Investor Ideas Potcasts #648, Cannabis News and Stocks on the Move - (CSE: TRUL) (NASDAQ: LSDI)
Vancouver, Delta, Kelowna, BC - February 23, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) www.Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors including marijuana and hemp stocks and its potcast site release today's podcast edition of cannabis news and stocks to watch plus insight from thought leaders and experts.
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https://www.investorideas.com/Audio/Podcasts/2023/022323-Cannabis.mp3
Investor Ideas Potcasts #648, Cannabis News and Stocks on the Move - (CSE: TRUL) (NASDAQ: LSDI)
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Today's podcast overview/transcript:
In today's podcast we look at some of the major industry news highlights from last week and this week including advertising on twitter and the state of Canadian cannabis industry.
In a big piece of news for the cannabis industry, Twitter announced earlier last week that it will be allowing "approved" and state-legal cannabis companies and other advertisers to post ads in the U.S. for regulated THC and CBD products, accessories and services, the social media platform has disclosed.
"We permit approved Cannabis (including CBD- cannabinoids) advertisers to target the United States" provided a slew of conditions are met, Twitter said on its website under the heading, "Drugs and drug paraphernalia."
AdCann, a cannabis marketing and advertising website based in Toronto, first reported the development in a social media post.
AdCann noted that, "effective immediately," Twitter will permit "advertisers to promote brand preference and informational cannabis-related content" for certain products and services, including:
- CBD and similar cannabinoid products.
- THC and similar products.
- Cannabis-related products and services, including delivery services, labs, events and more.
"American cannabis companies, brands and purveyors will need to pass through a Twitter advertiser approval process to ensure they are legitimate and educated on the platform," AdCann reported.
"Once approved, industry marketers will have access to Twitter's entire suite of advertising products including promoted tweets, promoted product opportunities, location-specific takeovers, in-stream video sponsorships and partner publication features."
"Cannabis is a leading topic on @Twitter and should be a big channel for #cannabis advertising, depending on the details of the program. #progress,"
Rosie Mattio, CEO of Mattio Communications, a cannabis-focused marketing and communications firm in New York City, tweeted: "Kudos to @twitter for being the first major social network to welcome Cannabis advertisements."
Under its new guidelines, Twitter said that cannabis advertisers - presumably companies - will be subject to a variety of restrictions and conditions:
- "Advertisers must be licensed by the appropriate authorities, and pre-authorized by Twitter.
- "Advertisers may only target jurisdictions in which they are licensed to promote these products or services online.
- "Advertisers may not promote or offer the sale of Cannabis (including CBD- cannabinoids). Exception: Ads for topical (non-ingestible) hemp-derived CBD topical products containing equal to or less than the 0.3% THC government-set threshold.
- "Advertisers are responsible for complying with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and advertising guidelines.
- "Advertisers may not target customers under the age of 21."
Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) became the first multi-state operator in the cannabis industry to launch an advertising campaigns on Twitter.
"Trulieve is very excited and encouraged by Twitter's decision to update its policies and allow cannabis companies to advertise across the platform," said Gina Collins, Trulieve's Chief Marketing Officer. "Having a global social media platform recognize our industry is another step forward in the normalization of cannabis in the U.S. We proudly launched a multi-state advertising campaign today to become the first company in the cannabis industry on Twitter. As state-by-state cannabis regulations inform how operators can participate in the advertising space, we expect to follow in other legally approved states."
Trulieve Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers said on Twitter: "On behalf of #Trulieve and the entire #CannabisIndustry THANK YOU to @elonmusk for this historic #PolicyChange & partnership. The opportunity to advertise on #Twitter means reaching more individuals & raising more awareness of the benefits of #cannabis. Onward!"
In other recent news, last week five Canadian cannabis sector CEOs joined a press conference, organised by the Cannabis Council of Canada, Wednesday on Parliament Hill to discuss the extent of layoffs and facility closures in the industry.
"You're hearing from producers here today because we as growers and manufacturers sit at the heart of the cannabis supply chain," said President and CEO of British Columbia company Pure Sunfarms, Mandesh Dosanjh. "We need to be healthy in order for the whole system to thrive but that's not reality. Producers stand here in peril. Canadian cannabis is in peril."
High excise taxes have been one of the biggest challenges for businesses, the CEOs said in Wednesday's press conference, adding the 2.3 percent excise tax rate has become too costly, particularly after a year of increased inflation rates.
Jonathan Wilson, CEO of New Brunswick company Crystal Cure, called for the federal government to reconsider the tax rate as he says it's not only pushing away current businesses but eliminating the path for new producers to enter and grow the sector.
