The Canadian Marijuana Index (CMI) hit its lowest point in over a year and a half today, closing at 470 by the end of the day. The CMI is now down approximately 22% year-over-year, suggesting that investors are struggling to maintain confidence in Canada’s cannabis industry.
Considering that even Bruce Linton—the former CEO of the world’s largest cannabis company, Canopy Growth Corp.—believes that Canada’s cannabis sector is ‘done’, it’s no wonder why investor sentiment could be turning negative.
Via Financial Post,
“Anybody who’s dumb enough to launch a new cannabis company in Canada, I don’t know what they’re doing, they should have been at it six years ago. Canada is done,” he [Bruce Linton] told Bloomberg TV. “You’re going to end up with a few winners and a whole bunch of people who wonder why they started.”
While it’s important to keep in mind that these comments are coming from a man whose non-compete agreement prohibits him from participating in the Canadian cannabis industry, it’s hard to disagree with much of what Linton said. Without a novel technology or business model, Canadian companies looking to get into the cannabis sector today could be at a severe disadvantage… especially considering the time that it takes to build out production facilities and/or retail locations.
However, it may be a bit premature to write off the country’s cannabis industry entirely.
Cannabis edibles—one of the industry’s most highly anticipated new product types—isn’t even legal in Canada yet. Moreover, provinces like Alberta and Ontario are slowly but surely beginning to issue new licenses for cannabis retailers. When one takes all of these factors into account, the dark clouds surrounding Canada’s cannabis industry appear to dissipate; in actuality, some of the sector’s best growth opportunities may still lie ahead.
Canadian Marijuana Index Poised To Rebound In Fall 2019 Despite Headwinds
Although the Canadian Marijuana Index may be floundering now, historical data shows the potential for a rebound in the CMI this fall. As for Linton and his views on the future of the Canadian cannabis industry, investors would do well to remember that it’s not uncommon for industry pioneers (and Linton is the cannabis industry’s quintessential pioneer) to believe that there is little left to explore in a world that they themselves mapped.
