Dynamic Alert Negotiates With Medical Cannabis Research & Dev Firm

[grace]

Dynamic Alert Negotiates With Medical Cannabis Research & Development Firm and Appoints Former CEO of NORML, Richard Cowan as Director & CEO

Sept. 19, 2008

The Wall Street Journal - Market Watch

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dyna...D&dist=hppr

 

Dynamic Alert Limited is pleased to announce that it has appointed Richard Cowan as Director, President and CEO, in the place of Audrey Reich who has resigned. Mr. Cowan has been retained to facilitate the Company entering into the rapidly expanding medical cannabis research and development industry. Cowan's valuable experience, knowledge, and relationships will be instrumental with completing negotiations with a privately-owned California group to acquire the rights to its intellectual property and to assemble a management team with expertise in the field. Cowan will also develop a comprehensive business plan to determine the level of financing required to develop new medical cannabis products.

Presently, there are only a few publicly-owned companies concentrating on cannabis-derived medicines. Consequently, the

 

Company believes that there is a major opportunity to build a new competitor in the industry. Over the last few years, major pharmaceutical companies have paid tens of millions of dollars to license medical cannabis products that are still in the developmental stage. For example, in February of last year, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, a Japanese firm, paid GW Pharmaceuticals a signature fee of $18 million for the rights to develop and market GW's Sativex®, a whole cannabis extract for cancer pain in the US, even though it is not yet approved for marketing in the US.

 

In addition, the agreement contemplates Otsuka paying GW up to $273 million in royalties and fees in the future. Moreover, Otsuka will bear the costs of all US development activities for Sativex in the treatment of cancer pain, additional indications, and future formulations. The Company believes Otsuka's willingness to contemplate paying up to a quarter of a billion dollars in royalties and fees for one cannabis-based pharmaceutical yet to be in the US indicates that the total market for medical cannabis products is a multi-billion dollar prospect.

 

Mr. Cowan is a freelance writer who has been retired for the last 5 years. He is a former (1992 to 1995) CEO of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML.org). Mr. Cowan also has a BA from Yale University in Economics (1962). Prior to running NORML, Cowan served on the boards of several publicly owned companies and has extensive experience in corporate finance and has held various management positions in manufacturing and natural resources. His duties included all aspects of corporate management, finance, and due diligence for investments in a variety of areas, including alternative medicine. Thus, Mr. Cowan is knowledgeable about the both the business and political aspects of the medical cannabis industry internationally.

 

Mr. Cowan's MarijuanaNews.com archives also represent one of the most comprehensive resources for scholars studying the development of the medical cannabis controversy and marijuana reform movement from late 1997 to 2006. MarijuanaNews.com is now a part of MarijuanaNewsNetwork.com, for which he will continue to contribute commentary.

Cowan was a friend of the late William F. Buckley Jr., whose National Review magazine published two articles by Cowan, including the December 6, 1972 cover article "Why Conservatives Should Support the Legalization of Marijuana." In his book Smoke and Mirrors, Dan Baum said that this article "opened a second front in the War on Drugs." Cowan's December 5, 1986 National Review Cover Article: "How the Narcs Created Crack" has been cited in various scholarly journals as the origin of the economics of contraband, "The Iron Law of Prohibition: the harder the enforcement, the harder the drugs."

Cowan stated, "I look forward to helping with the development of a wide variety of affordable cannabis based medicines. The need is very great and so is the opportunity. This venture could be the perfect example of the old saying about doing well by doing good."

 

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as "will", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "goal", "expects", "future", "intends" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risks we face as described in this press release.

SOURCE Dynamic Alert Limited

Copyright © 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

[mull]

So, with forward vision, we will be left to believe these multi billion$ anticipated plans, are mere future goals, with the intention of furthering cannabis prohibition?

[Guest niall]

With names like Steve Kubby, Richard Cowan and others involved - no, this is legit.

[mull]

Excuse the confusion niall, but I still don't see it mate?

