April 18th Highlights

• MNA Starts to Vamp Up - This Month, Aphria CEO Irwin Simon stated that Aphria is looking for additional opportunities to acquire brands in the consumer products space, hoping to grow beyond cannabis. Canopy Growth also announced its plans to buy rival Supreme Cannabis as cannabis flower demand grows. During the 2017-2018 period multiple cannabis companies actively pursued MNA opportunities to expand their production/international footprint. This strategy proved to be mostly unsuccessful as many companies sold their interests during 2020. The failure was partly due to unrealistic regulatory timelines and supply/demand requirements. This year there has been a number of Australian MNA activities - the AusCann, CannPal acquisition, and ECS Botanics, Murray Meds acquisition. Recently, ANTG and Canada’s Asterion Cannabis announced an intention to merge. Asterion noted it will expand cultivation capacity and leverage the existing ANTA facility. My friend Matt Lamers posted a very valuable insight - this Australian medical cannabis business is to dismiss the fundamental rules of supply and demand. The group is building a A$400 million cannabis facility, but Australia's entire industry will only be worth about A$200 million in sales this year. And does he think all of his competitors will throw up their arms and surrender? That A$200M will have to be carved out and divided among all the producers and middlemen. What's leftover will barely cover their executive bonuses. Companies want to be mindful as to which businesses they acquire and not repeat mistakes of the past.
• Small Chronis Pain, Cannabis Study - Long-term use of medical cannabis may be an effective treatment for chronic pain, according to a small study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital in Boston. Thirty-seven patients suffering from arthritis, joint pain, neuropathy, and other chronic pain conditions were evaluated over a six-month period whilst using a cannabis preparation. After six months of daily treatment with cannabis, patients reported significant improvements in their pain, sleep, mood, anxiety and quality of life. Their use of opioid pain medication declined by an average of 13% and 23% after 3 and 6 months of treatment, respectively, although not to a degree that was considered significant. Study Reference
• The Cannabis Consumer (is valuable) - A great insight from Travis Freeman, Uber’s global head of media - “A cannabis consumer is younger than the normal consumer, has more disposable income; they are busier than most, they are working all the time, exercising all the time, going on adventures all the time".

Australian medical cannabis prescriptions are soaring

New Zealand's largest medicinal cannabis farm begins harvest

ECS Botanics announces plan to expand Tasmanian medicinal cannabis facility

Biotech Avecho just got the all-clear for human cannabis trials

Cann Global teams up with NICM for MS human trials