Pioneer Cannabis, a Collaboration Between WeedMD and Pita Pit Canada, Signs with Ontario Cannabis Retail Operator
Entrepreneur and retail operator licensee Guruveer Sangha enters into agreement with Pioneer Cannabis to support the launch of Brant Street, Burlington store in late spring ‘19
Toronto, Canada, April 17, 2019 – Pioneer Cannabis Corp. (“Pioneer Cannabis”), a national cannabis retail service provider, is pleased to announce it has signed a Master Cannabis Retail and Licensing Agreement (“Licensing Agreement”) with Ontario cannabis retail lottery winner Guruveer Sangha who will be the owner and operator of the first Pioneer Cannabis retail store located at 1200 Brant Street in Burlington, Ontario. Pioneer Cannabis is a collaboration between WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) (FSE:4WE) (“WeedMD” or the “Company”), a federally-licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis, and Pita Pit Canada (“Pita Pit”), a privately-owned Canadian fast casual franchise eatery with over 225 stores in Canada.
Mr. Sangha, an entrepreneur and lawyer from the Greater Toronto Area, recently secured a Retail Operator Licence (“ROL”) from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (“AGCO”). The 4,000 square foot Pioneer Cannabis Co. store is expected to open in late spring following final AGCO inspection and subsequent receipt of its Retail Store Authorization (“RSA”). Located next to the main arterial highways that border Oakville and Hamilton, the high-capacity area of Burlington and its surrounding areas has a combined population of over 1.7M.
“As a keen observer of the cannabis industry and a strong proponent of local economic growth through small business, I am delighted to be working with Pioneer Cannabis. Together we look forward to setting the standard for Canadians seeking safe stewardship of cannabis in a quality retail setting,” said Mr. Sangha.
“It is an important milestone for us to be able to support Guruveer’s establishment of Canada’s first Pioneer Cannabis store,” said Kristie Smith, President of Pioneer Cannabis. “He will be a driving force behind what we expect to be a true retail success as we launch a leading Canadian cannabis retail store that combines product, education and experience. We look forward to helping Guruveer realize his plan of opening additional Pioneer Cannabis stores across the GTA as soon as regulatory rules permit.”
“We are all stewards of cannabis and our pioneering spirit welcomes this retail endeavour between Pioneer and Guruveer,” said Keith Merker, CEO of WeedMD.
“Congratulations to Guruveer and Pioneer Cannabis. We’re pleased to see that the Burlington community and its surrounding area is in responsible hands,” said Chris Fountain, CEO of Pita Pit.
Pioneer Cannabis continues to pursue retail opportunities within Ontario and other provinces in accordance with prevailing cannabis retail regulations. For additional information and updates on store openings, visit the Pioneer website www.pioneercannabis.com.
About Pioneer Cannabis Corp.
Pioneer Cannabis Corp. is a cannabis retail services provider resulting from the collaboration of two industry-leading Canadian companies, WeedMD Inc., a trusted licensed cannabis producer, and Pita Pit Canada, a franchising and brand expert, to develop opportunities for everyday Canadians interested in owning and operating their own cannabis retail store. The values of Pioneer are deeply rooted in community and providing small business owners with the opportunity to thrive and contribute to their local economy. We are the pioneers of cannabis retail, supporting businesses from the ground up and setting the standard for Canadian cannabis retail.
About Pita Pit
Founded in 1995 in Kingston, Ontario near Queen's University, Pita Pit® is an innovative fast-casual restaurant with a unique mindset that challenges consumers to Refuse to Settle™ for anything less than quality, healthy, freshly grilled food. After rapidly earning a loyal following in its home market, franchising began across Canada in 1997 and, in 1999, the brand expanded to the United States. Now boasting more than 600 stores across North America and internationally across 13 countries, Pita Pit offers its customers millions of ridiculously delicious, customizable flavour combinations of grilled meats, fresh vegetables, and zesty sauces all rolled into a unique and convenient pita package. For more information about Pita Pit, visit www.pitapit.ca/consumer or www.facebook.com/pitapitcanada.
About WeedMD Inc.
WeedMD Inc. is the publicly-traded parent company of WeedMD Rx Inc., a federally-licensed producer and distributor of cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates two facilities: a 26,000 sq. ft. facility in Aylmer, Ontario and a 158-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse and outdoor facility located in Strathroy, Ontario. The Company currently has 136,000 square feet of licensed indoor and greenhouse production space across its facilities and is expected to have a total footprint of more than 550,000 square feet of indoor and greenhouse production space online in 2019. In addition, 27 acres of outdoor cultivation has now been approved for cultivation with first harvest expected in the fall of 2019. WeedMD has a multi-channeled distribution strategy that includes selling directly to medical patients, strategic relationships across the seniors’ market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart as well as six provincial distribution agencies.
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For further information, please contact:
For Investor Enquiries:
Valter Pinto
Managing Director
KCSA Strategic Communications
1-212-896-1254
weedmd@kcsa.com
For Media Enquiries:
Marianella delaBarrera
VP, Communications & Corporate Affairs
416-897-6644
marianella@weedmd.com
All product images and labels are provided for information and illustrative purposes only, and do not represent the actual cannabis product, product label, or its appearance.
Forward Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon WeedMD's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.
The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to actual production volumes, expectations for future growing capacity and the completion of any capital project or expansions. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of WeedMD to implement its business strategies; competition; crop failure; and other risks.
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