Cannabis is now legal medically or recreationally in 28 states in the U.S., and companies such as India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) are developing revolutionary cannabinoid-based combination pharmaceutical therapies. Cannabis’ history doesn’t begin in the 1960s. Scientists have dated burned cannabis seeds found in Siberia to 3,000 B.C., and mummified psychoactive marijuana has been found in tombs of individuals buried around 2,500 B.C. Fast forward a few thousand years and add laws, regulations, and cultural stigma, and behold one of the most disputed substances. In the 1850s, recreational cannabis was considered fashionable in the U.S., and it was widespread in the 1920s as well. In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, making it illegal to possess and transfer cannabis. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), passed in 1970, lists cannabis as a high-abuse-potential Schedule 1 drug.
Although the CSA hasn’t been changed, marijuana has been decriminalized in many places. Medical cannabis was legalized in California in 1996, and Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona followed suit in 1998. The trend has accelerated, and, by 2011, additional states were favoring medical cannabis or passed legislation to decriminalize it. These included Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. Even more impressive than the territory covered by jurisdictions allowing cannabis and cannabis-related products is the multi-billion-dollar industry that’s emerged and promises to keep on growing.
Ram Mukunda, executive chairman, CEO, and president of India Globalization Capital, has taken the company on a course that is as impressive as the cannabis industry itself. IGC was founded in 2005 to mine iron ore. Once the prices for iron ore plummeted, Mukunda took the company in a different direction to focus on the untapped potential of cannabinoids and cannabis-based extracts.
Today, the company’s pipeline of patent-pending cannabinoid-based compounds represents treatment for a number of large market conditions. Cannabis-based pain medications are in development, providing opportunities for investors, as are drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. Therapeutic drugs for treating seizures in humans and animals are in development as well.
The company’s drug development pipeline consists of a cream/patch for treating neuropathic pain, eating disorder treatments for adult and veterinary use, and a refractory epilepsy drug for adults. Pre-clinical trials are anticipated in 2017 for three of IGC’s combination therapy compounds. The company has come a long way from running mining operations to developing high potential phytocannabinoid-based treatments, but it is now helping to shape a critical point in cannabis history as medical use becomes more mainstream.
To learn more about India Globalization Capital, Inc., its drug development pipeline, and other cannabinoid- and cannabis-related initiatives, visit the company online at www.IGCinc.us
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