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Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST), an innovative biotech company focused on the cannabinoid (“CBD”), nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields, as well as on R&D for certain medical devices, today announces that it has finalized the plans for its previously announced human trial to assess the efficacy of the combination of an essential mineral element and full-spectrum cannabinoid industrial hemp oil. The purpose of this nine-month trial is to develop a CBD formulation and methodology for treating opioid addicts, preventing fatal overdoses, and relieving side-effects from withdrawals.

NeutriSci International Inc. (TSX-V: NU) (OTCQB: NRXCF) (FRANKFURT: 1N9) the innovator and pioneer behind neuenergy®, is pleased to announce the filing of a new U.S. provisional patent application (United States Provisional Patent No. 62/628,735; Compositions Comprising Co-crystals of Stilbenoids and Cannabinoids) relating to compositions comprising pterostilbene and other stilbenoids in formulations which improve the dissolution rate and bioavailability of cannabinoid compounds.

Change is coming in the financial sector. The desire for faster payments and better audit trails is leading companies away from traditional payment systems and toward innovation. Blockchain technology is increasingly relevant in this area, with companies such as Global Payout, Inc. (GOHE) applying the technology to improve payment processing and logistics in the financial sector. Mastercard (MA), one of the biggest players in payment processing, has obtained patents to develop its own blockchain systems. Glance Technologies (GLNNF) (GET:CNX), which specializes in payment solutions for customers, has partnered with Netcoins Inc. to integrate blockchain-based cryptocurrency payments into its systems. Import/export payments can now be processed through blockchain smart contracts, thanks to LongFin (LFIN). Unsurprisingly, given all these developments, direct banking and payments company Discover Financial Services (DFS) has identified blockchain as one of the most important technologies for the future of payment.

Since its first successful use nearly 30 years ago, gene therapy has grown into an important if experimental part of the medical sector. Now it is taking off in a big way, offering treatment for chronic ailments such as diabetes and other conditions. PreveCeutical Medical, Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) is at the forefront of this segment of healthcare, seeking preventive gene treatments to tackle Type 2 diabetes. MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is offering other innovations for diabetics, with the first inhalation-based drug for managing insulin levels, and Danish multinational Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) offers support for tackling diabetes, with 85% of its business in this area. The potential of gene therapy is being proved with other ailments, for example the work of Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO) on hemophilia, Huntington’s disease, and HIV. Even obscure diseases are becoming treatable through gene therapy thanks to Audentes Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOLD), whose virally carried treatments tackle Criger-Najjar syndrome and Pompe disease.

NeutriSci International Inc. (TSX-V:NU) (OTCQB:NRXCF) (Frankfurt:1N9) and Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE:LXX) (OTCQX:LXRP) are pleased to announce that they have revised their joint venture agreement such that NeutriSci now owns 100% of Ambarii Trade Corporation, and Lexaria has granted to NeutriSci, an Intellectual Property License and Supply Agreement for the manufacturing and sale of CBD based products.

Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, boasts tremendous disruptive potential in a wide range of industries, including finance, infrastructure, supply chain management and even healthcare. SinglePoint, Inc. (SING), a company with diverse interests and skills in the tech sector, has teamed up with ORHub, Inc. (ORHB) to create a blockchain-based solution to improve the way hospitals collect and utilize operating room data to reduce supply chain costs, while IBM (IBM) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are exploring ways of using blockchain to more effectively share and audit medical data. With companies like HIVE Blockchain (HIVE:CC) developing broader infrastructure applications, the potential for blockchain to improve efficiency across businesses is accelerating. It’s an approach being pushed from inside the healthcare industry, with UnitedHealth Group (UNH) also demonstrating interest in blockchain capabilities.

Advocates have long argued that environmentally friendly technologies could provide a boost to any economy. In the past few years, the rise of the electric car has proved them right. Not only is it creating wealth in the manufacturing sector, but it’s having spill-over effects in related industries. The need for cobalt in the manufacture of green car batteries has fueled staggering growth for First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQB: FTSSF), with a share price increase of as much as 350 percent in a single year. Behind the showmanship of CEO Elon Musk, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is becoming the leading brand name for electric vehicles, with a range of cars and trucks. Mining giant Glencore Plc (OTC: GLNCY) is riding the same wave as First Cobalt, providing a third of the world’s cobalt. eCobalt Solutions, Inc. (TSX: ECS) (OTC: ECSIF) is tackling the new environmental and ethical concerns this growth has raised, by focusing on ethically sourced cobalt for an ethically oriented market. Even the grandee of American motor companies, General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), is getting in on the act with plans to launch 18 new all-electric vehicles by 2023. The electric car industry is set for big growth.

Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency unarguably have the potential to alter the future of money, finance, transportation and national security. While an increasing number of blockchain plays wind their way through the investment community, Victory Square Technologies Inc. (CSE: VST) (OTC: VSQTF) (FRANKFURT: 6F6) (WKN: A2AKL8) is demonstrating a particular measure of blockchain innovation potential in a wide range of industries, including payment processing, mobile gaming, and more. Other companies seizing territory in the blockchain technology space include tech-giant IBM (NYSE: IBM), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Visa (NYSE: V) and Hive BlockChain Technologies (TSX:HIVE.V) (OTC: HVBTF).

Modern science has substantiated both the anecdotal history and the efficacy of cannabidiol (“CBD”), a non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis sativa plant. Research has revealed that CBD may significantly reduce inflammation and is now widely used to treat chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia, epilepsy, and numerous other conditions. There is even evidence that CBD has potential to prevent symptoms of Alzheimer’s and appears to suppress the growth of cancer cells and promote the death of these cells. While CBD may provide solutions to multiple unmet medical needs, current drug delivery techniques remain antiquated. There are inherent metabolic issues in consistent, effective delivery of cannabinoids, and these new pharmaceutical therapeutics require revolutionary techniques of administration. Establishing a new paradigm in cannabinoid drug delivery, PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) is engineering a unique Sol-gel nose-to-brain delivery platform to provide direct, controlled pharmacological drug release. Many large Canadian companies produce cutting-edge pharmaceutical cannabis compounds, yet rely on outdated delivery mechanisms and may find PreveCeutical’s platform superior to current dosing techniques. Some of these companies include Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF), Aphria, Inc. (TSX: APH) (OTCQB: APHQF) and Isodiol International, Inc. (CSE: ISOL) (OTC: ISOLF) (FSE: LB6A.F).

SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB:SING) is pleased to announce a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with ORHub, Inc. (OTC:ORHB) to build-out a blockchain services platform for health care applications. ORHub’s surgical resource management (“SRM”) software is transforming the way hospitals handle operating room data, enabling dramatic reductions in supply chain costs. SinglePoint will design and develop for ORHub blockchain-based solutions as an add on to enhance the value of data collected by the operating room software platform. ORHub has agreed to engage SinglePoint for up to $750,000 in initial development costs. SinglePoint believes this is the first of many contracts that it will execute in the blockchain development space.

The market for digital currencies is volatile by nature, and while some commentators declare an imminent bursting of the cryptocurrency bubble, many analysts forecast another bull run in 2018. Despite wild swings in digital currency, the underlying blockchain technology demonstrates more stability. With this in mind, investors are increasingly turning their interest to blockchain-focused enterprises, such Global Payout, Inc. (GOHE), a company applying blockchain to logistics in the fintech sector. Processor developer Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) has seen its earnings soar as it provides technology to support the blockchain, while NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) received a boost from the sale of graphics processing units (GPUs) for cryptocurrencies and gamers. A shift of focus from digital commerce to using and investing in cryptocurrencies has seen Overstock.com, Inc. (OSTK) quadruple in value. Even tech giant International Business Machine Corp. (IBM) is exploring blockchain as a tool for payment systems and supply chains.

As the legalization of medical marijuana spreads, the appetite for investment in the cannabis biotech sector keeps growing. This is the largest sector of the legal cannabis market, already a multi-billion-dollar market. Researchers continue to uncover new ways that cannabinoids, chemical compounds found in cannabis, can be used as medicine. Earth Science Tech (ETST) offers full-spectrum, high-grade hemp cannabidiol (CBD) oil, and is researching cutting-edge CBD products through its subsidiary Cannabis Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI). The creator of the first cannabis-based prescription medicine, GW Pharma (GWPH) is working on new drugs to tackle epilepsy, while Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MJNA) provides a range of CBD oils with medical and nutritional benefits to customers across North and South America. CV Science, Inc. (CVSI) utilizes separate drug development and consumer product divisions to create and market a diverse range of CBD products to a variety of markets, and Cannabis Science, Inc. (CBIS) is developing formulation-based drugs based on cannabinoid science.

SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING) is pleased to announce it has been approved and is now trading on the OTCQB Venture Market, which requires a higher level of transparency and helps provide increased investor confidence through continued verification of information. Uplisting from the OTC Pink Open Market tier supports with the company’s goals of increasing acquisition deal flow and having access to institutional investors both directly and through the open market.

