BLVD Centers Announces California Marijuana Treatment Initiative, Appoints new Chief Financial Officer
GlobeNewswire - Thu Jan 11, 7:30AM CST
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BLVD Centers Corporation ("BLVD Centers" or the "Company") (TSXV:CXV.VN), a leading company in the United States addiction recovery industry, today announced it has undertaken an initiative aimed at treating marijuana dependency, related behavioral disorders, and addiction.
Starting January 1, California joined eight other states in legalizing recreational marijuana. With a recent Gallup poll showing 64% of Americans favoring legalization, the Company believes that ballot initiatives (as in the case of California) or legislative action will lead to further legalization of recreational use. While there is some controversy regarding the nature of addiction involving marijuana, most studies agree that a significant percentage of frequent users are exposed to negative consequences from use of the substance.
BLVD Centers has elected to enter this market with a novel approach to treatment that may have several advantages including higher margins and lower fixed costs than traditional treatment models. BLVD Centers intends to launch this revenue line in the near future and to ensure its competitive advantage BLVD Centers will await the release of further information about the product until after the time of the launch.
As part of the upgrading of the management team for the increased market opportunity, Pablo Mendez has been appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer and VP of Accounting. Mr. Mendez has extensive public company accounting and finance experience.
"As a veteran of this industry, I recognize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to capitalize on a massive new emerging market," said CEO Chris Heath. "I believe treatment for marijuana abuse or dependency is lower cost and more scalable than other treatment methods. With the change in California law, recreational marijuana is legal for approximately 20% of the US population - almost double all of Canada. I believe that legalization will sweep through highly populated areas, and provide a platform for exponential growth in treatment."
"BLVD Centers expects to take advantage of this major opportunity quickly," said CEO Chris Heath. "Our large footprint in California gives us a chance to attack this market aggressively, and position BLVD Centers as a leader when other states legalize recreational marijuana. I will provide financial details and revenue expectations around this plan after we launch. As mentioned above, for competitive reasons, we won't make full details public until after launch. Our already profitable service offering can take advantage of a very fast growing market that should have a lower cost of delivery and less risk. I look forward to revealing this exciting development very soon to our shareholders."