara Capital, the largest private equity fund in the cannabis industry. He also has an extensive background in cannabis business in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine as well.
marijuana plant
Rob Hunt has more than 15 years of experience in the cannabis industry as an attorney, a consultant, and a serial entrepreneur. Rob is currently a Partner, and the Lead Industry Executive of Tuatara Capital.
Mr. Hunt was formerly the Chairman of the Coalition for Responsible Patient Care, based in MA, where he spearheaded the initiative to help develop and implement the fledgling medical cannabis market in the Commonwealth. He was the principal developer of cannabis.org, a website focused on changing the scheduling of cannabis away from being a schedule I drug on the Federal Government’s list of controlled substances, Rob still authors all of the written commentary on the cannabis.org Facebook page where he has an audience of close to 20,000 readers.
We cover a lot in this interview, including:
The California marijuana proposition
Why marijuana has remained illegal for so long
The current credit card ban on dispensaries
Opinion on publicly traded cannabis stocks
Crowdfunding for marijuana related companies
Willie Nelson’s brand of marijuana
Advice for investors interested in allocating funds to the cannabis industry
Advice for those who are interested in setting up a marijuana startup
The Interview
You will certainly enjoy all this great information that Rob Hunt provides.
To stream the interview, click:
More information about Tuatara Capital can be found HERE.
Let us know what you think about this interview by entering your comments in the comment section below. You can also check out the stocks in the WallStreetNewsnetwork.com Marijuana Stock Index.
All opinions are those of Rob Hunt, and do not represent the opinions of Stockerblog.com or the interviewer. Neither Stockerblog nor the interviewer nor the interviewee are rendering tax, legal, or investment advice in this interview.
