Pot Stocks Soar as New Deals Done

Australia’s listed medical marijuana sector has had a strong day with gains for three companies announcing new deals.

AusCann shares soared after its Chilean joint-venture secured approval for a new crop.

The Chilean government issues licences for medicinal cannabis cultivation for one year periods, and AusCann’s joint-venture partner, Fundacion Daya, has been awarded the only licence for each of the past four years.

The licence allows the joint venture, DayaCann, to start cultivating its second crop at its 30-hectare facility south of Santiago in Chile, following a first crop of more than 400kg earlier this year.

AusCann managing director Elaine Darby said the expansion will help the company become a fully integrated operation serving the Australian and Latin American markets.

“Chile is one of the regions at the forefront of change, and access to cannabis medications for patients in need is advancing rapidly in the region,” she said in a statement.

Another listed play, cannabis-based medicines and nutritional product developer Creso Pharma, announced it will import its first human health product into Australia in 2018.

The product, cannaQIX50, is a cannabidiol lozenge for chronic pain management and will be distributed to pharmacies in Australia by Health House International.

Creso said the importation is part of a strategy to expand the international distribution of its products.

The lozenges will be available through the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Special Access Scheme, which allows eligible doctors to apply for approval to prescribe medicinal cannabis products.

Meanwhile MGC Pharmaceuticals announced it had signed a deal with European medical marijuana product maker Mabsut Life to supply its cannabis-based extract for use in electronic cigarettes.

Mabsut Life will use MGC’s cannabidiol extract to develop an e-cigarette cartridge formula and will use the product under its own electronic cigarette brand, which is sold in central and eastern Europe.

AusCann shares closed at 87.5 cents, just below the record high they hit in March, while Creso Pharma, which listed at 20 cents a share in October 2016, closed 10 cents, or eight per cent higher, to $1.35.

MGC shares closed 0.6 cents, or 6.4 per cent, higher at 10 cents.