VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Most savvy investors are aware of the recent surge in interest in the Medical Marijuana and Industrial Hemp space. The sector is quickly developing, as new Federal rules kicked in April 1 st 2014. It is important for investors to align themselves with companies that will actually deliver. There are several market figures floating around, but safe to say the market will grow exponentially over the next 5-10 years. Early exposure is likely warranted.
Only 12 licenses have been granted to date, with Health Canada indicating more would be issued. For context, in the US, more states plan and/or will pass the legalization to allow medical and in some cases recreational marijuana—20 have legislations pending– and the market is forecast to hit $10.2 billion in less than 5 years.
There are currently about 40,000 users of Medical Marijuana in Canada. Forecasts are that that number could increase 10-fold within five years.
Vancouver-based Supreme Pharmaceuticals (SPRWF – OTC) (SL – CSE) recently announced that it secured an option to purchase a South Okanagan based Medical Marijuana company and forwarded the initial capital and shares. This company is currently producing and selling Marijuana under the older MMAP licence and with a recent court decision to extend the MMAP program will be able to continue to operate under its current licences. The Okanagan Company has applied for a commercial MMPR license to produce and sell commercially grown medical marijuana.
The company reports, "We are excited to be purchasing a business that is established and has a realistic chance of acquiring a major MMPR commercial license from Health Canada. Medical marijuana as an industry is flourishing. We are continuing to evaluate additional opportunities in both Canada and the United States, which will give our shareholders tremendous upside potential."
Supreme intends to employ a 'Roll-Up" strategy, where the principal aim is to reduce costs through economies of scale and also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it acquires greater scale. Rollups may also have the effect of rationalizing competition in crowded and fragmented markets—which this space certainly is-- where there are often many small participants but room for only a few to succeed. In this regard, Supreme plans to acquire multiple producing facilities and apply for several separate MMPR licenses increasing the company's chances of a successful application.
All an investor has to do to vet the scope and potential of the market is to see the growth of the Marijuana Index ( http://marijuanaindex.org/ ), which has seen constituents rise from 20-50 in Q1 2014 and a current value of $4.2 billion. Companies must be publicly traded and have a market cap of at least $1 million. Listing and delisting criteria are constantly monitored.
Many companies have announced plans, but few even have any deals in the pipeline. The few—as below-- that have, have seen nicely enhanced stock activity.
Affinor: Announced its plans to move into the space and has hit a recent high of $0.35 in heavy trading; likely as a result that Vertical Design is taking a controlling 10% stake in AFI.
Tweed: The first Medical marijuana producer on the TSX.V, trading at $3.50
Enertopia: JV with LEXARIA in Medical Marijuana industry. Shares up from $0.10 in January to hit $0.80 at the end of March.
Management continues: "We believe this industry is in its infancy and we are excited to be able to get into the business in the early days. We think that this life science field complements the businesses that we are currently reviewing, and that 2014 will be a very satisfying one for our shareholders. "
Investors should be impressed with the uniqueness of Supreme's potential. Unlike a lot of its peers, it has solid deals underway as it builds to become a leader in the Life Sciences/Medical Marijuana space: With deep R&D to bring other opportunities, therapies and products to market. Management has targeted underserved areas alongside a blue ribbon scientific advisory board that will quickly ramp up and take advantage of exceptional and fast growth markets.
At this stage of development, investors would be wise to keep an eye on Supreme's progress, as evidenced by the milestones it has already achieved in a very short time frame.
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Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc. Suite #430, 580 Hornby Street Vancouver, BC V6C 3B6 Email: Phone: 647-340-6744
