Cannabis Weekly Round-Up: Mexico Sets Cannabis Regulations

Mexico looks to be closer than ever to cannabis reform, with the country releasing its regulation plans to make the drug legal in medical settings.

Meanwhile, despite the financial hardships seen recently in the Canadian cannabis market, CEOs in the country are still receiving top dollar, as per a new study.

Keep reading to find out more cannabis highlights from the past five days.

Mexico moves forward with medical cannabis

This past week, the Mexican health ministry showed its intentions when it comes to cannabis policy, publishing its regulations for the medical use of the drug.

A Tuesday (January 12) report from Reuters indicates the new policy was signed off on by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

“(The regulation) is not aimed at patients growing their own cannabis, it is aimed at pharmaceutical companies producing pharmaceutical derivatives of cannabis which are classified as controlled substances that need prescription,” Luisa Conesa, a pro-cannabis lawyer in the country, told Reuters.

According to Conesa, the regulations will be very strict. While product imports will be allowed in some capacity, cannabis exports from Mexico won’t be permitted.

In addition to the new medical rules, the country plans to move ahead with recreational cannabis use reform in the near future.

Cannabis CEOs among the highest paid in Canada

A new market research review from the Center for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) indicates that cannabis CEOs are seeing some of the biggest salaries across the board in Canada.

The study, first reported by Marijuana Business Daily, shows Canadian CEOs across all industries made 202 times what the average worker made in 2019; that’s down from 2018, when the difference was greater. The average pay for the nation’s top 100 CEOs in 2019 was C$10.8 million.

Irwin Simon, CEO of Aphria (NASDAQ:APHA,TSX:APHA), was the highest-paid cannabis CEO in Canada in 2019, repeating from 2018, with total compensation of C$18.4 million for the year.

The CCPA said it won’t know the numbers for 2020 until the spring, but projections are showing that leading CEOs continued to see high financial rewards.

Study author and CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald said policymakers need to step up their efforts to guarantee that companies getting financial support from government sources don’t boost the capital gains of their executives.

Cannabis company news

• Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF,TSX:VFF) confirmed a new offering resulting in the sale of over 10 million shares in the company. It expects to see gross proceeds of US$135 million.

• TerrAscend (CSE:TER,OTCQX:TRSSF) finished the second stage of construction at its Boonton, New Jersey, cannabis facility, reaching approximately 80,000 square feet of indoor cultivation.

• Planet 13 Holdings (CSE:PLTH,OTCQB:PLNHF) upped the size of a previously announced public offering. The company will now seek to collect C$60 million in gross proceeds from selling 8.5 million shares at a price of C$7 each.

• Ayr Strategies (CSE:AYR.A,OTCQX:AYRWF) laid out the details of a new equity shares offering that will secure the company gross proceeds of approximately C$137 million. The firm will offer 4 million shares at a price of C$34.25 each.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.