News

Medbox receives patent approval for medical cannabis tracking system

May 19, 2014

Medbox, a provider of kiosk dispensing and ancillary services to the alternative medicine industry, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a notice of allowance on its patent for a marijuana medication and patient tracking system.

The Los Angeles-based company describes the patent as the first "Seed-to-Sale" patent the marijuana industry has ever seen. “The patent has been approved and is being granted in process,” a Medbox spokesperson said in an email.

"This is a significant and wide-ranging patent covering 'Seed-to-Sale' verification and monitoring," Matthew Feinstein, Medbox’s vice president, said in a statement. "From the start, our Medbox system was designed to provide comprehensive tracking and inventory management to help operators of cultivation facilities and dispensaries maintain stringent compliance with all state regulations.”

The patent application that was allowed covers a biometric-based system used for verifying the identity of a patient or consumer receiving medication and monitoring its dispensing. It also covers medication development, seed tracking, cultivation, harvesting and conversion into medication/product.

In its first quarter to March 31, Medbox saw its gross revenues rise by 3.9 percent to $1.3 million from $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2013. Net loss for the quarter was $1.3 million, compared to a net loss of $330,380 for the first quarter of 2013.

Medbox said recent operational highlights include the establishment of six new subsidiaries in marijuana research and development, real estate investments and strategic investments in other public companies that have shown promise in the ancillary service sector of the marijuana industry.