ORHub, Inc. (OTC:ORHB) announced that $3.2 million dollars has been successfully raised to further the Company’s reach into the marketplace with its revolutionary healthcare IT Vertical Specific Software, which is poised to transform the business of surgery by delivering real-time, case-based surgical data analytics. This latest funding comes on the heels of the recent warrant program that, at the close of 2017, yielded the Company $3.8 million in working capital.

With the rapid growth of the legal American cannabis market, other cannabidiol (CBD)-based products are often overlooked. In particular, hemp has the opportunity to reach medical and nutritional customers that cannabis can’t, and ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX) is tapping into that market. With the potential to provide similar benefits without the same restrictions, hemp products can be sold in markets such as China, where cannabis remains illegal. It’s a part of the market that CBD industry leaders such as Freedom Leaf, Inc. (FRLF) are also catering to, with marketing and media products for hemp companies. Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MJNA), America’s first publicly traded cannabis company, is carrying its CBD business beyond the United States and across the Americas, while CV Sciences, Inc. (CVSI) combines scientific research with a consumer products division to bring innovative CBD products to the market. At the farming end of the supply chain, Terra Tech Corp. (TRTC) provides advanced agricultural solutions and new, better strains of cannabis for a growing market.

Until recently, cryptocurrencies were relatively mysterious to the general public of consumers, merchants and retailers who were unaware of the advantages that blockchain technologies could have in easing and securing private transactions. But free markets abhor vacuums, and several public companies are advancing programs to educate and bring the broader public into cryptocurrency transactions. SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) is aggressively making strategic acquisitions in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, while an increasing number of recognizable industry behemoths like Overstock.com, Inc. (OSTK), Microsoft, Inc. (MSFT) and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) are delving into cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Others like Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) have expressed optimism in its potential for consumer transactions, though stopping short of accepting bitcoin as payment.

One of the primary goals of the current U.S. Administration is to revamp the country’s failing infrastructure, especially internal waterways vital for transporting a vast range of goods, including grain, steel, coal and petroleum products. Blockchain technology can play a crucial role in this process, and the federal government already investigating the potential implementation of the technology to streamline construction. Recently approved as a government contractor for the State of Utah, Petroteq Energy, Inc. (OTCQX: PQEFF) (TSX.V: PQE) (FRANKFURT: MW4A) has integrated blockchain into its operations, poised to take advantage of blockchain’s impact on the oil and gas market, as well as infrastructure. Other enterprises focused on developing solutions in the blockchain space include 360 Blockchain, Inc. (OTC: BKLLF) (CODE: CNX), BTL Group Ltd. (OTC: BTLLF) (TSX.V: BTL), Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSX.V: HIVE) and Marathon Patent Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA).

Hydrogels have been in limited commercial use for more than two decades. However, advancements in drug delivery, and thus hydrogel technology, are driving rapid growth in the global market, which is now projected to surge to over $22 billion by 2022 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3 percent, according to BCC Research. In what may prove to be a groundbreaking approach in this field of exponential opportunity, PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) is engineering a unique sol-gel nose-to-brain drug delivery platform to provide clinical relief of multiple physical maladies. Other recognized companies that have embraced new methods of drug delivery and hydrogel delivery systems include Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX: NYSE), UroGen Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: URGN) and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (GWPH: NASDAQ).

Blockchain has heralded innovation, stretching across both the financial and technological worlds, which has paved the way for new methods of online transaction. The underlying blockchain technology is one such method that not only protects the anonymity of users during transactions, but also allows for the securing of transaction contents. With the digital age bringing many questions revolving around online transactions, the following companies are integrating the power of blockchain to offer cutting-edge service and support: Epazz, Inc. (OTC: EPAZ), MGT Capital Investments Inc. (OTC: MGTI), Bitcoin Services (OTC: BTSC), Glance Technologies, Inc. (OTC: GLNNF) (GET: CNX) and Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. (OTC: BLKCF) (BLOC: CC).

With the expected legalization of recreational cannabis use in Canada just months away, the Canadian cannabis industry is experiencing a frenzied flow of capital that is only likely to accelerate. While this capital rush won’t affect every company in the space, the overriding sentiment supports global aspirations and trickle-down opportunity for innovators like Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (OTCQX: LXRP) (CSE: LXX). This unprecedented cash flow is already fueling the construction of the largest grow facilities the world has ever seen, as well as increasingly hectic merger and acquisition strategies undertaken by companies like MedReleaf (OTC: MEDFF) (TSX: LEAF), Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (OTC: ACBFF) (TSE: ACB), Cronos Group, Inc. (OTC: PRMCF) (CVE: MJN) and Organigram Holdings, Inc. (OTC: OGRMF) (TSXV: OGI).