"It's not only a significant burden for producers like us, but it's a barrier of entry for new producers to come into the legal market," Wilson said.
"We're paying a regulatory fee, which was premised on a profitable industry, which tobacco and alcohol don't pay," President of the Cannabis Council of Canada, George Smitherman said Wednesday.
A 2022 report found that Canadians investing in cannabis businesses collectively lost more than $131 billion. Industry leaders said they built their business on the federal government's promises for a profitable industry but now that profits are shaking, they're hoping for immediate action.
"What happened to Smiths Falls can happen to any entity in Canada," CEO of Truro Cannabis, Leonard Walter, said. "There [are] federal and provincial regulations that both need to be worked on. There [are] solutions, we just need folks talking."
After a nearly 12-month delay, Health Canada announced in September 2022 it would be conducting a legislative review of the Cannabis Act.
Smitherman said while there has been data collected and surveys created to increase awareness on the problems in the industry, he hopes it'll be enough to be taken into consideration ahead of the 2023 budget.
In related news, The Ontario Cannabis Store announced that it will be reducing its price margins in a bid to help pot retailers compete with the illicit market.
The OCS estimates the move will put $35 million back in the hands of licensed pot companies this fiscal year and $60 million in the 2024 fiscal year. The OCS expects these amounts to compound annually in the years thereafter as the legal cannabis market grows.
The margin reduction will come from a fixed mark-up for each product category that will be standard for all producers and applied as a percentage above each product's landed costs, which already take into account producers' margins and excise taxes.
The margin drop was largely triggered by the strength of the illicit pot market, which still made up 43 per cent of Ontario's cannabis market last March.
"This announcement will allow producers to better compete with the illicit market, particularly when it comes to dried flower," said Charlie Bowman, chief executive and president of licensed producer Hexo Corp. in an email.
"This is an important step in giving Canada's cannabis companies the upper hand over illegal producers."
The average price for cannabis was $11.78 per gram at the start of 2019, shortly after legalisation, but fell to $7.50 per gram in 2021, a November report from Deloitte Canada and cannabis research firms Hifyre and BDSA said.
The average price for vape cartridges has similarly fallen by 41 per cent from $32.02 per gram around legalisation to $19 per gram a year later.
In other news from Canada, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she wants Canada to consider expanding access to psychedelic drugs as medical treatments.
On Tuesday, May and other MPs joined a delegation of patients and health-care practitioners who are trying to lobby the federal government to make psilocybin -- the psychedelic compound produced by magic mushrooms -- more readily available.
The group is calling on lawmakers to advance clinical trials to better understand how the substance could be used for medical treatment of some mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
Psilocybin is listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its medical use is restricted to people taking part in clinical trials or those who get an exemption.
"We need to do more research," May said at a news conference.
"But to get that research done, we need to make access available to patients whose doctors are there to help them with registered therapists who know how to administer psilocybin."
May said the federal government should expand access to psilocybin before Canada's assisted-dying laws are expanded to include eligibility for people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder. A Liberal bill to delay the expansion until March 2024 is expected to receive unanimous support in the House of Commons.
Over the next year, May said, Canada should "accelerate our research efforts" to see whether psilocybin can be used as a treatment for people who are suffering because of mental illness.
In relation to that news, Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:LSDI), an early-stage psychedelics manufacturing company that is focused on becoming the premier research, development, and manufacturing organization for the emerging psychotropics-based medicines industry, announced last week that it has filed an amendment to its current Dealer's License with Health Canada to add cocaine and heroin, among others to the list of approved substances that it is authorized to manufacture.
The shift toward a public health response to the drug crisis will provide greater opportunities for people who use substances to connect with a growing range of harm reduction and treatment options. Currently, Lucy focuses on the development of psychedelic drugs for research purposes and hopes to supply safe access programs in the future. The Company has licenses to manufacture several controlled substances, including Psilocybin; MDMA; LSD; Psilocin; N,N-DMT; Mescaline; and 2C-B.
"We look forward to a time when Lucy can safely supply harm reduction programs globally, aiming to reduce lethal and or negative consequences associated with adulterated drug supply, particularly considering that fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of deaths among 18 to 45-year-olds in the United States," said Chris McElvany, the Company's CEO. "It's time to realize that the failed war on drugs has caused additional harm to the masses worldwide, and harm reduction programs will lead to less death and more treatment options in the long term."
Following its IPO, Lucy believes that it is well-positioned to continue positively impacting the field of psychedelic medicine.
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