/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S.
WIRE SERVICES/
VANCOUVER, June 7, 2018 /CNW/ - BLOCKSTRAIN TECHNOLOGY
CORP. (the "Company" or "BLOCKStrain") (TSXV:
DNAX) 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.