Dr. Stuart Titus

BUSINESS LEADER

6 QUESTIONS WITH DR. STUART TITUS

One-on-on time with the CEO of Medical Marijuana Inc. MJNA

BY CHRIS LARKIN

Abond trader on Wall Street for 11 years, Dr. Stuart W. Titus went from investing in Medical Marijuana Inc. (MJNA), the first publicly held company vested in medical marijuana and industrial hemp, to becoming its CEO.

In between, he earned a Ph.D in physiotherapy and practiced that discipline for 15 years, obtaining a fellowship with the American Academy of Pain Management and a clinical association with the American Association of Integrative Medicine.

Titus’ strong background in both finance and healthcare uniquely qualifies him to run MJNA, which provides more than 85 proprietary cannabinoid (CBD) delivery systems that are more socially, medically and legally (at least to the federal government) acceptable than current industry norms.

1: What are three medical problems that CBD shows the most promise in treating?

TITUS: Research has shown CBD to be effective and safe for epilepsy in children. This comes from GW Pharma in the U.S., plus our research and studies in Mexico. There are 16 (soon to be 17 with Indiana) CBD-only U.S. States that allow families to possess a cannabis-based product (enough THC to get arrested) for children diagnosed with epilepsy.

The second is Alzheimer’s. Early-stage research by Dr. David Schubert from The Salk Institute in San Diego shows that cannabinoids can reduce brain inflammation as well as the accumulation of beta-amyloid, a toxic protein build-up that is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Further research from Stanford University shows that the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia stems from an endogenous cannabinoid deficiency.

Finally, digestive disorders, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are being studied by our biotech investment group and pharma development company, AXIM Biotech (OTC: AXIM).

2: What is the future of treating patients from the standpoint of how the FDA regulates you?

TITUS: Our investments in pharma development companies, such as Kannalife Sciences and AXIM Biotech (OTC: AXIM), will deal with the treatment of patients here in the U.S. Our company plans to continue to see hempbased CBD products as nutritional supplements or as food products. We will continue our clinical research on botanical CBD products in laboratories in the U.S., as well as in actual clinical setting in overseas countries — or even here in the U.S., as the various regulatory authorities may so allow.

3: How does the FDA regulate you differently from an opiate manufacturer?

TITUS: The opioid market contains FDA approved drugs that are generally marketed with “black box” warnings, meaning that an overdose may be fatal. The FDA has not yet regulated the botanical cannabis market, but has sent ceaseand-desist orders to a few CBD manufacturers for making false and misleading claims.

4: What are the global markets that look the most promising?

TITUS: Certainly, we are excited about Latin America and Mexico as our products have been approved for special import and studies show benefit to patients. To our north, Canada is working toward full legalization of cannabis and presently CBD can be imported with special authorization from Health Canada.

5: What are the ways in which CBD is most effectively absorbed and how are they different?

TITUS: CBD can be absorbed via a number of different pathways and channels – each a unique delivery system. Orally, an under-the-tongue method seems to get CBD more directly into the bloodstream than by traditional pill form, which requires full passage through the digestive tract. Liquid drops, a paste product or even chewing gum can facilitate underthe-tongue delivery

CBD can be absorbed via swallowing a liquid or capsule, which are quite traditional.

CBD can also be vaporized with an e-cigarette or other form of vape delivery. Although popular with teens, this delivery method holds promise for effective delivery of CBD, especially to lungs and brain.

Finally, the smoking of cannabis allows for an immediate and direct absorption of cannabinoids. The heat causes a decarboxylation of the THC-A cannabinoid (an acid form) into THC active form which is preferred by many as their best delivery method.

6: If the federal government cracks down on medical marijuana, how will this affect you?

TITUS: A federal crackdown on medical marijuana will not affect our (MJNA) business or operations. We are hempbased and CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. C

“Research has shown CBD to be effective and safe for epilepsy in children”