Over the last trading week (April 23-27) saw the formal announcements of three new stocks joining the public markets next week. Updates from Health Canada and a new study projection for the entire Canadian cannabis market complete this Cannabis Weekly Round-Up.

On cannabis’ biggest celebration day 4/20, the Investing News Network (INN) had the opportunity to cover a panel with a variety of industry members discussing the market at large. Matei Olaru, CEO of Lift & Co. told INN he is expecting a surge in the stock market up to the date of legalization in Canada.

“I would expect [a surge] right before it happens, people pricing in anticipation, and then I would anticipate a couple quarters of medium [lulls] and then actually quite a bit of a correction,” Olaru told INN.

“When you see a lot of these producers with very high valuations not being able to make the revenue that supports the valuations, [it’s] because [they’re] not big enough to sell enough product, or they just couldn’t lock up supply,” he added.

Cannabis public market will see three new company launch next week

This week investors got a look at a new crop of cannabis companies launching their common stock next week. The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) will host the launch of Santé Veritas Holdings under the ticker symbol “SV” starting next Monday (April 30). This company is a late-stage licensed producer (LP) applicant.

Empower Clinics will begin trading on the CSE on Monday as well, under the stock symbol “SV” after completing a reverse take-over. “Our listing on the CSE is a catalyst to accelerate our strategy during a promising time for the broader industry,” Craig Snyder, Empower CEO said.

The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings the company upsized its initial public offering to its maximum potential of a 31,510,000 units for gross proceeds of $115,011,500 at a price of $3.65 per unit. On Friday the company also revealed it will launch on May 2 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Updates from Health Canada

Health Canada, the arbiter of marijuana in Canada, has signaled it may be willing to allow the sale of medical cannabis in pharmacy retail stores, but it’s still a long time away. This past week Marijuana Business Daily reported the agency is willing to discuss the issue if it obtains support from the provinces and territories, provincial regulatory authorities and pharmacists.

Trina Fraser, a business lawyer at Brazeau Seller Law, told Marijuana Business Daily these sales are inevitable and it will only be a matter of time until it becomes available.

A variety of licensed producers (LPs) in the sector have signed deals with pharmacies for a future in which the law allows them to supply these retailers with medical cannabis products.

This week INN reported on the results from a Q1 survey by Health Canada to Canadians showing patterns in the consumption of cannabis so far this year. According to the data presented by the government agency just over 20 percent of the population admitted to spending over C$250 for cannabis this past quarter. The study also found only one in seven of the polled Canadians are said to have obtained their products through an LP.

A new cannabis research study is now projecting the Canadian cannabis market will reach a value of C$9.2 billion by 2025. The report from New Frontier Data explores the entire Canadian cannabis market, emerging business opportunities, potential risks and both investment and regulatory implications.

When the adult-use Canadian market opens the combined domestic and international opportunities will increase dramatically and create new momentum around the world,” New Frontier Data Founder and CEO Giadha Aguirre de Carcer said. The data also examined the demand for cannabis product, public and private market performance.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Cannabis for real-time news updates!

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

Editorial Disclosure: The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.

** This article is updated each week. Please scroll to the top for the most recent information**

Cannabis Weekly Round-Up: New Merger in the Public Markets

April 20, 2018 – By Bryan Mc Govern

Over the last trading week (April 16-20) the industry saw the announcement of a new merger taking place, creating a new cannabis player to consider. As a U.S. senator introduces a bill to decriminalize marijuana we take a look at the momentum currently seen in the U.S. cannabis market, then market news complete this Cannabis Weekly Round-Up.

In an effort to provide investors with a recap of the major events during the first quarter of 2018, the Investing News Network (INN) published a quarterly update on the first three months of the year. Along with this update INN also collected the data of cannabis stocks in Canadian exchanges, measuring the top gainers of the year so far.

Continuing the consolidation movement in the cannabis market, this past week the management teams from WeedMD (TSXV:WMD) and Hiku Brands (CSE:HIKU) revealed a joint plan to merge the companies. The new entity is expected to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange according to the announcement from the two companies.

As his own way to celebrate 4/20, Sen. Chuck Schumer is set to introduce a bill with the intention to completely decriminalize cannabis. In a video interview with HBO’s Vice News Schumer asked why the U.S. government doesn’t allow people to use it freely and remove its illegal status.

Based on Schumer’s preview of it, NPR wrote the following on the actual bill:

Schumer’s legislation would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under a 1970 law that classifies marijuana as dangerous as heroin for legal and regulatory purposes. It would establish funding for women- and minority-owned marijuana businesses, require more research on the drug’s public health impact, and maintain federal authority to regulate commercial advertising, similar to existing regulations for tobacco and alcohol.

The cannabis industry is on the rise in the U.S., following the announcement that two ex-government officials would be joining a venture as advisors. More importantly, last week Sen. Cory Gardner revealed president Trump himself committed himself to allow the legal industry to continue without any interference from the federal government.

This commitment from the president was viewed by experts as a removal of the uncertainty created by Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he rescinded the legal protection for cannabis businesses. The two developments last week caused a much-needed uproar in the public cannabis market. Several cannabis operators focused on the U.S. market saw significant increases in their share value.

Market news

GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH) is inching closer towards an accomplishment no other cannabis-related company. The company’s cannabidiol (CBD) oral solution, known as Epidiolex was unanimously recommended by the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new drug application (NDA).

According to FDA procedure obtaining this vote of confidence is a strong indicator of the potential for a drug to be accepted by the agency. In the U.S. cannabis and its compounds are determined to be scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, recently the agency has shown a willingness to accept the medical benefits of CBD specifically.

It was revealed the FDA requested comments from the public at large regarding the use of cannabis for a larger World Health Organization (WHO) meeting on the status of cannabis. In a document, the agency acknowledged  “CBD-containing products are in human clinical testing in several therapeutic areas.” However, none of these products have marketing approval from the FDA.

CannTrust Holdings (TSX:TRST), the most recent Canadian companies to have joined the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), announced a partnership with Grey Wolf Animal Health to develop novel medical pet healthcare products.

A new subsidiary will be born from this partnership to oversee these new cannabis products. Additionally, CannTrust will “become a substantial shareholder in Grey Wolf.”

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Cannabis for real-time news updates!

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

Editorial Disclosure: WeedMD and Hiku Brands are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.