Weed Week: France dishes the freebies while Kiwis close in on legal cannabis

Pic: Charnchai / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

All eyes are will be on New Zealand this Saturday, as Kiwis go to the polls in a federal election which includes the referendum on legal cannabis.

A ‘Yes’ vote will give the NZ government the go-ahead to table its Cannabis Legalisation and Control bill in parliament.

And it would also create a stark regulatory contrast with Australia, where regulators are only just moving towards a decision on whether to allow CBD products sales over the counter.

Going all the way back to mid-year, polling figures continue to indicate it will be a tight decision, with neither the Yes or No camp gaining a decisive advantage.

This week though, the New Zealand Medical Association (which represents about 5,000 doctors) turned some heads with a late change in its position — from an anti-legalisation stance to one of neutrality.

Meanwhile, a scan of global market reveals some unique developments in France, which still operates a strict legal framework for cannabis products.

But after getting unanimous Senate approval in 2019, authorities are now set to roll out a medical marijuana trial by March next year.

Set to run for two years once it commences, the trial will facilitate free access to medical marijuana products for up to 3,000 patients suffering from symptoms where other relief measures have proven inefficient.

Back on local markets, local cannabis stocks performed well last week ahead of the trans-Tasman referendum.

Of the 34 stocks tracked by Stockhead, 21 posted a gain while only 10 lost ground (three were flat) — a comparatively strong week by the sector’s standards.

Below is a summary of 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
AC8	Auscann Grp Hlgs Ltd	0.15	1.7%	-6.3%	-53.8%	$ 47,557,103.55
AGH	Althea Group	0.505	11.0%	-12.9%	-22.3%	$ 120,154,650.00
APH	AP Hemp Ltd	0.19	5.6%	26.7%	-13.6%	$ 9,416,425.84
BDA	Bod Australia	0.49	34.2%	44.1%	15.3%	$ 41,116,259.25
BOT	Botanix Pharma Ltd	0.11	12.2%	101.8%	-55.1%	$ 106,996,784.84
CAN	Cann Group Ltd	0.385	-7.2%	-9.4%	-72.0%	$ 102,565,943.64
CAU	Cronos Australia	0.084	0.0%	-1.2%	0.0%	$ 4,035,875.00
CP1	Cannpal Animal	0.12	21.2%	0.0%	-14.3%	$ 11,175,000.00
CPH	Creso Pharma Ltd	0.03	-21.1%	-16.7%	-89.8%	$ 21,340,970.93
DTZ	Dotz Nano Ltd	0.28	-6.7%	3.7%	536.4%	$ 97,637,213.34
ECS	ECS Botanics Holding	0.023	-4.2%	2.2%	-54.0%	$ 8,584,410.60
EN1	Engage:Bdr Limited	0.0065	8.3%	8.3%	-75.9%	$ 12,064,889.70
EOF	Ecofibre Limited	2.56	2.4%	4.5%	-19.0%	$ 376,028,398.35
ESE	Esense-Lab Ltd	0.018	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	$ 9,180,684.40
EVE	EVE Investments Ltd	0.011	10.0%	22.2%	120.0%	$ 42,135,410.79
EXL	Elixinol Global	0.15	-3.2%	-6.3%	-91.6%	$ 28,925,559.60
IDT	IDT Australia Ltd	0.155	-8.8%	-16.2%	-11.4%	$ 38,290,085.12
IHL	Incannex Healthcare	0.093	6.9%	72.2%	8.1%	$ 74,697,318.49
LGP	Little Green Pharma	0.32	14.3%	6.7%	0.0%	$ 22,841,363.96
LSH	Lifespot Health Ltd	0.04	27.7%	71.4%	20.0%	$ 7,300,409.58
MDC	Medlab Clinical Ltd	0.22	15.8%	41.9%	-51.6%	$ 61,528,647.62
MMJ	MMJ Group Hlds Ltd	0.115	26.4%	22.3%	-48.9%	$ 27,594,478.20
MRG	Murray River Grp	0.0125	13.6%	13.6%	-66.1%	$ 26,468,888.52
MXC	Mgc Pharmaceuticals	0.025	13.6%	8.7%	-30.6%	$ 37,738,213.86
PAL	Palla Pharma Ltd	0.72	-4.0%	-5.3%	-19.1%	$ 90,682,543.44
RGI	Roto-Gro Intl Ltd	0.047	-2.1%	-2.1%	-68.7%	$ 7,114,054.09
RNO	Rhinomed Ltd	0.185	8.8%	131.3%	-31.5%	$ 46,954,689.42
ROO	Roots Sustainable	0.023	-8.0%	-8.0%	-50.0%	$ 8,179,012.15
SCU	Stemcell United Ltd	0.022	83.3%	83.3%	46.7%	$ 7,699,300.37
SUD	Suda Pharmaceuticals	0.042	2.4%	-4.5%	-33.9%	$ 12,845,572.03
THC	THC Global Grp Ltd	0.235	0.0%	-16.1%	-44.0%	$ 42,234,665.76
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.94	-12.1%	-10.9%	652.0%	$ 75,577,366.98
YPB	YPB Group Ltd	0.0035	16.7%	-12.5%	-30.0%	$ 10,240,379.15
ZLD	Zelira Therapeutics	0.084	16.7%	47.4%	20.0%	$ 102,601,098.04

Weekly gains were led by Stemcell United (ASX:SCU) which rose by around 80 per cent.

That was almost entirely driven by a big surge yesterday, after the company announced a joint venture agreement with Blue Aqua International Pte Ltd to cultivate and farm sea grapes on a commercial scale in Singapore.

Not exactly a pot-related update, although the cannabis-adjacent company does have a subsidiary, Yunnan Hua Fang Industrial Hemp, which is one of only two provincial companies to hold an industrial hemp licence in China.

Cannabis Stocks