GW Pharmaceuticals poised to raise $300 million in stock offering

Cannabis biopharmaceutical company  GW Pharmaceuticals is setting out to sell $300 million worth of U.S. depository shares.

The London-based company’s announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s move to take some cannabidiol products off the most restrictive class of controlled substances.

That change will allow Epidiolex – a CBD drug manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals to treat rare types of epilepsy – to be distributed through traditional pharmaceutical channels via doctors’ prescriptions rather than medical marijuana dispensaries.

The CBD in Epidiolex is made from marijuana grown in the United Kingdom.

The raise also signals growing interest in cannabis by Wall Street heavyweights: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Cowen and Co. are acting as joint book runners for the offering.

The underwriters have an option to buy $45 million more shares within 30 days. A share price for the offering has not been set, according the company.

Shares of GW Pharmaceuticals, which trades on the Nasdaq as GWPH, closed at $167.26 on Monday, down 3%.