NORTH American cannabis sales hit record levels with Covid-19 lockdown-customers in the both the US and Canada filling their boots.
Bloomberg reports Canadians buying US$181m of cannabis in March, up nearly 20% from February, marking one of the biggest monthly jumps since legalisation in October 2018.
Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics say US cannabis sales are set to increase by 31% this year to US$16.3bn.
This comes as global cannabis stocks have almost doubled in the last two months, as recorded in New Cannabis Ventures’ Global Cannabis Stock Index.
Pot’s Pandemic Potential?
Booming retail sales have led to improving results from the industry’s main players, and claims by respected scientists on the potential for cannabis in the on-going global pandemic battle have boosted stocks.
A report in the New York Post said a group of Canadian researchers has found medicinal cannabis could block up to 70% of the proteins used by the virus to infect cells.
Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis generated more than $1bn in US stock trades, sending its stock 69% higher after its Third Quarter results.
These showed it had exceeded revenue expectations, reduced its operating loss, announced divestitures and guided for profits in the next quarter.
Aurora has also joined its fellow leading Canadian Licensed Producers by taking a step into the US CBD industry with the purchase of Reliva for $40m.
Reliva is one of the best-selling brands in the US; its products can be found in more than 20,000 retail stores across the country.
Multi-State Operators On The UP
Also in the US, many of the Multi-State-Operators are now making enough to wash their face. GrowGeneration, posted quarterly revenues of $33m, representing a 152% improvement from a year ago, whilst anticipating profits for the full year.
Green Thumb Industries achieved an industry first, generating quarterly revenue in excess of $100m with a 25% adjusted profit margin, reports New Cannabis Ventures.
Also In the US Investors CapStone Holdings, has taken a $50m stake in Curaleaf. Based in Massachusetts and traded on the Canadian Stock Exchange, Curaleaf serves more than 150,000 medicinal cannabis paints in 17 states, producing a range of pharmaceutical-grade, medical cannabis.
German Purchase For Materia Ventures
Back in Europe, Emmac has become one of the first companies to produce and distribute medical cannabis products. These will be made at its Medalchemy manufacturing site in Spain.
Established UK cannabis cultivator GW Pharmaceuticals says it has sold more of its cannabis derived epilepsy drug Epidiolex in its first quarter.
Materia Ventures – a medical cannabis and wellness company focused on the European market – announced it has acquired Hamburgh-based Cannaktiv, a licensed importer and distributor of medical cannabis products.
Australian cannabis player MediPharm Labs has secured its first European white-label cannabis supply agreement with Therismos, a subsidiary of Cannaray.
Under the three-year agreement, MediPharm Labs Australia will supply a range of cannabis oil products.
Meanwhile, cannabis powerhouse Israel has eventually given the green light to the export of medical cannabis after months of wrangling, reports Reuters.