 

Remember them from pot-tv yeah.

 

This is a personal security company tho right? Which has interests in the medicinal cannabis products market?

 

So, using forward vision

 

Cowan will lend his expertise to develop some great 'products', which 'might' make it to the lucrative and 'possibly legal', pharmaceutical cannabis product industry.

 

How does that help free the plant at all?

 

The distinction between free home grown medicine and continued prohibition for shareholder profits, will obviously remain!

Likely become a further gap. With homegrowers (the real researchers), to be further crushed under laws that will protect the corporations and their synthetic derived cannabinoids.

 

 

ps - my first response was just a play on their words..

 

and, gee the mind boggles as to the contraindications big pharma will label their canna medicines with..

[Frazz]

Richard Cowan is not legit , if you mean honest or trustworthy by legit then richard cowan did not demonstrate either of those qualities when at Normal, quite the contrary actually ... Normal was Cowan's cash cow!! lmao

 

and this exercise should be seen for what it is , just a grab for medical rights-licenses to market Cannabis derivatives and thats all, and that may or may not be a good thing because the bloody corporate chemical interests have murdered and poisoned us for most of this century

these appointments have nothing to do with any kind of relaxation of laws regarding use of Cannabis

 

[Guest niall]

Excuse the confusion niall, but I still don't see it mate?

 

See what marrabundi? You asked if this was some attempt to further prohibition, to which I replied no - this is legit. I don't understand what you're having trouble with here. Steve Kubby and Richard Cowan are very vocal about their opposition to cannabis prohibition and in their support for access to herbal cannabis.

 

How does that help free the plant at all?

 

Who claimed this would help free the plant? This is a legitimate, commercial, pharmaceutical company that is being setup - that's all I was saying. Quite happy to discuss other topics, perhaps a new thread?

 

The distinction between free home grown medicine and continued prohibition for shareholder profits, will obviously remain! Likely become a further gap. With homegrowers (the real researchers), to be further crushed under laws that will protect the corporations and their synthetic derived cannabinoids.

 

Hey we're all entitled to an opinion, but I see nothing obvious about your comments. You seem to have made your mind up already, but please do some research. Your distinction comment doesn't make sense - yes "free home grown medicine" and "continued prohibition for shareholder profits" are very different things, I'm not sure how you can compare one to the other? Also, the products they are planning are not synthetics but whole-plant derivatives similar to GW Pharmaceuticals products, their innovation is in the method of delivery.

[Guest niall]

Richard Cowan is not legit , if you mean honest or trustworthy by legit then richard cowan did not demonstrate either of those qualities when at Normal, quite the contrary actually ... Normal was Cowan's cash cow!! lmao

 

No, I meant what I said - this initiative is legit, it is not some subterfuge to further cannabis prohibition.

 

and this exercise should be seen for what it is , just a grab for medical rights-licenses to market Cannabis derivatives and thats all

 

Agreed, this is a commercial pharmaceutical company.

 

these appointments have nothing to do with any kind of relaxation of laws regarding use of Cannabis

 

Who said that they were? Very confusing guys

[linbaba]

I agree with you marrabundi in that the legalisation of synthetic or extracted thc products is much more likely to result in further toughening up of cannabis laws especially for growers and the government will then have these companies lobbying them to make sure their new industry is protected against every man and his dog just growing it themselves.

[mull]

See what marrabundi? You asked if this was some attempt to further prohibition, to which I replied no - this is legit. I don't understand what you're having trouble with here. Steve Kubby and Richard Cowan are very vocal about their opposition to cannabis prohibition and in their support for access to herbal cannabis.

 

Hence the cynical view of Cowan's new move, into an area that will continue prohibition of real cannabis Niall.

He's not just working for the man now, he's going to be one of them.

