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Weed Week: ‘Lame duck’ US Congress set to vote on key cannabis bill
Health & Biotech
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Pot stock watchers had plenty of reasons to keep a close eye on last week’s US election.
Both candidates on the Democrat ticket, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, are supporters of marijuana decriminalisation.
Biden is now President-elect, although Donald Trump is still having none of it.
But barring anything unexpected, US Congress is now in a “lame duck” session for November and December, before an expected transition in January.
On the legislative schedule in December is the MORE Act — a proposal to decriminalise marijuana at the federal level and clear the slate for US citizens who have been convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses.
House Democrats delayed the vote until after the election, amid concerns that pro-cannabis laws may have tipped the electoral balance out of favour for party members locked in tight Congressional races.
But the US election provided an indication that momentum for pro-cannabis laws are building across the country.
Another four US states legalised recreational cannabis use last week, while the southern state of Mississippi permitted medical marijuana.
That positive sentiment appeared to flow through to the local market, as 21 ASX-listed cannabis (or cannabis-adjacent) stocks posted a gain over the past week.
Recent history suggests the winner’s list usually makes up less than half of the 35 pot stocks tracked by Stockhead.
So the post-election trading activity, where another eight stocks traded flat and just five lost ground, marked something of an outlier.
Below is a summary of the latest weekly, monthly and annual price performance for ASX-listed cannabis stocks:
Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price ($) | 1W % Ret | 1M % Ret | 1Y % Ret | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPH | Creso Pharma Ltd | 0.034 | 30.8% | 3.0% | -83.0% | $22.7M |
| LSH | Lifespot Health Ltd | 0.072 | 22.0% | 44.0% | 56.5% | $8.3M |
| EXL | Elixinol Global | 0.175 | 20.7% | 12.9% | -86.3% | $35.7M |
| CP1 | Cannpal Animal | 0.125 | 19.0% | 13.6% | 4.2% | $11.2M |
| MMJ | MMJ Group Hlds Ltd | 0.125 | 19.0% | 34.4% | -34.2% | $31.0M |
| BOT | Botanix Pharma Ltd | 0.105 | 16.7% | 5.0% | -4.5% | $92.4M |
| LGP | Little Green Pharma | 0.4 | 15.9% | 42.9% | 0.0% | $30.8M |
| PAL | Palla Pharma Ltd | 0.8 | 14.3% | 11.1% | -3.6% | $95.7M |
| CAU | Cronos Australia | 0.085 | 10.4% | 0.0% | -76.4% | $4.0M |
| CGB | Cann Global | 0.006 | 20.0% | 40.0% | -68.4% | $23.2M |
| AGH | Althea Group | 0.45 | 9.8% | -8.2% | 7.1% | $111.6M |
| SUD | Suda Pharmaceuticals | 0.039 | 8.3% | -9.3% | -26.3% | $12.0M |
| BDA | Bod Australia | 0.53 | 8.2% | 23.3% | 68.3% | $47.5M |
| THC | THC Global Grp Ltd | 0.225 | 7.1% | -4.3% | -38.4% | $41.9M |
| IHL | Incannex Healthcare | 0.083 | 6.4% | -6.7% | 31.7% | $86.2M |
| SCU | Stemcell United Ltd | 0.018 | 5.9% | 38.5% | 38.5% | $11.4M |
| APH | AP Hemp Ltd | 0.18 | 5.9% | -5.3% | 5.9% | $9.5M |
| ROO | Roots Sustainable | 0.02 | 5.3% | -16.7% | -57.4% | $6.8M |
| RGI | Roto-Gro Intl Ltd | 0.042 | 5.0% | -8.7% | -73.8% | $6.6M |
| WOA | Wide Open Agricultur | 0.915 | 4.6% | -5.7% | 510.0% | $78.1M |
| IDT | IDT Australia Ltd | 0.185 | 2.8% | 15.6% | 15.6% | $42.9M |
| MDC | Medlab Clinical Ltd | 0.19 | 2.7% | -13.6% | -44.1% | $51.7M |
| MRG | Murray River Grp | 0.011 | 0.0% | -8.3% | -66.1% | $22.1M |
| MXC | Mgc Pharmaceuticals | 0.022 | 0.0% | -4.3% | -33.3% | $34.4M |
| AC8 | Auscann Grp Hlgs Ltd | 0.14 | 0.0% | -6.7% | -48.1% | $42.8M |
| RNO | Rhinomed Ltd | 0.17 | 0.0% | -5.6% | -22.7% | $43.1M |
| ESE | Esense-Lab Ltd | 0.018 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 63.6% | $9.2M |
| ECS | ECS Botanics Holding | 0.027 | 0.0% | 28.6% | -48.1% | $9.7M |
| EN1 | Engage:Bdr Limited | 0.006 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -76.9% | $11.2M |
| EVE | EVE Investments Ltd | 0.009 | 0.0% | -18.2% | 50.0% | $38.4M |
| EOF | Ecofibre Limited | 1.62 | -0.3% | -35.4% | -52.4% | $238.2M |
| DTZ | Dotz Nano Ltd | 0.235 | -6.0% | -19.0% | 518.4% | $90.0M |
| CAN | Cann Group Ltd | 0.3175 | -6.6% | -24.4% | -70.2% | $87.7M |
| ZLD | Zelira Therapeutics | 0.07 | -6.7% | -2.8% | 4.5% | $84.2M |
| YPB | YPB Group Ltd | 0.0025 | -16.7% | -37.5% | -58.3% | $10.6M |
On a weekly basis Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) topped the list with a 31 per cent gain. The company had no news of note but still posted two straight double-digit gains this week on materially higher volumes.
Other weekly leaders posted strong gains directly in the wake of the US election result.
Elixinol Global (ASX:EXL) ripped higher by 51.7 per cent on Tuesday before getting a speeding ticket from the ASX, where the company advised it wasn’t aware of any information which would prompt such a move. EXL shares finished the week 20.7 per cent higher.
Also moving higher on Tuesday was penny stock Cann Global (ASX:CGB), which jumped by 40 per cent before easing back the next day.
Among the stocks trading flat for the week was MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC), which this week is sponsoring the Medical Cannabis Summit in Brazil.
Chief medical officer Dr Jonathan Grunfeld will speak at the event, “not three weeks after the company shipped its first Mercury Pharma THC products to Brazil”, the company told Stockhead.
And down near the bottom of the weekly list was cannabis-adjacent stock Dotz Nano (ASX:DTZ), which fell 6.6pc.
However, that was a relatively minor blip on Dotz’ 5x gain in 2020 amid heightened demand for authentication technology in medical equipment to combat the pandemic.
Among other use-cases, the company’s BioDotz tracing technology can be embedded into cannabis plants to establish their proof of origin.
