Medical Marijuana reports net income of $1.21M for first quarter 2012

Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), one of the medical marijuana (MMJ) industry's premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, today announced its first quarter earnings.  The company earned net income of approximately $1.21 million on gross revenues of $1.79 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.  This represents a gross revenue increase of 400 plus percent quarter-over-quarter when compared to revenue of $430,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 and an accumulative 12,000 plus percent increase in revenue since the same quarter last year. Operating expenses were approximately $580,000 for the quarter.

Operational and development highlights

Operating highlights of the quarter were as follows:

• Acquired two additional Wellness Managed Services accounts which will generate estimated annual revenues of $1.7 million.
• Closed a $1.04 million upfront payment licensing transaction for high value hemp extracts.
• Retired 14,600,000 shares worth approximately $1.0 million dollars.
• Cannabank, the private equity group that finances and incubates early stage acquisitions for MJNA, has agreed to finance several key transactions for the company including the European based pharmaceutical firm previously announced.
• Secured $4 million in non-dilution, non-recourse finance for the acquisition and development of strategic acquisitions. 

In addition, since the close of the first quarter, Medical Marijuana, Inc. has:

• Completed the acquisition of Dixie Elixirs & Edibles brand, intellectual property, proprietary formulas and extraction processes. In conjunction it formed Red Dice Holdings, as was announced in late April, to develop manufacturing and distribution partnerships for Dixie in every state and country that has legalized medical cannabis.
• Begun hemp-based extraction product development beyond the medical marijuana industry, crossing into the nationally legal category of health and wellness with such products as sleep aids, topical and pain management. A market launch of the new products is expected by the end of the second quarter.
• Brought PhytoSPHERE systems on-line and will begin to market the benefits of its seed-to-sale product growth and cultivation technology in an attempt to secure licensing agreements worldwide.

Comments regarding operations and outlook

"The first quarter of 2012 brought into clear focus all that we have been working towards since Cannabank's initial investment into Medical Marijuana, Inc. about a year ago," said Michael Llamas, President of Medical Marijuana, Inc. "We have spent this last year essentially getting our house in order by clarifying the growth strategy and systematically identifying, acquiring and growing early stage companies across the spectrum of the MMJ industry from product development to retail sales.  As witnessed by our strong quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year growth, there is tremendous opportunity in this industry.  We have the capital and the systems in place to buy, incubate and grow the best companies across multiple categories within the industry. At the same time, there is aggressive natural attrition of other companies and whole categories as the industry right sizes itself-which creates further opportunities and differentiation for Medical Marijuana, Inc. this truly is the perfect storm for acquiring income producing businesses.

"However, we also know that a 12,000 percent year-over-year growth is decidedly a factor of where we are in our growth cycle. We won't always have such favorable comparables moving forward past our second year. We do expect the comparable growth to normalize, but more importantly, we expect continued healthy growth in our core businesses as they begin to mature and the industry stabilizes. I'm equally proud that we have been able to maintain this rapid growth with a small core of dedicated and truly innovative employees and as a result, our operating costs have begun to stabilize since the close of the fourth quarter. We anticipate continued cost efficiency in line with future growth."

Additional operational updates for 2012

• The Company has built additional raw ingredients supply sources on four continents in preparation for international expansion and it continues to develop international sales and distribution channels for its high-value extracts and compounds and related products produced by Dixie Elixirs and Edibles.
• Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s Wellness Managed Services (WMS) division plans to expand internationally to provide additional clinics, doctor's offices and wellness centers under the WMS umbrella.
• PhytoSPHERE plans to develop and launch a national/international marketing campaign in the third quarter to support sales of licensing agreements for its proprietary indoor planting, cultivation and extraction technology.
• Medical Marijuana, Inc. plans to establish a "Raw Ingredients Division" by the third quarter to provide raw ingredients and production services to other cannabis-based businesses.
• MJNA to begin regular Investor Conference Calls announcing quarterly results and/or upon significant corporate developments beginning with its second quarter results (date is currently TBD).
• MJNA established a corporate website and launched a rebranding effort for added market and shareholder awareness.
• The Company is aggressively pursuing the acquisition and filing of additional product patents. 

"With 16 states and Washington, D.C. allowing for legal use of medical marijuana and twelve more states with legalization initiatives on the ballot, we are confident that the opportunity for continued growth in the US, regardless of state boundaries, is exceptional," added Llamas. "Equally as important is the growing movement towards decriminalization outside the US and across Europe, which will allow us to leverage what we have learned in mature legalized states like Colorado and California, and apply it to international markets. We see opportunity for significant national and international expansion by the end of 2012 and we are currently putting in place the necessary supply chain and infrastructure elements to best position Medical Marijuana, Inc. and our shareholders to benefit from this growth."