Sales of legal cannabis in the U.S. amounted to nearly $10 billion in 2018. New Frontier Data’s Hemp Business Journal estimates that, in leading all hemp product categories, the hemp-derived CBD market was a $390 million-dollar market in 2018. The reports said that the cannabis market is expected to grow at a rate of 21% per year between now and 2021. This will mean that in three years’ time, the marijuana industry will be pulling in about $23 billion per year in revenue. Most industry watchers already realized that the marijuana industry was huge, but these figures tell us just how expansive it is. The cannabis and hemp markets are projected to continue to grow in both the U.S. and global markets. In fact, every new projection seems to raise the projected numbers even higher than previous reports. A recent article in the Marijuana Business Daily projected that: “Total economic impact of the cannabis industry will range from $39.2 billion to $48 billion in 2019 – about a 35% increase over 2018… and the U.S. cannabis sales in 2018 were between $8.6 billion and $10.8 billion – more than U.S. spending on e-cigarettes, the video game Fortnite and Goldfish crackers… and U.S. sales of cannabis in 2019 will be about 35% higher than 2018 and could reach $30 billion by 2023. Active companies in the industry making moves to ready that include: MCTC Holdings, Inc. (OTCPK: MCTC), Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: CURLF) (CSE: CURA), Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB), Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) (TSX: APHA), Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED).
Grand View Research, has projected that the global legal marijuana market size is expected to reach USD 66.3 billion by the end of 2025, according to a new report. The report continued to say that it is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 23.9% during the 2025 forecast period. They said the reason was the increasing legalization and use of marijuana in medical as well as recreational applications is expected to promote growth.
MCTC Holdings, Inc. (OTCPK: MCTC) BREAKING NEWS: MCTC Holdings today outlines its strategy to maximize shareholder value in the rapidly emerging hemp industry. The Company is preparing to launch several unique product and technology initiatives outlined below in detail in order to achieve its plans to become a leading developer of disruptive hemp and cannabis-related intellectual properties.
“The team at MCTC has been refining its corporate strategy for the past few weeks and the Company is now preparing to roll-out several products, initiatives, proprietary technologies, and patents,” commented CEO Arman Tabatabaei. “Our corporate strategy will be to enter into the unique and defensible sectors of the high growth hemp and cannabis marketplaces. Over the coming weeks we plan to discuss these programs with our investors in greater detail, but today we offer an initial outline of what our investors should expect.”
- Polymeric Solid Nanoparticles and Nanofibers – Over the past few months, the Company has been engaged in an active research program to develop cannabinoid-based nanotechnologies. With great strides being made in the laboratory, the Company plans to launch several productization programs over the coming months. “The solid nanoparticles and nanofibers we are developing should not be confused with the very simple nanoemulsions being marketed by some companies. We believe the technologies we are developing will offer unparalleled bioavailability and cannabinoid customization possibilities well beyond anything currently available or contemplated by most in today’s marketplace,” added CEO Tabatabaei. “We look forward to providing additional details on our nano and other technology-based initiatives over the coming months.”
- Cannabinoid Isolation Joint Venture – While cannabidiol (CBD) grabs significant headlines and consumer attention recently, the fact is CBD prices are falling and its expected the large hemp crop to be harvested over the coming weeks will cause further price erosion. With this possible pending hemp oversupply situation, MCTC has made the strategic decision to greatly limit its hemp cultivation efforts and has instead created a joint venture to isolate the more than 100 other cannabinoids in the hemp plant. In many cases, these rare cannabinoids command prices that are many times higher than CBD. The Company and its JV partner have acquired both the specialized equipment and the technical capabilities to launch this program.
- Cannabinoid Delivery Systems and Methodologies – We have developed several unique methods to more effectively deliver cannabinoids to the human body. We plan to file for patent protection for the first several of these inventions over the coming weeks.
- Super Bio-enhanced CBD – The Company believes it has developed a method to significantly boost the bioavailability of CBD by way of a unique process and formulation utilizing a proprietary formula that includes water-soluble vitamin E from sunflowers. The Company plans to utilize this Super Bioenhanced CBD in several white label and direct to consumer hemp products, under the trade name “Hemp You Can Feel”. The Company has registered this trade name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Rather than seeking patent protection for the proprietary technology, the Company will treat the technology as a trade secret. The Company is currently in the process of developing a clinical study protocol to document the unique properties of this technology.
Additional industry related developments from around the markets:
Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA.CN) (OTCQX: CURLF) recently announced the opening of its 26th Floridadispensary at 1994 Kings Highway in Port Charlotte. Curaleaf has the largest cannabis dispensary footprint in the US with 49 dispensaries across the country and continues to execute on its strategy of rapid expansion in Florida.
Curaleaf’s Port Charlotte medical cannabis center will celebrate its grand opening with an event in partnership with the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, September 12, 2019. The 3,600 square foot location is easily accessible off I-75 to serve patients in Port Charlotte, Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, Solana, Harbour Heights, and Lake Suzi. “It’s part of our continuing effort to expand our footprint in Florida to provide patients with access to Curaleaf’s premium medical cannabis products and educational resources,” said Joe Lusardi, Curaleaf CEO.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB) recently announced that on September 3, 2019, Aurora disposed of its remaining 28,833,334 shares, representing 10.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd (“TGOD”), at a price of $3.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $86.5 million. The completion of the sale of TGOD shares represents an approximate 50% internal rate of return for the Company. As a result of this transaction, Aurora no longer holds any shares of TGOD, however, it does continue to hold warrants to purchase 16,666,667 shares of TGOD.
Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) (TSX: APHA) and TruTrace Technologies Inc. recently announced that Aphria has joined Phase 2 of the Shoppers Drug Mart (“Shoppers”) medical cannabis verification pilot program (the “Pilot Program”). The blockchain-secured Pilot Program is specifically designed to increase transparency, interoperability and product identification within the medical cannabis industry.
The Pilot Program uses TruTrace’s StrainSecure™ technology as a central hub for identity management, asset tracking, validation, and product authentication. StrainSecure also serves as a master registry for standardized testing, product verification, and quality assurance.
Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED) recently announced that it has received a license from Health Canada for its KeyLeaf Life Sciences facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Including the Smiths Falls site and the recently licensed BC Tweed extraction site, Canopy Growth now operates three significant extraction assets to support the throughput required for large scale value-add product development.
Canopy Growth recently retrofitted the now fully licensed KeyLeaf facility in Saskatchewan, a company with over 50 years of experience in the extraction industry. This facility is expected to be online in the Fall of 2019 and has the capacity to extract up to 5,000 kilograms of hemp or cannabis biomass per day. The application for the license was submitted under KeyLeaf’s previous name, POS Management Corp. and will be updated in due course.