By Marguerite Arnold

The marijuana industry is taking off globally. Moving regulatory environments in U.S. states and now whole countries, if not continents, are not only moving the legalisation issue forward. They are also creating both business and investment opportunities.

It is being touted as the next “gold rush.” The industry is also being seen increasingly by policy-makers as a way to create jobs. That starts with production. However, it quickly moves into healthcare, particularly in Europe.

This also means, of course, that there are entrepreneurial endeavours that are legit. It also means that there is a real and developing investment market. The right investment in this market right now could still pay off in spades. However the idea of investing in a local mom and pop, just about anywhere, that will change the face of cannabis cultivation is a horse that’s long left the barn.

The flip side of course, is that with mainstreaming, cannabis becomes commoditized. This means that it increasingly becomes just like any other industry. That means there are many other opportunities opening up with the vertical that do not touch the plant directly. The R&D on the medical side alone is going to produce products that will be runaway hits.

That said, it does not mean that anything cannabis will be a success. There will be, as per the norm, more flops than overnight unicorns. And caveat emptor, if not extreme due diligence is required.

Cannabis Industry Product Investment

INVESTING IN SPECIFIC SECTORS

There are sectors of the developing industry which are more investor-friendly already. These are usually companies which are established but have introduced a new kind of canna-friendly branded product. Miracle-Gro is one of those companies. They have established reputations. They are also established public companies.

Many cannabis companies, particularly in the United States, rushed to go public over the last several years because of access to public market funding. This got them in trouble as they tried to morph into entities that the SEC would approve. Most of them did not survive growing pains.

Technology is another area, whether it intersects with growing or not, where there are beginning to be some interesting plays. That said, business models in different places will vary, sometimes dramatically. This has as much to do with existing regulation as anything else.

The equity markets are different in Europe as is the overall business. Regardless, however, the fact is that the entire industry is not ready for institutional investment. Why? Regulations in the United States and elsewhere. Even in the U.S. where state markets have developed over the last 20 years, the lack of federal reform means that almost all financing related to this industry has been and will be smaller start up focussed investment. Canada and Israel will continue to lead on overall investment opportunities in every part of the industry. That is because of Israel’s head start on medical and Canada’s looming rec market. Europe will also be a force to be reckoned with on the medical side. Beyond growing, there are also other opportunities for investment that are just on the horizon.

INVESTING IN STARTUPS

Essentially what investing in this industry means, almost everywhere, up until now meant investing in privately held, non-public companies. It has also meant a heavy focus on start-ups. This is the most risky part of the market, but also potentially the most rewarding. It is a place where innovation, research and discovery are continuing to find new uses for a drug that was illegal for the last 100 years. While there will be plenty of failures, even here, the time if not opportunity is ripe for innovation, entrepreneurship, investment and profit.

Business Companies Cannabis Products

WHERE SHOULD I START?

Perhaps the best way to begin investing is to learn about the current environment. There are a couple of companies that everyone mentions. That does not mean they will continue to be a good deal or be worth the investment. Just because this is cannabis, does not mean that the laws of the market are otherwise suspended.

GW Pharma

Everyone loves to mention this odd British pharma. It was given a license to grow medical marijuana before the turn of the century. Since then it has produced plant-based medicine for export in a country where medical use is still illegal. Essentially it has been given license to bend a lot of rules as a pharma company. As a result, the stock has gone through the roof in the last couple of years (over 1,000%). Even this company has had some flops however. This includes acceptance of Sativex, the mouth spray with THC.

Medical Marijuana Inc

This company has the distinction of calling itself the first publicly traded pot stock in the U.S. They appear to be a group of strategically aligned and invested companies in the industry. They are clearly investing in some of the main pillars of this space. Investing in their stock is essentially investing in their understanding and knowledge of the market as well as how they are reaching the market.

MMJ PhytoTech and MGC Pharmaceuticals

These are two hybrid firms in Australia that have partnered with Canadian firms to spur growth. They might be joined shortly by business partnerships spurred by the developing German market. The first tender bid for grow licenses was recently released by the German government. It requires German companies to have foreign partners. How that will end up in terms of form is unclear. However, it may also well create some interesting public companies operating in multiple jurisdictions.

 

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: