Pubdate: Mon, 10 Nov 2014
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Tim Talley, the Associated Press
Page: A5

EMERGING CANNABIS OIL MARKET EYED

E-Cig Company Sees Great Opportunity

OKLAHOMA CITY - As more states approve the medicinal and recreational 
use of marijuana, an Oklahoma-based electronic cigarette retailer is 
looking to build a national franchise.

Marijuana is illegal under federal drug laws. But voters in Oregon, 
Alaska and Washington, D.C., approved ballot measures Tuesday to 
legalize the recreational use of marijuana, joining Washington state 
and Colorado. And in more than a dozen other states, medical 
marijuana is available.

The growing availability of legal pot opens the door for Tulsa-based 
Palm Beach Vapors to market a method for producing a cannabis oil 
product that can be inhaled through a common e-cigarette, according 
to CEO and co-founder Chip Paul.

"This is a wave that's kind of sweeping the nation," said Paul, whose 
company is looking to patent the method and has already signed 
licensing deals in California and Colorado for what it calls the 
M-System. He said he intends to set up franchise locations in other states.

The use of marijuana is illegal in Oklahoma, but the market for 
cannabis products is projected to grow as more states move to 
legalize it. Advocates plan a big push for legalization initiatives 
on 2016 ballots in California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and 
Nevada, according to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug 
Policy Alliance.

But Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and 
Dangerous Drugs, says the agency is concerned about the inhalation of 
cannabis oils via e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes work by heating liquid nicotine into an inhalable mist; 
cannabis oils and waxes work much the same.

Palm Beach Vapors has applied for a patent, and expects the M-System 
to account for 30 percent to 40 percent of its annual revenue by 
2018, provided the country continues its march toward wider 
legalization, Paul said.

Even though marijuana is not legal in the majority of the United 
States, Woodward said teens are obtaining e-cigarettes and cannabis 
oils. "It's an easier way for people, especially our youth, to 
disguise their marijuana use," Woodward said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom