Pot Stocks, ETFs, Top News And Data From The Cannabis Industry This Week

This was a strange week for cannabis stocks, as major indices experienced a plateau, spiking Tuesday and tumbling Thursday.

The United States Marijuana Index, which tracks 15 of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., ended the week down 4.1 percent, while the North American Marijuana Index, which also includes Canadian stocks, posted gains of 2.1 percent.

The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF HMLSF lost roughly 1 percent over the five days, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ tumbled 3.8 percent.

“The cannabis market must have gone on spring break this week,” 420 Investor Alan Brochstein joked.

Here are some of the top marijuana stocks in U.S. exchanges and how the performed this week:

• 22nd Century Group Inc XXII: down 11.1 percent
• Aphria Inc APHQF: up 4.2 percent
• Aurora Cannabis Inc ACBFF: down 5 percent
• Cannabis Sativa Inc CBDS: up 3 percent
• CannTrust Holdings Inc CNTTF: down 1 percent
• Canopy Growth Corp TWMJF: up 4 percent
• Cronos Group Inc. CRON: down 15.5 percent
• GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH: up 1.9 percent
• Hiku Brands Company LtdDJACF: down 5.2 percent
• India Globalization Capital, Inc. IGC: down 8.3 percent
• MedReleaf CorpMEDFF: down 0.4 percent
• Scotts Miracle-Gro Co SMG: down 2.8 percent
• THC Biomed Intl Ltd THCBF: down 11.6 percent
• Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc ZYNE: up 2.4 percent

In The News

Cannabis industry women’s networking organization Women Grow met with Congressman Tom Garrett (R-VA) on Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill and shared some insights into the conversation with Benzinga.

“Garrett’s support for Cannabis legalization is connected to his commitment to justice, individual liberty and economic opportunity,” Women Grow EVP Gia Moron said. “As a freshman Congressional Member, he introduced HR 1227, ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017,’ which would remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances entirely and allow states to regulate without the federal government’s interference.”

Cannabis-focused blockchain company Paragon announced it secured its first co-working space in Los Angeles, California. The cannabis-business-focused WeWork-style location is being fully paid in cryptocurrency. Inauguration is scheduled for July 1.

“We are excited to open the doors of Paragon Space, a fairly priced, collaborative and safe environment where cannabis entrepreneurs can flourish,” Paragon’s founder and CEO Jessica Versteeg, a former Miss Iowa turned cannabis entrepreneur, told Benzinga.

In an earnings-heavy week, General Cannabis Corp CANN posted an $8.2 million loss for 2017, reducing its losses by 19 percent year-over-year. On a per share basis, the net loss came in at 40 cents per share, on revenue of $3.5 million, up 18 percent year-over-year.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARNA reported a fourth quarter loss of 35 cents per share on revenue of $15.4 million.

Zoned Properties Inc ZDPY reported fourth quarter revenue of $533,000, versus last year’s $543,000.

On the raises front, High Hampton Holdings Corp HHPHF announced the closing of a $19 million private placement deal.

Aurora Cannabis said it will be added to the S&P/TSX Composite Index on Monday, March 19. The closing of the CanniMed Therapeutics Inc CMMDF acquisition has made the company the second-largest Canadian licensed producer in terms of sales, almost stepping on the heals of industry behemoth Canopy Growth.

American Green Inc ERBB announced it offloaded the ownership of the town of Nipton, California.

“The American Green rally last August is a great lesson for investors not to fall for the hype,” Brochstein said, characterizing the sale as an even that can be described “only as a sketchy deal with another penny stock. As always, it pays to go beyond the press release. It was very obvious to anyone who did basic due diligence of the company that the transaction was silly at best.”

Terra Tech Corp TRTC announced a 1:15 reverse-split that had been pre-approved by the board last year.

“While it was long expected that Terra Tech would eventually do a reverse-split, the market was surprised by the sudden action to do so this week,” Brochstein said. “More often than not, reverse splits are negative, and that is certainly the perception with this one, but I believe the move will prove helpful over time and is likely more shareholder-friendly than just boosting the authorized shares.”

Learn more about these news, and others on Acreage Holdings, CannaRoyalty and WeedMaps with our partners at Green Market Report’s Marijuana Money:

Interesting Data

A report by Arcview Market Research, in partnership with BDS Analytics, says that sales of legal cannabis in “key South American markets” is expected to surge from just $125 million in 2018 to $776 million by 2027, with Brazil and Argentina leading in terms of spending.

Source: ArcView Market Research/BDS Analytics

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid prescription and addiction overdoes have killed more than 64,000 Americans in the 12 months ending January alone, marking a 21 percent year-over-year surge. For perspective, roughly 65,000 Americans died during the wars at Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

Responding to these alarming statics, and in an attempt to generate viable solutions to curtail the destruction, people from very diverse backgrounds have come together to give birth to Helping End the Opioid Epidemic (HEOE). Based off La Clinica, in Gardner, Colorado, the program is working on developing a rural health care model to assist in preventing opioid-related overdoses, while increasing access to treatment for those suffering from opioid use disorder in the Huerfano, Pueblo and Las Animas counties.

“HEOE believes it is of merit to incorporate observational studies determining the effectiveness of cannabis to reduce patient usage of opioids, therefore reducing the potential for overdose,” HEOE Vice President Kyle Dijon Hill told Benzinga. “The proposed pilot program would utilize telemedicine and home healthcare to reduce costs and increase access for opioid addiction treatment in rural communities. La Clinica would be a hub treatment center offering a variety of services ranging from group counseling sessions to various non-conventional treatment options such art and equine therapy. For additional information on HEOE please contact HEOEoutreach@gmail.com.”

It's estimated federal cannabis tax revenue in the U.S. could exceed $105 billion for the 2017-2025 period, according to New Frontier Data, with annual taxes of more than $14 billion by the end of the first quarter of this century.

A few people reached out to Benzinga asking about Delta-8 THC, which is different from the widely known Delta-9-THC. We reached out to one of the few companies that extracts Delta-8 THC from cannabis, Oregrown, and asked them about the cannabinoid’s therapeutic properties.

“Delta-8's less intoxicating effects are very attractive to those who find that Delta-9 causes anxiety,” Oregrown founder Aviv Hadar told Benzinga. “In addition, Delta-8 is shown to help with nausea, relieve pain, suppress appetite, and more.”

Events Calendar

• March 29: New Jersey gets its second NJ Cannabis Symposium, focused on the intricacies of finance, banking, taxation and investments and how these apply to the state’s expanding cannabis industry. Sponsored by Benzinga, the event features the following panelists: Javier Hasse, Al Foreman, Cynthia Salarizadeh, John Kagia, Gary B. Rosen, Ellie O. Siegel and Tahira Rehmatullah. Register for the event following this link. Use promo code “BENZINGA” to save $50 on tickets.
• April 9: CNvest: Terps and Tech is an investor gathering focused on cannabis science and technology companies in San Jose, California. Check out the 16 cannabis science and technology startups that made it to the final round of the pitch contest.

Picture by Javier Hasse.