How medical cannabis emerged as US election’s real winner

With the outcome of the US election finally decided, the medical cannabis sector has emerged as one of the clear winners, say industry experts.

While a ‘Blue Wave’ would have been the best result for the sector with the potential federal legalisation of cannabis in the US, the industry has no doubt benefited from the election result.

In five different States, ballot initiatives to legalise medical and/or recreational cannabis were passed.

Most significantly, New Jersey legalised adult-use cannabis which is expected to create a domino effect in neighbouring States, with those in the sector describing it as an ‘exciting time’ as medical cannabis goes mainstream.

“The outlook for cannabis is looking increasingly positive,” said Nawan Butt, Portfolio Manager of The Medical Cannabis and Wellness UCITS ETF.

“The outcome of the US elections is now expected to further increase medical legal jurisdictions in the US for cannabis. There are also developments around the world that illustrate the growing demand for medical cannabis, and how it is becoming more mainstream. This is a very exciting time for the legal medical cannabis industry.”

According to Butt, as momentum in this sector increases in the US, the stage is set for the rest of the world to follow in the path of medical cannabis legalisation.

Share prices have reacted positively to the latest developments but there is still tremendous upside, believed to be one of the more exciting growth opportunities across sectors.

The global cannabis outlook:

Germany
Germany hit a symbolic milestone for medical cannabis activity in September, with over 100,000 patients applying for reimbursement from their insurers since the start of the medical cannabis program in early 2017. Although this number does not include all medical cannabis prescriptions, it does provide insight into the growth of the medical cannabis programme in Germany, which has been fairly stable since its inception.

In the second quarter of 2020, total reimbursements reached 36.7million Euros, setting Germany a run-rate of roughly 150million Euros in sales, and a 24% increase in year over year sales.

UK
In a sign of confidence, the UK’s financial regulator (Financial Conduct Authority) has cleared the listing of medical cannabis companies on the senior London Stock Exchange (LSE). For now, companies operating in the medical cannabis space globally will be allowed to list, providing they have the appropriate government licenses and do not fall foul to the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). The demand for medical cannabis investment continues to grow in the UK, as evidenced by this regulation.

Australia and Israel
The number of patients in Australia and Israel who have been approved for medical cannabis treatment is on the rise, which rounds out the medical cannabis story to be a wider one beyond the immediate monetisation of the US alone.

Australia experienced another six thousand patients in September and Israel another ten thousand in August. Similar stories continue to prevail in different jurisdictions across the world, but any federal moves in the US will be largely influential to many international markets as well.