Bedrocan is set to become the second publicly traded marijuana-related stock in Canada that actually has a license to manufacture and sell the drug for medical purposes. This will put it in direct competition with Tweed Marijuana. Bedrocan Canada has over a decade of experience growing and selling marijuana.
One look at Tweed’s volume over the past two weeks highlights how much market share the Ontario-based company commands. While Tweed has become the pre-eminent name for medical-marijuana stocks in Canada, it will soon be going up against a company from the Netherlands. The Dutch have revolutionized how the world uses marijuana, both from a recreational and medical standpoint.
Remember, marijuana and weed enthusiasts have been visiting Amsterdam for decades, where cannabis has been tolerated in “coffeeshops” for recreational use since the 1970′s.
Today, as Bedrocan’s website explains, the Dutch government remains the only source in the world for medicinal-grade cannabis that is exported for patient use in full compliance with international laws and regulations.
The Dutch know what they are doing when it comes to weed…
Leaf Science reported in mid-April that Bedrocan Canada is one of 12 companies with a license to grow and sell medical marijuana under Health Canada’s new program.
Bedrocan Canada was formed by Bedrocan BV, the sole supplier of medical marijuana in Holland and other European countries.
Leaf Science reported on April 16th that Bedrocan managed to raise $4.4 million from private investors just last week.
History and Competition from Europe
Below is an excerpt from Bedrocan’s website that highlights some advantages it may have over hopeful domestic producers new to the industry:
“In 2011, Bedrocan BV, a Dutch company, was invited to Ottawa by Health Canada to comment on Canada’s new regulations for medicinal cannabis, the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). Since the Netherlands has an established medicinal cannabis framework, we came away from this meeting with a sense that Canadian producers, patients, and healthcare professionals could benefit from the knowledge and experience Bedrocan BV had developed producing medicinal cannabis in Europe. We decided to look more closely into how we could provide Canadians access to high quality standardized medicinal cannabis. This led to our decision to work with Canadian management to establish a company in Canada to work under the newly established regulatory (MMPR) framework.
Bedrocan Canada is a joint venture between “Bedrocan BV” of the Netherlands and “Bedrocan Canada Inc”, a Canadian start-up with extensive knowledge and experience in the use of cannabis and cannabinoids in clinical practice.”
Bedrocan also notes that it is focused on raising the expectations of what it means for cannabis to be truly “medicinal.”
In late February, a Health Canada spokesman said that it “approved import from the Netherlands of over 100 kilograms of dried marijuana”. This was reportedly done in an effort to help avoid a supply shortage.
The National Post reported that Health Canada refused on Friday (February 28th 2014) to reveal how much Dutch weed the government has imported to date, but says that some has arrived.
On Bedrocan Canada’s website, it states that:
Due to overwhelming demand, and in order to ensure adequate supplies for our existing customers, Bedrocan Canada will no longer be accepting new customer registrations effective April 20th 2014.
Only new applications received before April 20th 2014 will be processed.
Click here to learn more.
Rumours have abounded that Bedrocan will opt for a reverse takeover as opposed to an IPO. While Tweed’s IPO was one of the most anticipated in recent years, Bedrocan is going to come out of the gates with strong experience in a new industry that very few companies can match. With $4.4 million already raised to go public, investors will soon have access to a Dutch-based, Canadian subsidiary which has specialized in the production and sale of medical marijuana for over a decade.
Tweed was up 14% Monday morning, after hitting a high of $3.97 per share on 2.5 million shares traded. Investors of Tweed should be watching Bedrocan’s launch into the public markets with great interest.
