This Week In Cannabis Investing September 6th

It was a holiday-shortened week for investors following Labor Day. There was very little big news emanating from the cannabis industry.

Tuesday, the Seed Investor took another look at a popular debate among cannabis investors. Are the best investment opportunities with U.S.-based or Canadian-based marijuana stocks? What sparked the article was a similar piece from a U.S.-based analyst that concluded rather simplistically that the U.S. should be the obvious destination for investor dollars today.

We explained why the issue wasn’t as cut-and-dried as portrayed in that article. Our conclusion was that there were strong – but different – investment opportunities on both sides of the Border. Investors need exposure to both U.S. and Canadian companies.

Wednesday, the Seed Investor looked ahead to Phase 2 of cannabis legalization in Canada, now roughly 6 weeks ahead. We identified the different categories of companies that could be expected to especially benefit from these new regulations. We also tossed out some names in each of the categories.

We also reported on booming cannabis sales in the province of Alberta. Even with over 270 retail locations in the province (for a population of just over 4 million), products are flying off the shelves as fast as retailers can stock them. We also suggested what this could mean for the Canadian market as a whole.

Thursday, the Seed Investor took aim at more ignorant, anti-cannabis statements from Republican politicians. In continuing to spout anti-cannabis fiction that has already been discredited by real facts, these political dinosaurs continue to delay regulatory reform in the United States.

Then we looked at a real, practical issue for cannabis regulators: cannabis product testing. Increasing evidence is showing that certain types of cannabis edibles (especially cannabis-infused chocolates) are yielding anomalies in testing for cannabis potency.

The variations aren’t large enough to pose any sort of health issue, but the variances may be enough for these products to fail strict regulatory standards. We looked at the limited options for dealing with this issue.

Friday, the Seed Investor took a somewhat cynical look at why the U.S. federal government may be forced to legalize cannabis as soon as possible. After mentioning all the positive reasons to legalize cannabis, we looked at a couple of negative ones. The federal government has created new cannabis-related problems for itself.

We ended the week taking a look at a shadowy group that is lobbying state and federal politicians to block cannabis legalization. The group Smart Approaches to Marijuana is attempting to peddle the notion that 100 years of failed cannabis Prohibition remains the “smart approach” to cannabis regulation.

SAM protests strongly that it is merely a “social welfare organization” that has no agenda other than the welfare of the American people. Yet it is fighting vigorously to hide the sources of its funding.

That was our look at the week in cannabis. Coming up next week, among other things: earnings from industry heavyweight, Aurora Cannabis (US:ACB / CAN:ACB). With much of the sector anticipating the numbers, we plan on taking a broader look here for investors.