Pure Green, a Michigan-based cannabis drug company, is seeking fresh capital to develop THC- and CBD-based products for medical use. The private placement will help the company grow Pure Green Pharmaceuticals, a research and development spin-off that is working closely with federal regulators to get ahead amid a shakeout in the marijuana industry.
"There are always investors who are looking for people who have experience doing something," Steve Goldner, CEO of Pure Green, told Cheddar. "I worked on a drug, methadone, 45 years ago. That worked out pretty well. Now we have a chance to do that with safer molecules."
For Goldner, a veteran drugmaker, scientific rigor and testing is the key to bringing the cannabis industry mainstream.
Pure Green recently met with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which Goldner said provided a clear pathway to the marketplace and some ideas on how to move forward. The top-down support signals a shift in how the federal agency views medical cannabis — a change of that heart stems from pressure to provide alternatives to opioid-based pain relievers.
"The FDA's idea was don't let people get into opioids and then try to get them out," he said. "Solve their pain before they have to go to opioids."
Pure Green has since focused its clinical testing on proving pain relief in users. CBD, which is found in products ranging from seltzer drinks to gummies, is key to the formula.
"CBD in some concentrations really can relieve pain," Goldner said. "FDA is right to think about that as a drug, and we've been showing them data to demonstrate how it can be used safely and effectively."
It's the job of companies like Pure Green, he added, to bring that health and safety data to the FDA and move the conversation forward around CBD and THC alike.
"They're very fair and even-handed about it," Goldner said. "They just take a little while to move."
In the meantime, research continues apace at Pure Green. The company obtained its first patent in June 2019. The patent covers a process developed by Goldner to freeze dry and extract a wide range of molecules from cannabis plant matter.
"What's important about this is that the federal government is recognizing this is serious science and serious medicine," Goldner said.
The 12-hour freeze-dry process replaces the need to dry out the plant, which can take up to two weeks and presents more risks for contamination.
"We are passionate about shifting the perception of cannabis to 'Cannabis As Medicine' and solidifying our position as a creative hub for scientists, engineers, and physicians to work legally in the cannabis space," said Goldner in a statement at the time.
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