 

 

Hey we're all entitled to an opinion, but I see nothing obvious about your comments. You seem to have made your mind up already, but please do some research. Your distinction comment doesn't make sense - yes "free home grown medicine" and "continued prohibition for shareholder profits" are very different things, I'm not sure how you can compare one to the other? Also, the products they are planning are not synthetics but whole-plant derivatives similar to GW Pharmaceuticals products, their innovation is in the method of delivery.

 

Will look into it when time permits.

 

How can I compare shareholder profits to cannabis prohibition?

 

A pharmaceutical company is floated on the share market and their profits reflect share price and dividends.

 

Cannabis is easy to grow and the flowers are easy to process into a healthy delivery method. For both medicinal products and recreational. Both sides of the fence know this.

One side grows their own illegally and knows the truth.

The other side takes advantage of the situation = domination of the plant for profit.

 

Can you see this helping the cause of cannabis prohibition repeal?

Of course not.

 

These new products 'synthetically derived' from whole plant extracts, will obviously protect their investment.

Meaning they need medicinal users and cannabis prohibition, to profit from.

 

Richard Cowan

 

"One of the problems that the marijuana reform movement consistently faces is that everyone wants to talk about what marijuana does, but no one ever wants to look at what marijuana prohibition does. Marijuana never kicks down your door in the middle of the night. Marijuana never locks up sick and dying people, does not suppress medical research, does not peek in bedroom windows. Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."

 

And like a broken record, it still goes round playing the same old prohibited tune for profit.

 

Don't get me wrong, there is a place for the pharma co's and their research and development of canna products.

But do you truly believe they would bother if the plant was made legal?

They would lose the uneven advantage they have right now.

 

You and I can't legally make whole plant extracts at home right now. They can in their 'labs'.

We can't legally research effects and potency and healthy delivery methods for thc, but, we do and for free if not caught.

 

They (will definitely) want medicinal cannabis users, to stop growing free meds and buy theirs (soon).

[Guest niall]

Don't get me wrong, there is a place for the pharma co's and their research and development of canna products.

But do you truly believe they would bother if the plant was made legal?

 

Absolutely! Cannabis is the most amazing plant on the planet - it is in my opinion the most valuable resource and inheritance that we have. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that scientists, researchers and corporations would be studying cannabinoids, trying to isolate certain effects and molecules from each other, and seeking to profit from this plant if it had never been made illegal. No doubt whatsoever.

 

There are plenty of examples of plant derived/inspired medicines, where the plant has remained legal and available to the public. Monopolies can certainly take advantage of their position, artificially manipulating the market and increasing profits at the public's expense, but this plant is so amazing that there is benefit to be had and profit to be made regardless of its legal status.

 

Also, not everyone is able to smoke, eat, process or extract from herbal cannabis. Not everyone is in a position to grow their own, legally or illegally, particularly people suffering from chronic and debilitating conditions. Consumers should enjoy choice and a variety of options. But patients REQUIRE it. Cannabis is just as illegal as it was before Marinol, Sativex, CATXXX and all the other cannabinoid medicines were developed. More patients have access to useful cannabinoid medicines, in various forms and ratios suitable for their particular condition and metabolism, than at any point in history. This is a good thing!

 

Please understand that this has nothing to do with my opinion on whether the pharmaceuticalisation of cannabis will have a positive or negative affect on cannabis prohibition. I've not stated my opinion either way, I've simply responded to the original claim that this company was some kind of subterfuge and an attempt to further cannabis prohibition. In my opinion it is not. I talk to Steve Kubby and Richard Cowan regularly, and they are 100% against prohibition and 100% behind the use of whole plant cannabis as medicine.

 

Are these guys businessmen, trying to make a profit? Absolutely! Does this by definition make them and their business a danger to us or the plant? Of course not, and I haven't seen a single argument based on fact or logic raised here in opposition. Many of the opinions stated here seem pre-conceived and uninformed. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but if you're trying to convince others that your belief is correct then you've got to bring something more to the table than bias and judgement. Please don't take offence, it just really gives me the shits to see common sense and logic thrown out the door. The posts above just seem so silly it's painful to see them go unquestioned.