In scenes once thought unimaginable, a sitting health minister has attended the opening of the largest medical cannabis manufacturing centre in the southern hemisphere.
Australia’s health minister Greg Hunt attended the opening of THC Global Group’s (ASX:THC) Southport facility in Queensland.
The facility manufactures medical cannabis products — namely the extraction of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from medical cannabis.
At full capacity of the current configuration, THC Global expects the Southport facility to be producing 12,000kg of Good Manufacturing Practice-certified API annually.
This production volume far outstrips current Australian demand considering the Australian government’s projection of 100,000 prescriptions annually in the near term.
Meanwhile, the US Drug Enforcement Agency is moving to expedite the number of cannabis growers that can supply their product for medical research — giving researchers more options and varieties to test on.
Over the last two years, the total number of individuals registered by the DEA to conduct research with marijuana, marijuana extracts, derivatives and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased by more than 40 percent from 384 in January 2017 to 542 in January 2019.
Similarly, in the last two years, the DEA has more than doubled the production quota for marijuana each year based on increased usage projections for federally approved research projects.
While it’s positive news, NPR notes that it may have more to do with an impending lawsuit rather than the DEA coming to the party under its own steam.
So, how did the ASX’s pot stocks do this week?
Althea Group Holdings (ASX:AGH) came in with yearly revenue growth of a whopping 6,827 per cent!
Although this was only to $767,000, while it swung to an $8.7m loss — but it’s an early stage company.
Matthew Callahan has taken a leave of absence from the Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:BOT) board for personal reasons — but he’s intending to re-join the board.
Cann Group (ASX:CAN) flagged an expansion of its Mildura facility and bounced off recent lows — you can read all about it here.
Meanwhile, CropLogic (ASX:CLI) may be looking at an Australian hemp farm trial.
Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH), which is being looked at by PharmaCielo, boosted revenue by over 400 per cent to just over $924,000.
The US FDA seems to be softening its position on IDT Australia’s (ASX:IDT) facility in the US — meaning a dangling dagger over its operation won’t be quite so scary.
Impression Healthcare (ASX:IHL) snagged a supply deal with a key sleep clinic player for the supply of its Sleep Guardian product. It’s not strictly cannabis news per se, but still a positive for the company.
MMJ Group Holdings (ASX:MMJ) boosted profit by 320 per cent to over $2.1m.
MGC Pharma (ASX:MXC) has teamed up with the Slovenian Institute of Hops Research and Brewing for research which has nothing to do with beer — just the growing of medical cannabis in Slovenia.
Elsewhere, Roto-Gro International (ASX:RGI) has begun to install its hydroponics set up as part of a $600,000 deal in Canada.
YPB Group’s (ASX:YPB) secretary, Adam Gallagher, has resigned.
And finally, Zelda Therapeutics (ASX:ZLD) has recruited its 100th patient into its autism observational study, which is looking at the effects of medical cannabis on autism.
Well, that’s it.
You can take a look at the chart below to see how your favourite pot stock did this week.
Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price (28-Aug) | Market Cap | 1Y Tot Ret | 1W Tot Ret |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUD | SUDA PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 0.004 | $14.2M | 5 | 14 |
| CAN | CANN GROUP LTD | 1.9875 | $268.0M | -33 | 9 |
| AGH | ALTHEA GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.835 | $191.1M | 41 | 7 |
| BDA | BOD AUSTRALIA LTD | 0.485 | $43.0M | -23 | 7 |
| EOF | ECOFIBRE LTD | 2.79 | $881.6M | 62 | 6 |
| BOT | BOTANIX PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 0.225 | $207.4M | 105 | 5 |
| ESE | ESENSE-LAB LTD-CDI | 0.024 | $4.6M | -59 | 4 |
| RGI | ROTO-GRO INTERNATIONAL LTD | 0.165 | $22.1M | -50 | 3 |
| MMJ | MMJ GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.25 | $56.7M | 2 | 2 |
| PAL | PALLA PHARMA LTD | 1.15 | $92.4M | -19 | 2 |
| THC | THC GLOBAL GROUP LTD | 0.45 | $59.7M | -12 | 1 |
| SCU | STEMCELL UNITED LTD | 0.015 | $9.6M | -38 | 0 |
| EVE | EVE INVESTMENTS LTD | 0.004 | $10.0M | -50 | 0 |
| IDT | IDT AUSTRALIA LTD | 0.145 | $34.4M | 21 | 0 |
| EN1 | ENGAGE:BDR LTD | 0.032 | $18.3M | -54 | 0 |
| MDC | MEDLAB CLINICAL LTD | 0.475 | $101.2M | 12 | -1 |
| MRG | MURRAY RIVER ORGANICS GROUP | 0.082 | $34.7M | -74 | -2 |
| EXL | ELIXINOL GLOBAL LTD | 2.405 | $339.2M | 72 | -3 |
| ZLD | ZELDA THERAPEUTICS LTD | 0.068 | $50.7M | -4 | -3 |
| LSH | LIFESPOT HEALTH LTD | 0.062 | $4.8M | -28 | -3 |
| CPH | CRESO PHARMA LTD | 0.4 | $60.6M | -33 | -5 |
| CP1 | CANNPAL ANIMAL THERAPEUTICS | 0.17 | $15.4M | -11 | -6 |
| IHL | IMPRESSION HEALTHCARE LTD | 0.08 | $50.6M | 388 | -6 |
| CLI | CROPLOGIC LTD | 0.065 | $25.7M | 103 | -6 |
| OBJ | OBJ LTD | 0.016 | $27.1M | -40 | -6 |
| AC8 | AUSCANN GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.37 | $115.7M | -64 | -8 |
| ECS | ECS BOTANICS HOLDINGS LTD | 0.053 | $27.4M | -46 | -8 |
| RNO | RHINOMED LTD | 0.28 | $39.7M | 19 | -10 |
| MXC | MGC PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 0.039 | $48.5M | -27 | -11 |
| WOA | WIDE OPEN AGRICULTURE LTD | 0.115 | $8.1M | -39 | -12 |
| DTZ | DOTZ NANO LTD | 0.048 | $10.5M | -46 | -15 |
| ROO | ROOTS SUSTAINABLE AGRICU-CDI | 0.057 | $4.8M | -81 | -17 |
| YPB | YPB GROUP LTD | 0.004 | $4.6M | -88 | -20 |