NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Feb 4, 2014) - Plandaí Biotechnology (OTCQB: PLPL) recently entered into what could very well be the industry's biggest agreement to date. At the time, many investors may have viewed it as just another licensing agreement, but as Plandaí lays the groundwork for its future, the deal with Diego Pellicer, Inc. and Diego Pellicer Worldwide permits the company to use the Diego Pellicer name for its Phytofare™ cannabis extracts. But, at the same time, it put Plandaí in business with Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft executive and the co-founder of Diego Pellicer, Inc.
Stock Market Media Group (SMMG), a full service research and content development investor relations firm, has seen what a media darling Jamen Shively is and how enamored that same media is with his concept to brand Cannabis under his great grandfather's name, Diego Pellicer. So, we wanted to speak directly with the source to talk about the marijuana industry, and his partnership with Plandaí.
SMMG: What attracted you most to Plandaí Biotechnology?
Jamen: "What most attracts me to Plandaí are its people, their vision, and the amazing technology Plandaí has developed for dramatically increasing the bioavailability of a broad range of plant extracts for application to an even broader range of both preventive and therapeutic health.
Plandaí's technology, and the genius and innovation within the company which has brought it forth, are enabling both humans and animals to finally take much fuller advantage of plant nutrients, providing much healthier and more effective alternatives to synthetic pharmaceuticals.
And, while my initial interest in Plandaí is the application of this technology to Cannabis for medical purposes, I am also extremely excited by the potential of the technology to create solutions which address the full range of human health and nutrition."
SMMG: With your intent to become "the retail Cannabis brand" in the US and the world, do you find that branding Plandaí's Cannabis extracts gives Diego Pellicer a foothold in the medical marijuana space as well?
Jamen: "Absolutely. Prior to Diego Pellicer's partnership with Plandaí, we already had a strong foothold in the medical marijuana space through a separate partnership with the Northwest Patient Resource Center, which created the gold standard for medical Cannabis dispensaries in the Pacific Northwest.
Now with our partnership with Plandaí, Diego Pellicer has a platform spanning the best medical dispensary platform, combined with the very best medical Cannabis products in the world. Together, Diego Pellicer and Plandaí are poised to revolutionize the medical Cannabis industry worldwide."
SMMG: You have talked about earning 40% of the marijuana market worldwide, how can Plandaí's extracts help you realize that number?
Jamen: "Plandaí's extracts are actually crucial for capturing such a large portion of the worldwide Cannabis market.
Because of the dramatic increases in yield, quality, and delivery of the finished product afforded by Plandaí's technologies, the Diego-Plandaí partnership has competitive advantages which are unmatched anywhere in the Cannabis industry.
Together, our early leads spanning medical, recreational, branding, and finished products, equate to the Diego Pellicer brand becoming synonymous with the Cannabis industry. No one else even comes close."
SMMG: Are you encouraged by what may be a real sea change in attitude coming out of Washington these days?
Jamen: "I am extremely encouraged by the recent statements both from the President and from the Attorney General. These statements are consistent with the changing will of the American people, a substantial and growing majority of Americans support responsible legalization and regulation.
The growth of this majority, in turn, is following a pattern which is very close to an exponential trend, as can be seen visually in the Gallup Poll data released in October 2013:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/165539/first-time-...juana.aspx
Extrapolating on the above trend, we can safely predict that the percentage of Americans in favor of responsible legalization will exceed 67% within the next 18 months, if not sooner. Once that critical threshold is reached, it will become politically untenable to oppose legalization, for any politician outside of perhaps the Bible Belt.
Savvy government leaders, seeing this trend, are getting on the 'right side' of the debate sooner rather than later."
SMMG: With both Florida and Ohio adding the issue to their November ballots, do you think the U.S. is closer to finally addressing full federal legalization of medical marijuana, at the very least, given they're both outside the typical pockets of support?
Jamen: "First of all, on a personal note, my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather Shively were all born and raised in Ohio, and my grandmother Josefina Pellicer, daughter of Diego Pellicer, married my grandfather Richard Shively in the Philippines, and they moved back to Ohio and raised their seven children there. So, Ohio is a very important part of the Pellicer legacy, in addition to being the 'heart' of the country.
I think that, just as with the last three presidential elections, as go Ohio and Florida, so goes the country. All of this bodes very well for national legalization."
SMMG: In your opinion, although it's a mid-term election year, can 2014 be a pivotal year in the Cannabis debate?
Jamen: "There is no doubt that 2014 will be a pivotal year in the Cannabis debate. As the near exponential trend accelerates, you will see fewer and fewer people willing to be on the 'wrong side' of the debate as the facts regarding the harms caused by prohibition become both clearer and more widely known by the general public.
Simply put, it is both unethical and inhumane to perpetuate the system of prohibition of Cannabis any further."
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