Canadian cannabis spot price launched

While some pot producers and retailers may differ on the price of a gram of weed, one company has launched a new cannabis spot price indices for the nascent legal Canadian market. BNN Bloomberg’s David George-Cosh reports that Cannabis Benchmarks’ new metric to track Canadian wholesale cannabis prices came after interest grew steadily after Canada became the first developed country in the world to legalize recreational use of the drug. The group aims to publish prices daily and eventually on a real-time basis if a liquid, tradable market for cannabis emerges. As for the actual spot price itself, for the week ending Dec. 14, the company's Canada Cannabis Spot Index was $7.79 per gram, up 0.8 per cent from the prior week.

RBC is now open to cannabis deals

Royal Bank of Canada, one of the country’s biggest banks, is finally getting into the cannabis business. The bank’s investment-banking division will advise on stock sales and arranging takeovers for companies in the marijuana industry, according to by Bloomberg’s Doug Alexander. After waiting on the sidelines and watching peers such as Bank of Montreal enter the pot space, RBC finally received clarification from U.S. authorities on how it could participate in the marijuana industry. RBC also started research coverage of the cannabis industry this month.

Tilray signs global medical cannabis deal with Sandoz

After announcing a “binding letter of intent” to be the “exclusive collaborator” of Sandoz Canada, Tilray announced Tuesday it signed a global partnership deal with the Canadian affiliate’s parent company to boost the availability of medical cannabis products globally. Tilray and Sandoz AG said in a release the two companies will work together to commercialize non-smokable medical marijuana offerings, co-brand certain products, develop new products and educate pharmacists and physicians about pot.

U.S. cannabis market expected to dominate headlines in 2019

American cannabis companies are likely to enjoy their moment in the limelight over the next year as more U.S. states start to legalize the drug, Bloomberg reports. While Canada has seen its fair share of cannabis headlines thanks to it being the first developed country to legalize pot, the U.S. market is also 10 times the size of its northern neighbours despite being behind from a regulatory perspective. The U.S. companies listing on Canadian stock exchanges show a significantly higher degree of maturity compared to some of their Canadian peers. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that investors are getting tired of the Canadian cannabis story amid supply shortages and disappointing earnings.