Why The Swedes Love Marijuana Stocks

Europe Cannabis News Roundup

European Cannabis News Updates - Why the Swedes Love Weed Stocks from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Swedish Won’t Legalize Cannabis, But Invests In The Green Rush

Cannabis stocks are all the rage among Swedish investors, following the cult-like followings for stocks in 3D-printing, Bitcoin, and biometric sensor companies.

“Out of nowhere, the interest for Canadian cannabis shares has completely exploded in Sweden,” says Joakin Bornold, who works as a savings advisor at the online broker bank Nordnet AB.

The biggest names in cannabis stocks hail from Canada. Canopy Growth Corp. and Aurora Cannabis Inc. hold the reins as part of the top 10 most traded stocks during January in Nordnet, says Bornold.

“That’s where the money is, if there’s a will to continue legalizing markets,” he adds. “But if the wind turns, that gigantic market will close as fast as it opened.” Swedish stocks also benefited from the green rush, such as Heliospectra AB, which makes advanced lighting systems for plants and trades on the alternative market in Stockholm. Heliospectra AB’s shares increased 143% during the first 2 weeks of the year, and is currently enjoying a 39% increase year-to-date.

“Heliospectra became involved in the rush due to the so-called Klondike thesis, that is, it’s not the gold diggers that make money, but the people selling the spades,” Bornold says.

Bornold predicts that even though the green rush made the start of the year exciting, it will eventually cool down. He says that around 50,000 Swedes engaged in cannabis stock trades in Nordnet and Avanza AB last month alone.

“Trading in these shares will most likely continue, but not at this level, we just can’t have more people trading in cannabis shares than in Volvo shares,” Bornold says. “It’s interesting that so many Swedes are prepared to invest in cannabis companies while very few according to polls want to legalize cannabis in Sweden. There doesn’t seem to be a problem in making money from it.”

Malta Gets Real About Medical Marijuana

Slowly but surely, Malta is working on legalizing cannabis and turning it into a reality. In the span of just a few years, Malta has gone from cannabis legalization being a pipe dream into making serious changes for a regulated, yet highly restricted legal cannabis market.

The parliament has just approved passing of the 2nd reading of the MMJ bill last week. The measure would change the current laws to allow non-smokable forms of MMJ to be allowed in the country. According to Chris Fearne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, he was “happy to see that there is consensus on this issue.” Fearne says that Maltese doctors who are registered with the Maltese Medical Council will be allowed to prescribe MMJ, since the current system only permits a few government-approved doctors to prescribe it.

Fearne also adds that cannabis will be regulated in the same way that other narcotic medicines are; a registry will take note of all details regarding MMJ prescriptions kept by the Superintendent of Health. They will record everything from MMJ prescriptions such as doses, how long patients will be taking it, and the amounts taken, among others.

Fearne says that the government will release a guidebook for doctors, describing how the new MMJ system will work – once the third and final reading of the bill has been completed. A separate guidebook for importers and MMJ manufacturers will also be issued. Additionally, Maltese MMJ manufacturers will be permitted to export the drug to other European nations where it’s already legal.

Canada is already eyeing the Maltese market; Nuuvera, a Canadian cannabis processing firm was recently acquired by Aphria. The joint effort is set to make them a major international cannabis business player, who intend to disrupt the MMJ market in Malta once the regulations have been finalized. Together, they plan to establish a laboratory on Malta as part of their $5 million worth expansion plans in Europe.

The changes in Malta are putting them ahead of the rest of the EU, although other countries are also gearing up for the green rush. Barcelona, for one, has been a pioneer in cannabis social clubs which may put them at an advantage over Amsterdam’s legendary MMJ market. Italy will also eventually open up its MMJ market, as early this month we saw the opening of medical cannabis dispensaries selling smokable products.