Weed Week: Australia’s cannabis legalisation is all over the joint
Health & Biotech
Health & Biotech
It’s been another interesting week in the realm of Australian cannabis regulation.
For starters, the ACT legislature’s recent decision to legalise marijuana possession (up to a maximum of 50 grams) continued to grab some headlines.
Senior members of the federal government have since been vocal in their concerns about the bill, and indicated they may propose new laws to overturn it.
In the meantime, documents obtained by The Weekend Australian showed that a briefing paper landed on the desk of federal health minister Greg Hunt last week.
The report summarises research from the US and Canada which links daily use of cannabis with increased occurrences of psychotic disorders.
And moving to cannabis oils — which have been legalised for limited consumption in Australia, although they can only be prescribed to patients by a medical professional — earlier this year, Adelaide-based Jenny Hallam pled guilty to charges of making her own cannabis oil and distributing to elderly customers.
Hallam is set to be sentenced next month, and her lawyer asked the District Court this week to stop short of a conviction or jail term, on the grounds that Hallam needs to be able to travel in her new job at Australian Cannabis University — an “organic and legal low-THC cannabis farm” based in NSW.
Meanwhile, the ongoing push to legalise cannabidiol (CBD) products continues apace with a new documentary — Green Light — set to open in local cinemas this week.
The documentary follows two CBD proponents as they distribute CBD products (in breach of current laws) to patients in need across regional NSW.
To the capital markets, and there was the usual round of weekly fluctuations among the list of cannabis and cannabis-adjacent stocks that call the ASX home.
Of the 33 companies tracked by Stockhead, 13 posted a weekly gain and six were unchanged, while 14 lost ground.
Among the winners in percentage term was Eve Investments (ASX: EVE), which came out of a trading halt and announced a new $9.3m capital raise after being in suspension since September 25.
The minnow investment firm, which maintains an interest in a NSW cannabis farm, ticked higher by 50 per cent for the week to 0.6 cents.
Also pushing higher was Rhinomed (ASX:RNO), which announced a $6m cap raise of its own last month with plans to triple the number of CBD products it sells into the US market.
The stock got a follow-up round of momentum this week, after noted small-cap investment firm Perennial Value Management became a substantial holder in Rhinomed’s register with more than five per cent of the issued shares outstanding.
Below is Stockhead’s latest summary of weekly and annual price performance for ASX-listed cannabis stocks:
Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.
Code | Name | Price (2-Oct) | Market Cap | 1Y Tot Ret | 1W Tot Ret |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
WOA | WIDE OPEN AGRICULTURE LTD | 0.13 | $8.5M | -13% | 18% |
ZLD | ZELDA THERAPEUTICS LTD | 0.083 | $63.6M | 19% | 12% |
MRG | MURRAY RIVER ORGANICS GROUP | 0.083 | $34.7M | -73% | 8% |
CP1 | CANNPAL ANIMAL THERAPEUTICS | 0.15 | $13.0M | -6% | 7% |
EOF | ECOFIBRE LTD | 3.04 | $957.5M | 0% | 5% |
EN1 | ENGAGE:BDR LTD | 0.026 | $14.1M | -56% | 4% |
CLI | CROPLOGIC LTD | 0.06 | $24.2M | 131% | 3% |
IDT | IDT AUSTRALIA LTD | 0.175 | $41.5M | 3% | 3% |
MXC | MGC PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 0.04 | $53.3M | -22% | 3% |
THC | THC GLOBAL GROUP LTD | 0.44 | $61.4M | -20% | 2% |
OBJ | OBJ LTD | 0.016 | $29.0M | -27% | 0% |
EVE | EVE INVESTMENTS LTD | 0.004 | $10.0M | -43% | 0% |
CPH | CRESO PHARMA LTD | 0.3825 | $58.0M | -30% | 0% |
ESE | ESENSE-LAB LTD-CDI | 0.019 | $3.4M | -47% | 0% |
MMJ | MMJ GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.24 | $54.2M | -14% | 0% |
EXL | ELIXINOL GLOBAL LTD | 2.00 | $279.9M | 0% | -2% |
PAL | PALLA PHARMA LTD | 1.00 | $80.3M | -33% | -3% |
RGI | ROTO-GRO INTERNATIONAL LTD | 0.14 | $19.5M | -68% | -3% |
LSH | LIFESPOT HEALTH LTD | 0.055 | $4.3M | -32% | -4% |
ROO | ROOTS SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE | 0.046 | $4.2M | -84% | -4% |
MDC | MEDLAB CLINICAL LTD | 0.43 | $96.9M | -12% | -4% |
CAN | CANN GROUP LTD | 1.545 | $223.3M | -43% | -5% |
AGH | ALTHEA GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.73 | $171.3M | 27% | -5% |
BDA | BOD AUSTRALIA LTD | 0.44 | $40.1M | -28% | -5% |
AC8 | AUSCANN GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.34 | $110.1M | -65% | -6% |
IHL | IMPRESSION HEALTHCARE LTD | 0.082 | $53.8M | 447% | -6% |
BOT | BOTANIX PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 0.235 | $241.1M | 147% | -6% |
ECS | ECS BOTANICS HOLDINGS LTD | 0.047 | $23.9M | -53% | -6% |
SCU | STEMCELL UNITED LTD | 0.015 | $9.6M | -38% | -6% |
DTZ | DOTZ NANO LTD | 0.045 | $10.6M | -43% | -8% |
RNO | RHINOMED LTD | 0.27 | $45.7M | -29% | -8% |
SUD | SUDA PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 0.0035 | $16.0M | -8% | -13% |
YPB | YPB GROUP LTD | 0.006 | $10.5M | -65% | -25% |