Marijuana Co. of America Inc. plans to raise up to $10 million by selling up to 500 million of its common shares to K&J Funds LLC.

The shares will be sold under a put option as part of a previous investment agreement allowing Marijuana Co. of America to sell $10 million worth of shares through thirty-six months.

A put option gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specified amount of an underlying security at a specified price within a specified time frame.

The common shares sold under the option will represent about 20.08% of the Escondido, Calif.-based cannabis company's issued and outstanding common stock.

Marijuana Co. of America plans to use the funds to expand its hemp-based consumer products under the hempSMART brand into Europe and Asia in 2019.