Village Farms to list on Nasdaq, completes greenhouse conversion

There could be another cannabis company to list on the Nasdaq exchange. Village Farms International announced its intention to list its shares on the U.S. exchange on Monday under the “VFF” ticker symbol. The announcement comes on the heels of Village Farms fully converting a massive 1.1 million square foot greenhouse in Delta, B.C. to a cannabis growing facility from its joint venture with Pure Sunfarms.  According to GMP Securities, the greenhouse would bring production capacity to 75 tonnes, making the company one of the largest cannabis producers in Canada.  Tilray and Cronos Group are among a small handful of cannabis companies that already trade on the Nasdaq exchange.

Several U.S. states still eyeing legalizing pot later this year 

The drumbeats for legal cannabis in the U.S. continue to grow louder. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo highlighted legalizing recreational pot in his administration’s budget, which could take effect later this summer. In Connecticut, however, pro-legal cannabis lawmakers say they are still several votes short to pass a bill that would legalize pot in the state. In New Jersey, the prime sponsor of a bill to legalize adult-use marijuana thinks it might be easier to pose the issue in a November referendum rather than work with fellow legislators whose attitudes on legal pot may be shifting.

Canopy Growth subsidiaries start medical business in U.K. and Poland

Canopy Growth subsidiaries have formally set up shop in the U.K. and Poland to sell medical marijuana amid the company’s ongoing international expansion efforts. Canopy is partnering with U.K. cannabis research firm Beckley Canopy Therapeutics to make products available in Britain from early this year. The moves come as the U.K. reclassified marijuana in November to be prescribed by doctors for cannabis-based medicines, while Poland’s ruling government legalized medical pot under strict restrictions. 

Zenabis appoints new CEO, secures $51M credit facility 

Zenabis appointed Andrew Grieve as its new CEO, replacing Rick Brar who will now act as a special advisor to the company. Grieve is a co-founder of Agentis Capital, which has advised on more than $20 billion of various transactions ranging from infrastructure to technology and industrials sectors. The appointment comes less than a month after Bevo Agro and Sun Pharm Investments completed a reverse take-over to create the Zenabis corporate entity. In a separate announcement, Zenabis announced it entered a $51 million credit facility with a major Canadian bank to pay down some of its debt and convert a B.C. facility to a cannabis grow op.

Organigram to defend against class action allegations 

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia certified a proposed class action lawsuit against Organigram after a plaintiff accused the cannabis producer of using certain pesticides that were not registered for use on its products. Organigram recalled its medical marijuana products twice in 2016 and 2017 after finding abnormal results from its pesticide testing. The Canadian Press reports that Organigram said it is reviewing the court's decision to determine whether it will appeal, and it intends to vigorously defend itself against the class action.

DAILY BUZZ

“Investors rarely get to witness the birth of an industry."
– CIBC World Markets analyst John Zamparo on the potential paradigm shift of cannabis in a research note published last week. 

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