The news has emerged in Oakland, a city in California ever more involved in the standardization of medical and recreational cannabis and its projection as a business matter. Among other companies and institutions (the Oaksterdam University, for instance), in Oakland is located the headquarters of GrowOp Technology.
"We are about to start our silence procedure,” said Derek Peterson, CEO of GrowOp Technology. In other words, the company is in the preliminary point before submitting its application for listing on the Stock Market, a step that could happen by 2011.
According GrowOp the company sales for last year totaled $ 800,000. Before formalizing its debut on the floor, the company made a round of financing in which it expects to raise between $ 1.5 and $ 3.5 million as it tries to achieve a sales target for this year to reach 4 or 5 million dollars.
GrowOp is actually not involved in seed production, but is a manufacturer of farm equipment for cultivating marijuana plants. In this market challenge, GrowOp maybe could find a partner in WeGrow, a franchise of outlet grow shops, located in several states: California, Oregón, Arizona, Colorado and Illinois.
The National Cannabis Industry Association makes its appearance
At present time, a total of 15 States allow in some way or another the use of marijuana as medical treatment. And although the State Department announced that it would not conduct random raids on the medical dispensaries, it has confirmed that “pursue and toughen federal law” for “those who possess, produce or distribuye marijuana for recreational purposes.”
On the other hand, the National Cannabis Industry Association made his lobbying debut last March 30 in Washington. This is a legal trade association that aims to change federal taxes that would put medicinal purveyors on equal footing with fully legitimate businesses.
According to this association, in the United States medical marijuana industry reaches $ 1,7 billion a year. “This is a full-fledged commercial sector with sales that might soon rival those of Viagra”, advocates said.
"We simply feel that our industry should be treated like any other legitimate industry," said Aaron Smith, director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. He spoke on March 30 at a news conference kicking off the association's first day of lobbying, which included meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
