SEATTLE, WA, Jul 07, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Plandai Biotechnology, Inc. (otcqb:PLPL), a producer of highly bioavailable plant extracts for industries including health, wellness, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical, today announced its support for the formation of the International Coalition of Cannabis Companies and Organizations (ICCCO), the world's first international cannabis trade association co-founded by Plandai director, Jamen Shively. ICCCO was recently formed to deliver on the demands of citizens worldwide: the creation and maintenance of a global cannabis industry, which enforces social responsibility, generates jobs and tax revenues, and ensures consistent standards.
Currently, the only international body with jurisdiction to reform global cannabis policy is the United Nations, which through its International Drug Control Panel (INDCP), monitors national changes in drug policy with no real enforcement mechanisms in place. Jamen Shively, Vice President of Plandai, commented, "The infamously slow pace of UN procedure casts serious doubts on the ability of the General Assembly to hammer out a new, comprehensive cannabis control treaty in any meaningful time frame. Furthermore, the GA's procedural requirements for consensus across the entire permanent Security Council means that objection by the Russian, Chinese or U.S. delegation will prove fatal to any proposal, and the governments of those three nations have proven stubbornly resistant to cannabis legalization."
ICCCO aims to unite the wide range of cannabis-related businesses and organizations into a singular voice on the international stage to craft, direct and steward regulatory policy. Mr. Shively added, "There is both a profound opportunity and an urgent need for a group of visionary cannabis entrepreneurs to form a system of multi-national self-regulation. Such a system can create a common global language across the world's cannabis companies through the promulgation of clear and authoritative standards, and allowing compliant businesses to trade and contract across borders in a way that is legal, ethical and responsible. And such a system can cultivate the global cannabis industry more effectively than the UN, balancing social responsibility with the fiscal needs of a growing industry."
Roger Duffield, Chief Executive Officer of Plandai, commented, "As we've traveled down the path of developing a pharmaceutical cannabinoid extract, we've recognized the need for an organization like ICCCO. The laws both domestically and internationally are complex and contradictory, and global standards for production, harvesting, and processing are non-existent. We endorse ICCCO's efforts to provide legislative guidance and lead the industry in self-regulation."
Interested individuals and organizations are invited to visit the ICCCO website athttp://www.iccco.org for additional information on how to become involved.
About Plandai Biotechnology, Inc.
Plandai Biotechnology, Inc. and its subsidiaries develop highly bioavailable, phytonutrient rich extracts which are being utilized to deliver a new family of drugs to safely and affordably treat a multitude of diseases and conditions. Plandai Biotechnology controls every aspect of the process, from growing the raw materials on its farms in South Africa, to producing its patented Phytofare(TM) extracts in-house, allowing the Company to guarantee the continuity of supply as well as quality control throughout the entire process. Targeted industries for the Company's products include beverage, cosmeceutical, wellness, nutraceutical, anti-aging, and pharmaceutical. For more information, please visit http://www.plandaibiotech.com .
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