It was a banner day for cannabis stocks as the North American Marijuana Index jumped 2.44 points to 112.50. Investors on both sides of the US - Canadian border had much to celebrate on Thursday, with the United States Marijuana Index rising 0.70 points to 50.61 while Canadian stocks skyrocketed 7.96 points to 226.76.
The industry took notice of the vape pen market recently, thanks to a report from Marijuana Business Daily that they have become the most popular product in what experts call “Cannabis 2.0” up North. Point-of-sale data from analytics firm Headset shows that vape pen sales claimed nearly 16 percent of the cannabis market in Alberta in June, 13 percent in British Columbia, and 15 percent in Ontario, according to MJBizDaily.
The report does note that traditional cannabis products — smokeable, for example — still hold most of the market share in Canada. However, since the rollout of “Cannabis 2.0” last December, vape pens have captured the consumer market. Last February, in Ontario, MJBizDaily notes that vape pens outsold pre-rolled cannabis products.
Ryan Roch, owner of Lake City Cannabis in Chestermere Alberta, told the site that vape pens are growing in popularity because of their simplicity and because the prices have been falling for the past six months.
“In Alberta they’re coming down for sure. … (TerrAscend brand) Haven St. launched with an CA$80 vape pen at the gate, and now it’s down to CA$39.99,” Roch told MJBizDaily. “There’s some significant price dropping, and now there’s some new companies entering the market.”
According to Roch, the popularity of vape pens may also have to do with their accessibility.
“Edible-wise, we’re still trying to get gummies at an accessible rate … and as far as concentrate goes, it’s just wildly too expensive, still,” he told MJBizDaily.
Some Canadian provinces like Newfoundland and Quebec banned vape pens following the vaping scare last year, while British Columbia added an extra sales tax to consumers.
Yesterday’s Cannabis Stock Winners And Losers
GrowGeneration Corp. (GRWG) rose $3.74 per share up to $12.50 for a gain of 42.69 percent. Sundial Growers Inc. (SNDL) had a modest bump of $0.15 per share up to $0.70, an increase of 27.27 percent. HEXO Corp. (HEXO:CA) rose $0.14 per share to $1.07 for a gain of 15.05 percent.
MariMed Inc (MRMD) fell $0.0154 per share to $0.2046, for a loss of 7.00 percent. Harvest Health & Recreation Inc (HRVSF) lost $0.075 per share, falling to $1.27, a decline of 5.58 percent. Greenlane Holdings Inc. (GNLN) dropped $0.14 per share to $3.11, a loss of 4.31 percent.
Alkaline Water goes West
The Alkaline Water Company Inc., which produces CBD infused products sold under the brand names A88CBD, among other things, announced this week that their entire line of beverages would be carried by Mahaska, a leading Direct-Store-Deliver (DSD) provider in some of the major markets in the Midwest. “This ties nicely with our major growth initiative of penetrating the hospitality space during our current fiscal year. With our superior taste profile and increasing consumer demand for healthier and eco-friendly options, we believe our brands will be a hit with their customers,” stated Richard Wright, President and CEO of The Alkaline Water Company in a statement.
