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

The United States Marijuana Index, which tracks 15 of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., lost 7.5 percent in the four days the market was open after President's Day. The North American Marijuana Index, which also includes Canadian stocks, shed 4 percent of its value.

The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF HMLSF slipped 1.32 percent, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ tumbled 1.33 percent.

“This was one of the slowest weeks of the year in terms of substantive news, particularly in Canada. Volumes fell across the board and prices declined,” 420 Investor Alan Brochstein told Benzinga. “Canadian LPs began the year with a surge but are now trading on average only 1 percent higher than where they ended in 2017.

“In the U.S., it is clear that traders have left many of the speculative penny stocks.”

Related Link: Wonder Women Of Weed: Jodie Emery, The Entrepreneurial Rebel With A Cause

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

• 22nd Century Group Inc XXII: down 11.9 percent.
• Aphria Inc APHQF: down 1.7 percent.
• Aurora Cannabis Inc ACBFF: up 3.5 percent.
• Cannabis Sativa Inc CBDS: down 3.4 percent.
• CannTrust Holdings Inc CNTTF: down 0.7 percent.
• Canopy Growth Corp TWMJF: up 4.2 percent.
• Cronos Group Inc PRMCF: down 2.9 percent.
• GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH: down 11.8 percent.
• India Globalization Capital, Inc. IGC: down 11.9 percent.
• MedReleaf Corp MEDFF: down 10.5 percent.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro Co SMG: down 0.3 percent.
• THC Biomed Intl Ltd THCBF: down 3.5 percent.
• Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc ZYNE: down 5.9 percent.

In The News

GW Pharmaceuticals plummeted after the company reported discouraging results for its Phase 2a study evaluating the efficacy and safety of GWP42006 for the treatment of focal seizures in adult patients. The cannabidivarin, or CBDV-based pipeline compound did not meet its primary endpoint, according to the report. 

“The decline in GW Pharma sure seemed like a big overreaction to me,” Brochstein said. “While it was disappointing to have a pipeline setback, CBDV for focal seizures in adults is not something that analysts had built into their models as a significant source of revenue.”

Canopy Growth finally obtained a license for a new cultivation facility in Aldergrove, British Columbia. The company expects to have 1.3 million square feet of cultivation space in just a few months, becoming “the largest federally licensed cannabis site anywhere in the world,” a press release said.

Related Link: Investing In Marijuana: Cannabis Industry Gets $1.2B In January, Matching Deals For All Of 2016

Friday Night Inc.  TGIFF announced it had terminated a letter of intent to acquire Body & Mind Inc. The companies pulled out of the all-stock transaction after determining that “the acquisition … under the terms of the LOI would not be in the best interests of shareholders.”

Staffing company Cannabis Strategic Ventures NUGS announced an agreement to buy Pure Applied Sciences and its PureOrganix organic cannabis oils brand.

General Cannabis Corp CANN announced fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $990,000, up 27 percent year-over-year. Sales for 2017 hit $3.5 million, up 15 percent over the prior year. Shares lost 2.2 percent over the week.

Freedom Leaf Inc FRLF reported revenues of $7,659 for the last six months, down from $569,000 in the same period last year. The company posted a net loss of $1.4 million in the last half of a year and has zero cash in the bank. Shares lost almost 25 percent over the week.  

Learn more about this news on Marijuana Money:

Interesting Data

In Uruguay, the first country to make recreational cannabis legal on a federal level, 1 gram of cannabis — only sold in pharmacies to registered locals — costs $1.40. This compares to roughly $5 to $7 in the U.S., although prices vary widely depending on the state and variety.

Tourists in Uruguay cannot procure cannabis unless it is gifted by a local adult, but sources have reported black market prices are about $20 per gram. Fun fact: the photo accompanying this article was taken in Uruguay on Friday.

The best states to start a cannabis business are Colorado and California, according to data from Business Student. n the contrary, the worst are New York and Minnesota due to stringent rules and limited licenses.

On Wednesday, MassRoots IncMSRT CEO and Chairman Isaac Dietrich explained how the company is applying blockchain technology to the cannabis industry in a brief video. It’s all about securing information from seed to sale. Check it out here.

A study from Consumer Research Around Cannabis and Green Market Report revealed that two-thirds of adults over 21 in greater Los Angeles consume cannabis; are 4 percent more likely to be employed full-time than non-consumers; are 12 percent more likely to have traded stocks, bonds or securities in the past year; and 72 percent more likely to be a business owner, partner or corporate officer.

In Florida, the study found that 71.3 percent of people in the Tampa/St. Petersburg Greater Metropolitan Area approve of cannabis use. Cannabis consumers are considerably more likely to both own luxury cars and continue to buy them when compared to non-users, the report said. 

Events Calendar

• March 29: New Jersey will get its second “NJ Cannabis Symposium.” Early bird registration is open at this site.
• April 9: CNVest is hosting its “CNvest: Terps and Tech” event, an investor gathering focused on cannabis science and technology companies. The date is in San Jose, California.
• April 12: Compassionate Certification Centers is sponsoring the “420 Games,” a fun run/walk that will take place in Pittsburgh.
• April 12-14: Compassionate Certification Centers is also hosting its second yearly “World Medical Cannabis Conference & Expo” in Pittsburgh. The event will include a job fair, exhibits, networking events, courses and panels featuring more than 70 speakers. Check out the details of these events following this link.
• May 9-11: Marijuana Business Daily is having its “MJBizConNEXT” in New Orleans. The conference will focus on innovation and technology in the cannabis industry.
• May 30-31: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox announced his own cannabis event, “CannaMexico.” This world summit will take place in Guanajuato, Mexico. Speakers are expected to be confirmed soon.

Picture by Javier Hasse.