This Week in Cannabis Investing, July 5

It’s been a big week in the cannabis space…correction, it’s been a huge week for the cannabis industry – on both sides of the border.

It was a relatively quiet day on Monday – Canada Day north of the Border. Transcanna Holdings announced the acquisition of Lifestyle Delivery. GrowHealthy reported the opening of new dispensaries in Daytona and Orlando. The Seed Investor was busy.

We noted that France and several other nations announced new initiatives to liberalize cannabis laws. The Seed Investor then jumped on new numbers from Ontario on retail cannabis stores in that province, as dispensaries finally begin to open. Opening “a handful of stores” caused revenues to increase by ~150%, in one month. Last but not least, we alerted investors to where the big dollars are going to come for the cannabis industry.

In a TSI Exclusive, we explained the potential of cannabis as an alcohol substitute alone. Consumers have already expressed a strong desire to do this. It would take a shift by consumers of just 1/7th of their alcohol consumption to cannabis to generate an additional $150 billion per year in cannabis revenues. This matches the most bullish projections for the entire cannabis industry.

Tuesday was much busier in terms of company news. 1933 Industries released its Q3 results. Cannex Capital announced a California expansion. Blueberries Medical made a big acquisition in Argentina. FSD Pharma closed its acquisition of Prismic Pharmaceuticals. Zenabis Global announced non-dilutive financing of CAD$30 million via a Tilray® subsidiary. The Seed Investor reported on the rapid increase in pro-cannabis support in the UK.

Wednesday there were shock waves in the cannabis industry on both sides of the border. In Canada, the Board of Directors for industry-leader Canopy Growth removed co-CEO Bruce Linton, following public pressure from the company’s largest shareholder, Constellation Brands. In a TSI Exclusive, we posed a tough question. Was the Ontario government ultimately responsible for Linton’s dismissal because of the snail’s pace at which the province had opened retail stores? In the United States, equally big news. Media reports indicate that Congress will schedule a hearing next week to review the legal status of cannabis federally. Could this be the end of Prohibition?

Thursday marked 4th of July celebrations in the U.S., giving cannabis investors (and cannabis media companies) the opportunity to catch their breath after Wednesday.

Friday, Nutritional High announced a one-year provisional distribution license in California. Tilray® bolstered its European cannabis division with five senior appointments. Naturally Splendid reported that its NATERA™ Sport Bars were now available on store shelves across Canada. Bill Blair, Canada’s federal minister for the cannabis industry rejected claims by Ontario’s government that “a pot shortage” was preventing the opening of more retail cannabis stores in that province. The state of Missouri announced more than 500 applicants for the 338 medical cannabis licenses the state will be awarding. Finally, we wrapped up the week with a TSI Exclusive: How to Build a Cannabis MSO. With U.S. multi-state operators a focal point for many investors, we provided investors with some facts and suggestions here.

Those were the highlights from what was a holiday-shortened but very eventful week for the cannabis industry. As the summer heats up, there is plenty of action to monitor in the cannabis space.