
With four Canadian cannabis giants suffering a combined $10 billion drainoff in market value since the U.S. vaping crisis that started in August, it remains to be seen how much the troubles will affect the firms’ CBD business.
Publicly traded Tilray, Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis and Cronos Group all have seen their stock prices tumble as the hysteria over vaping, envisioned as a major CBD sub-sector, continues to unfold in the USA. Shares in the four companies have dropped on average around 37%, with Tilray being the biggest loser at a whopping 48%.
While CBD has yet to be directly implicated in vaping illnesses reported in the USA, all four of the Canadian companies announced initiatives and deals in CBD and vaping in recent months, projects that could be curtailed due to the rough waters.
For reference, in U.S. states that have legalized recreational marijuana, vape commands between 10% to 25% of the total market.
CBD makers have said “Cannabis2.0” will usher in innovative products and delivery systems such as edibles, drinks, vapes and other applications in a next wave of growth for the industry, with margins on some products projected to be greater than those in the marijuana sector. (CBD is also showing up in baked goods, bath bombs, candies, capsules and tablets, cosmetics, patches, skin care and pain creams, sprays, sex lubes, suppositories and tampons!)
Canopy: ‘Unique, high-margin’
Canopy Growth in August touted the creation of a suite of “unique, high-margin” vapes, edibles and beverages under an arrangement with New York-based Constellation Brands, which has invested around $6 billion in Canopy Growth since 2