SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Oct. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Green Spirit Industries Inc. (OTC Pink:GSRX) (“Green Spirit” or, the “Company”) announced today that the Company has accelerated its efforts surrounding construction of three pre-approved medical cannabis dispensaries in Puerto Rico, and has brought in additional workforce to help ready the locations in Dorado, Carolina and San Juan for inspection and subsequent opening, before year end.
“Where we don’t have electricity right now, we have generators powering operations, and we have brought in additional people to get us ready to begin operations as soon as possible,” said Les Ball, CEO of Green Spirit. “Patients in Puerto Rico who have come to depend upon medical marijuana, especially those for whom it replaces pharmaceuticals, need safe and dependable dispensaries that are conveniently located, and it is our aim to help fill the need as quickly as possible.”
For the first two weeks following the storm, only four of the island’s 29 dispensaries were open and filling descriptions. That number has increased recently; however, some of Puerto Rico’s limited number of licensed dispensaries are still not operational. In other sectors, business is returning to a more normal level, with the Gobierno de Puerto Rico’s most recent update (PR Recovery Status by Sector) on October 18 indicating that nearly one month after the storm, 61% of telecommunications services are now operational, 90% of supermarkets are again open as are 79% of the island’s gas stations. All of Puerto Rico’s ports are open and operational, 65% of bank branches have reopened, and more than 800 ATMs are operating.
Adding Green Spirit dispensaries to the medical marijuana landscape in Puerto Rico, in addition to serving patient needs, will contribute to the island’s overall financial recovery as well. “We were expecting a lot from this industry,” said Ingrid Schmidt, the president of the Puerto Rico Medical Cannabis Association. “It’s the only industry that was creating jobs and a lot of hope was put into this industry because it was critical to the financial circumstance that our island is going through.”
Prior to the storm, patients with a medical marijuana card could only pick up their prescriptions from the single dispensary that they were initially assigned to, but that rule has undergone a temporary change. Following Hurricane Maria, the Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico has issued an emergency order allowing authorized medical cannabis patients to obtain treatment at other dispensaries that are in operation. The new rule is slated to last until two weeks after the state of emergency has ended or until the Departamento board decides to terminate it.
About Green Spirit Industries Inc.
Green Spirit Industries Inc. (OTC Pink:GSRX), together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Project 1493, LLC, is in the business of acquiring, developing and operating medical cannabis dispensaries.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements include statements regarding our expectations, hopes, beliefs or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to statements regarding our market, strategy, competition, development plans (including acquisitions and expansion), financing, revenues, operations, and compliance with applicable laws. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in any such statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include the risks described in greater detail in the following paragraphs. All forward-looking statements in this document are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement except where applicable law requires us to update these statements. Market data used throughout this prospectus is based on published third party reports or the good faith estimates of management, which estimates are based upon their review of internal surveys, independent industry publications and other publicly available information.
Contact:
Paul Gendreau
PGPR
[email protected]
678-807-7945