For the first time, England’s NHS approved the use of cannabis medicines to treat epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
And the industry is now pushing for CBD and THC to be allowed to be prescribed in more cases.
The timing is curious, only a few weeks out from an election. Sadly though the most liberal party is this mob…
Another country that you may not have thought of as a major player is China. It has cultivated hemp for thousands of years but the Wall Street Journal suggested earlier this week that it was ramping up its production of cannabis.
The majority will be exported but there will be strict regulations. For example, CBD extraction facilities have to be outfitted with security cameras and plants cannot have over 0.3 per cent of THC.
Read More:
Chinese cannabis? It’s complicated…but it’s coming
Not a good fiscal year, but a good week so far
Back to Australia and it has been a rough few months.
On Monday, we reported more than 70 per cent of ASX-listed pot stocks have gone backwards this financial year.
This followed the disappointing debut of Cronos Australia (ASX:CAU), which fell 32 per cent on its opening day last Friday.
But this week has seen a lot of news across the Australian market that appeared to wake investors up.
FreshLeaf Analytics data showed that nearly 13 times more patients had been prescribed medical cannabis than this time last year.
On Tuesday, Western Australia caught up with Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales in allowing GPs to prescribe cannabis without specialist approval.
Also on Tuesday, a survey found that more than one in 10 women (13 per cent) with endometriosis were using cannabis to ease their pain. But for every one using cannabis there are five using heat packs (70 per cent).
Small cap spotlight
THC (ASX:THC) told its shareholders it was ready to begin production at its Southport facility and it’s up 14 per cent.
This followed several months of waiting for various licences, but it obtained its narcotics licences last month and its manufacturing licence in July.
Cann Global (ASX:CAN) got a slight boost on Monday when it formally released its ‘Black Label’ Hemp Seed Oil and Hemp Seed mixes.
A more successful cannabis IPO in 2019 has been Ecofibre (ASX:EOF), which has more than tripled since March.
Yesterday it announced the results of a study that showed it could help patients who have turned to opoids to resolve chronic pain. Fifty-three per cent of 94 patients cut back on their opoids use, while 94 per cent reported an improved quality of life.
Here’s 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 ($) | 12M Total Return | 6M Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHT | RESONANCE HEALTH LTD | 0.135 | 420% | 0% | $55.5M |
| ALC | ALCIDION GROUP LTD | 0.195 | 333% | 97% | $193.2M |
| M7T | MACH7 TECHNOLOGIES LTD | 0.71 | 202% | 163% | $109.0M |
| RAP | RESAPP HEALTH LTD | 0.27 | 145% | 86% | $188.0M |
| TTB | TOTAL BRAIN LTD | 0.097 | 117% | 160% | $81.0M |
| CMP | COMPUMEDICS LTD | 0.795 | 94% | 31% | $133.8M |
| LBT | LBT INNOVATIONS LTD | 0.165 | 80% | 150% | $36.5M |
| MDR | MEDADVISOR LTD | 0.05 | 51% | -5% | $89.4M |
| VHT | VOLPARA HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES | 1.965 | 41% | 25% | $408.7M |
| OPN | OPENDNA LTD | 0.039 | 34% | 0% | $10.9M |
| 4DS | 4DS MEMORY LTD | 0.058 | 24% | -17% | $66.0M |
| WHK | WHITEHAWK LTD | 0.098 | 23% | -14% | $15.8M |
| YOJ | YOJEE LTD | 0.071 | -5% | -35% | $59.3M |
| CM8 | CROWD MEDIA HOLDINGS LTD | 0.03 | -9% | -21% | $7.8M |
| CAJ | CAPITOL HEALTH LTD | 0.235 | -10% | 2% | $184.4M |
| LVT | LIVETILES | 0.32 | -18% | -23% | $265.8M |
| ELS | ELSIGHT | 0.48 | -30% | -17% | $45.7M |
| BTC | BTC HEALTH LTD | 0.11 | -33% | -13% | $25.8M |
| IPD | IMPEDIMED LTD | 0.215 | -36% | -1% | $96.8M |
| BID | BIDENERGY LTD | 0.55 | -37% | -29% | $69.0M |
| LNU | LINIUS TECHNOLOGIES LTD | 0.032 | -37% | 24% | $38.6M |
| WBT | WEEBIT NANO LTD | 0.425 | -41% | -29% | $29.9M |
| CGS | COGSTATE LTD | 0.37 | -49% | 37% | $59.4M |
| SP3 | SPECTUR LTD | 0.1 | -50% | -47% | $7.2M |
| BRN | BRAINCHIP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.053 | -54% | 28% | $63.5M |
| MEB | MEDIBIO LTD | 0.009 | -72% | -9% | $10.4M |
| ONE | ONEVIEW HEALTHCARE PLC-CDI | 0.17 | -80% | -37% | $30.3M |
| UTR | ULTRACHARGE LTD | 0.002 | -83% | -33% | $2.2M |
| FGO | FLAMINGO AI LTD | 0.002 | -91% | -67% | $2.2M |
Read More:
It’s not that easy bein’ green: Aussie pot stocks start FY20 in a slump