According to a recent Gallup poll 64% of Americans support marijuana legalization. The pro-pot contingent has doubled in the last 15 years.
But here’s the real jolt: a majority of Republicans now support legal cannabis.
“Democrats and independents have historically been much more likely than Republicans to say marijuana should be legalized,” stated the Gallup report, “In 2009, Democrats were the first partisan group to see majority support for legalization, followed by independents in 2010. This year for the first time, a majority of Republicans (51%) express support for legalizing marijuana.”
Republican support for pot is up 9% from 2015.
The cause of the softening attitude from conservatives?
There’s a new monster in town: its name is opioids.
In the last 15 years, 500,000 people died of drug overdoses, the majority of it coming from opioids.
Death toll from cannabis: zero.
This wholesale change in GOP attitudes benefits Tinley Beverage (TNY.C), a marijuana drink company entering the $1.6 trillion global non-alcoholic beverage market.
No “dried leaf”, no “vape pens”, no “cannabis-infused-peanut butter” – Tinley’s focus is to take an already habituated behavior (consuming beverages) and merge it into the frontier cannabis industry.
Tinley’s THC-infused core product line is known as, “The Tinley Collection.”
The Dark Rum features Caribbean spices with dark rum extracts and 80mg THC (8 x 1.5oz. servings). Recommended on the rocks or with soda, orange juice, black tea.
The Cinnamon Whisky is a blend of cinnamon, whisky extracts and 80mg THC (8 x 1.5oz. servings). Drink straight up or mix with cider, tea or milk.
Etc…
Tinley’s other product, Hemplify, is a non-THC health drink containing hemp stalk, terpenes, essential oils, and other non-psychoactive constituents. The product is sugar-free, vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free and is jammed with Vitamins C, D and B12), Omegas and electrolytes.
On October 25, 2017, Tinley (finally) released an operational update, announcing that Hemplify, “is currently being set up for shelf placement at a 14-store premium grocer, representing the Company’s largest customer to date.”
“The chain offers a line of CBD products in locations in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California,” stated the press release, “The Company has also placed Hemplify in a 4-location natural grocery store and café chain, as well as in numerous independent grocers and convenience stores throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.”
Who is the “Premium grocer”?
We don’t know.
But after a dearth of news, the stock shot up 13% on 873,000 traded shares.
Tinley has also begun a trial with a Texas distributor, representing the Company’s first “bricks and mortar” distribution outside California.
Tinley’s production team has been wrestling to solve challenges often faced by cannabis edibles, which typically deliver a more neutral, Indica-style effect.
Tinley has wisely delayed the launch of its cannabis beverage line to incorporate “terpene technology that enables users to enjoy an uplifting, Sativa-like effect.”
According to leafscience.com, “The high from Sativa strains is energizing, cerebral and well suited for daytime use. A feeling of well-being and ease is often associated with Sativas, making them ideal for social situations.”
“The revised formulations now enable Tinley’s consumers to enjoy an experience that more closely resembles the social and psychoactive effects of alcoholic beverages,” stated the press release, “The technology has been successfully incorporated into Tinley’s latest formulations, and the Company remains confident that it will go into production in the coming weeks, such that its cannabis beverages will be in full circulation well in advance of California’s adult-use legalization on January 1, 2018.”
Reading between the lines, this suggests that Tinley is razor focussed on delivering the best possible high.
Included in the operational update was information about a “long-term bottling facility”.
A communicative shareholder provided breathless analysis on a Vancouver stock message board
In 1998 DEA judge Francis Young stated that “A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.”
Tinley stock price has risen about 400% since the the day we started talking about them.
“We believe that de-alcoholized drinks are a game-changer. Nobody enjoys someone busting out a joint at dinner, but now you could enjoy a drink with your friends and get a comfortable high instead of getting your drunk on.” – Tinley boss Jeff Maser
Amidst the opioid crisis, fretting about cannabis is like scheduling a pedicure after you’ve been stabbed through the heart.
The times, they are A changin’.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Tinley Beverage is an Equity Guru marketing client. We anticipate a near-future where Republicans will languidly sip liquid cannabis.