VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 20, 2017) - Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (
The Pharmacy Group currently owns and operates approximately 40 independent pharmacies across Canada. In an arrangement that the Company believes to be the first of its kind in Canada, the Responsible Retailing Program gives Cannabis Wheaton the exclusive right for 10 years to: (i) create medical cannabis distribution sites within each Pharmacy Group location if/when such distribution is permitted pursuant to applicable law (each, a "Medical Cannabis Retail Site"); (ii) subject to certain commercial carve-outs, supply any form of cannabis, cannabis-infused or cannabis-derived products (collectively "Cannabis Products") to each Medical Cannabis Retail Site; and (iii) manage the display and/or advertising of Cannabis Products at each Medical Cannabis Retail Site. All profits generated by the sale of Cannabis Products at Medical Cannabis Retail Sites will be subject to a profit-sharing arrangement to be negotiated by the parties on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis if/when such distribution is legally permitted in such jurisdiction. In consideration for such exclusivity, Cannabis Wheaton will issue the Pharmacy Group warrants to purchase up to 1,000,000 common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $1.00 per common share for a period of 5 years.
Hugo Alves, President of Cannabis Wheaton stated, "We have been closely monitoring how the distribution of cannabis will play out in each of the individual provinces in Canada and how those provincial distribution systems may impact our streaming partners and our production yield allocations. Our goal is to ensure that Cannabis Wheaton and its streaming partners have opportunities to participate in distribution channels which allow them to maintain contact with customers and capture a portion of the retail margin from sales to those customers.
"The recent announcements of the Ontario and New Brunswick governments were not a surprise to us -- the distribution of recreational cannabis will, at least in some provinces, entail a significant amount of provincial government participation. The interjection of a government-owned entity between the producer and the ultimate consumer may create a new economic dynamic for licensed producers that should be adequately planned for.
"In our view, the recent announcements have crystalized the critical importance of a healthy and robust market for medical cannabis, including the development and maintenance of distribution channels that are consistent with patients' constitutionally protected rights to reasonable access to medical cannabis. To that end, in addition to existing direct to patient e-commerce platforms, we believe that the most appropriate distribution channel for medical cannabis is through pharmacies and other similar medical clinics. Pharmacies exist in virtually every community in Canada, are experienced in handling narcotics and, importantly, bring front-line health professionals into the distribution channel at the point of sale.
"With that in mind, we are delighted to enter into this long-term, exclusive distribution alliance with the Pharmacy Group to ensure that, if legally permitted, Cannabis Wheaton and its streaming partners are able to access a distribution outlet for their medical cannabis products and participate in the financial rewards of those retail sales. Through their group purchasing arrangements, the Pharmacy Group has close ties to other independent pharmacy chains which collectively own and operate approximately 1,500 locations across Canada and, through our shared commitment of patient care and education, we look forward to working with the Pharmacy Group to explore opportunities to expand the Responsible Retailing Program to those locations."
Chuck Rifici, Chairman and CEO of Cannabis Wheaton, commented, "There are more than 3,000 independent pharmacies across Canada, many of them found in remote or isolated communities. From their perspective, there is a concern of potential shortages of supply and limited choice of appropriate medical cannabis strains to meet the ongoing needs of patients. Cannabis Wheaton offers those pharmacies solutions to both of these challenges given its partnerships in 6 provinces with 15 streaming partners, including 7 of which are existing cultivation and sales license holders. With the local presence and product diversity that our platform can bring to independent pharmacies, we provide a turnkey solution that ensures patients have reasonable access to medical cannabis and we will pursue similar arrangements with other independent pharmacy chains in the coming months."
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Chuck Rifici"
Chairman & CEO
About Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (
Backed by a team of industry experts, Cannabis Wheaton is the first cannabis streaming company in the world. Our streams will include production from across Canada coming from our partners comprised of licensed producers of cannabis (LP) and LP applicants. Cannabis Wheaton's mandate is to facilitate real growth for our streaming partners by providing them with financial support and sharing our collective industry experience.
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For more information about Cannabis Wheaton and our management team, please visit: http://www.cannabiswheaton.com, or follow us on Twitter @CannabisWheaton. Call: 1-604 687 7130 Email: Mario@skanderbegcapital.com http://www.skanderbegcapital.com.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. This information is only a prediction. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking information throughout this news release. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to: regulatory or political change, the ability to consummate transactions which are currently in discussions, the ability to generate revenue through the streaming agreements, requirements to obtain additional financing, timeliness of government approvals for granting of permits and licences, including licences to cultivate and sell cannabis, completion of the facilities, where applicable, actual operating performance of the facilities, competition and other risks affecting the Company in particular and the medical cannabis industry generally. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. CW is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward -looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.
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