Weed Week: Cannabis munchies not a safe bake

As the world learns tasty cannabis edibles might not be the safest of munchies, Australian investors have served up 19 small cap cannabis stocks as gainers on the ASX.

Cannabis edibles are legal in some US states and Canada and just one product line in an emerging worldwide medicinal cannabis industry.

But Canadian experts warned in the Canadian Medical Association Journal this week that cannabis munchies can still be risky compared to an everyday whiff.

“Although edibles are commonly viewed as a safer and more desirable alternative to smoked or vaped cannabis, physicians and the public should be aware of several risks related to the use of cannabis edibles,” University of Toronto doctors Jasleen Grewal and Lawrence Loh warned.

The Ontario-based experts were concerned about potential risks to kids and seniors if they inadvertently picked up the tasties.

The docs also worried edible-eaters might mix the slow-acting munchies with alcohol, benzodiazepines, sleeping aids or opioids.

“Physicians should routinely question patients who ask about cannabis about their use or intended use of edible cannabis products so that they can counsel these patients regarding child safety, potential for accidental overconsumption and delayed effects,” the pair wrote.

Cannabis edibles include a variety of products, including chocolates, biscuits and berries.

Small cap spotlight

Of the 35 cannabis or cannabis-adjacent companies tracked by Stockhead, 19 finished in the red last week, including 10 double-digit gainers.

Among the gainers was swings-and-roundabouts stock Cann Group (ASX:CAN) which gained 52 per cent to end last week with a $143.8m market cap and a 93c share price.

African cannabis market entrant Cann responded to a speeding ticket from the ASX on Tuesday and unveiled a timeline for commercial-scale production of its medicinal cannabis resin with its partner IDT Australia (ASX:IDT).

IDT had been posting about its cannabis manufacturing work with Cann on LinkedIn while not naming names, Cann acknowledged in a letter to the ASX this week.

Production of Cann’s first batches of resin has now started, with commercial production tipped for late March this year.

Cann has enjoyed a number of highs and lows in the past year, reaching a ceiling end-of-day price of $2.57 on April 15 and a close-of-day bottom of 38.5c on December 11.

Its shares were down to 89.5c by late Wednesday afternoon and have fallen 52 per cent in the last 12 months.

Eleven cannabis stocks were unchanged by the end of last week, including three suspended stocks*.

Another six cannabis players lost ground, including micro-stocks YPB Group (ASX:YPB) and Lifespot (ASX:LSH) which fell down on no news.

Medical cannabis vaporiser developer and app advancer Lifespot slipped 12 per cent to 3c last week while product authenticator and consumer-engagement solutions provider YPB slid 10 per cent to 0.5c a share.

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.