Cannabix hopes that its newest THC breathalyzer model will make a breakthrough with police forces

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      Burnaby has become home to many high-tech success stories over the years.

      It's still too early to say whether Cannnabix Technologies Inc. will join that club.

      In May, it unveiled a new version of its handheld THC Breath Analyzer, claiming that it can provide results in less than five minutes.

      This device was developed with Mina Hoorfar, an engineering professor at UBC's Okanagan campus and the head of the school's Advanced Thermo-Fluidic Laboratory.

      Cannabix has an exclusive technology licensing agreement with the university.

      "The THCBA uses a disposable spit trap and provides easy to understand screen prompts for the positive and negative detection of THC in breath," the company stated. "Studies have shown that breath is a better indicator of impairment than saliva, blood, or urine because THC is present in breath for a relatively short period of time (1-3 hours); whereas, it is excreted at detectable levels in other body fluids for many hours, days, or even weeks after smoking." 

      It hasn't reported any revenues in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, and posted a net loss of just over $3 million, according to unaudited financial statements. Its accumulated deficit is just over $15 million.

      "These financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Company will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business," it stated.

      The company maintains that it has sufficient working capital or an ability to receive future cash and financing to meet its liabilities.

      On June 12, shareholders reelected Rav Mlait, Bryan Loree, Kal Malhi, Raj Attariwala, and Thomas Clarke as directors.

      “Our team have been diligently pressing forward with development of our marijuana breathalyzer devices through the various constraints that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us and our suppliers," Mlait, also the CEO, said in May. "We have improved the design and form factor of the THCBA and look forward to collecting more user data.”

      The share price has had its ups and downs, reaching $3.27 on the Canadian Securities Exchange in January 2018. That was six months before cannabis was legalized.

      On June 12, the day of the annual general meeting, it closed at $0.44.

      Cannabix's board has granted 1.79 million stock options that can be exercised at 50 cents for five years to the officers and directors, and two years for consultants.

      Loree, the chief financial officer, holds 3.61 million shares and Mlait holds 2.64 million shares, according to the company's information circular distributed before the annual general meeting.

      Last year, Mlait collected $585,631 and Loree received $567,631 in compensation, including option-based rewards.

      The president, Malhi, developed the breathalyzer, as shown in the 2014 news story below. He holds 242,270 shares and received $611,631 in compensation last year, including option-based awards.

      Video: Former RCMP officer Kal Malhi developed the early version of the device.

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