Weed Week: More cannabis reform in the works as pot stocks cool off

As much as (if not more than) any other sector, the outlook for cannabis stocks is driven by key regulatory developments.

Cannabis reform at the global level appeared to provide a huge tailwind for the ASX cannabis sector at the start of this month.

And domestically, the TGA last week confirmed it will approve pharmacy distribution for low-dose CBD products in Australia.

Yesterday, the health regulator followed up with more planned changes, flagging the introduction of equivalent Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements for imported medicinal cannabis products.

Right now, all domestic producers need to meet the relevant GMP criteria but imported products don’t.

The TGA is also seeking feedback on a proposal requiring that all CBD products are sold with child-resistant packaging, along with other additional labelling requirements.

If the GMP changes are made, a report in mjbizdaily.com flagged that it could put pressure on Canadian growers that don’t meet GMP criteria, given that Australia was Canada’s top export market last year.

The TGA is now accepting submissions and responses on its proposed changes until January 29, 2021.

For local ASX pot stocks, the sector has cooled off from its barnstorming rally at the start of the month.

While supportive cannabis reform helps, investors are also looking for evidence of ASX cannabis players putting runs on the board with established revenues, profit outlooks and viable business models.

Of the 37 ASX companies tracked by Stockhead, 30 finished in the red last week (with 18 double-digit percentage declines) while just four gained ground.

It marked a sharp contrast to when the market surged two weeks prior, when 22 stocks posted double-digit returns for the week including four companies which rallied more than 100 per cent.

Below is a summary of the latest 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
LSH	Lifespot Health Ltd	0.078	11.4%	-15.4%	129.6%	$10.8M
LV1	Live Verdure Ltd	0.185	2.8%	0.0%	0.0%	$7.4M
PAL	Palla Pharma Ltd	0.78	2.6%	-2.5%	-28.8%	$91.9M
APH	AP Hemp Ltd	0.215	1.6%	10.5%	75.0%	$17.4M
YPB	YPB Group Ltd	0.002	0.0%	-20.0%	-60.0%	$8.5M
ESE	Esense-Lab Ltd	0.018	0.0%	0.0%	50.0%	$9.2M
DTZ	Dotz Nano Ltd	0.24	0.0%	0.0%	313.8%	$90.3M
AC8	Auscann Grp Hlgs Ltd	0.185	-2.6%	42.3%	-19.6%	$57.1M
CP1	Cannpal Animal	0.17	-2.9%	25.9%	54.5%	$14.9M
LGP	Little Green Pharma	0.58	-3.3%	36.5%	0.0%	$45.8M
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.93	-3.6%	-11.4%	588.9%	$83.7M
CAU	Cronos Australia	0.125	-3.8%	54.3%	-41.9%	$6.1M
MDC	Medlab Clinical Ltd	0.245	-5.8%	28.9%	-24.6%	$69.7M
IHL	Incannex Healthcare	0.16	-5.9%	39.1%	166.7%	$160.2M
CAN	Cann Group Ltd	0.53	-6.2%	71.0%	12.8%	$148.5M
SUD	Suda Pharmaceuticals	0.037	-7.5%	-5.1%	-31.8%	$14.2M
EOF	Ecofibre Limited	1.92	-7.9%	16.8%	-29.9%	$280.2M
EN1	Engage:Bdr Limited	0.055	-8.3%	-31.3%	-76.1%	$14.2M
ZLD	Zelira Therapeutics	0.091	-9.0%	33.8%	64.0%	$112.6M
EVE	EVE Investments Ltd	0.009	-10.0%	-10.0%	80.0%	$34.6M
BOT	Botanix Pharma Ltd	0.115	-11.5%	0.0%	36.9%	$121.6M
IDT	IDT Australia Ltd	0.175	-12.5%	-7.9%	34.6%	$40.5M
ECS	ECS Botanics Holding	0.042	-12.5%	61.5%	-6.7%	$19.3M
THC	THC Global Grp Ltd	0.235	-13.0%	4.4%	-36.5%	$46.4M
RNO	Rhinomed Ltd	0.165	-13.2%	-10.8%	-15.4%	$43.1M
EXL	Elixinol Global	0.185	-14.0%	8.8%	-63.4%	$45.8M
AGH	Althea Group	0.425	-15.0%	-13.3%	19.7%	$109.0M
ROO	Roots Sustainable	0.02	-16.7%	0.0%	-33.3%	$10.8M
SCU	Stemcell United Ltd	0.018	-18.2%	12.5%	50.0%	$13.1M
MRG	Murray River Grp	0.009	-18.2%	-10.0%	-59.5%	$19.9M
BDA	Bod Australia	0.455	-18.8%	-12.5%	54.2%	$46.0M
MXC	Mgc Pharmaceuticals	0.026	-18.8%	23.8%	-16.1%	$45.2M
CPH	Creso Pharma Ltd	0.1875	-20.2%	485.9%	56.3%	$134.0M
RGI	Roto-Gro Intl Ltd	0.055	-22.5%	37.5%	-54.2%	$12.1M
MMJ	MMJ Group Hlds Ltd	0.12	-27.3%	0.0%	-17.2%	$26.4M
CGB	Cann Global Limited	0.0065	-27.8%	30.0%	-53.6%	$30.8M
NTI	Neurotech Intl	0.037	-28.8%	27.6%	131.3%	$18.4M