Why Companies are Buying up Assets in the American Cannabis Market

DENVER, November 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Cannabisnewswire News Commentary 

Canada became the first country in the G8 to legalize recreational cannabis. With all the buzz surrounding Canada's cannabis boom, savvy investors have begun to assess the U.S. market, focusing on companies such as Chemistree Technology, Inc. (CSE:CHM) (OTC:CHMJF) (Profile), which in July 2018 purchased a suite of physical assets, currently under lease to Sugarleaf Farm LLC, a I-502 Tier 3 licensee located in Sedro Woolley, Washington. This moved was fueled by movement north in Canada, including large Canadian cannabis companies such as Origin House (CSE:OH)(OTCQX: ORHOF) and Namaste Technologies (TSX.V:N) (OTC: NXTTF), which are already seeing major success as their products continue to sell well across the country. While newer entrants in the cannabis industry such as CannTrust Holdings (TSX:TRST) (OTC:CNTTF) and iAnthus Capital (CSE:IAN) (OTC:ITHUF) are creating their own product lines and playing catch up with major brands that consumers are already familiar with.

To view an infographic of this editorial, click here.

Establishing Brands Early 

Large-scale cannabis legislation has never existed to the extent that it now does in Canada. With major Canadian companies creating brands that resonate with cannabis consumers.

The legal U.S cannabis market is worth an estimated $8.5 billion, claiming 90 percent of the entire $9.5 billion global market. Of that, sales of legal marijuana in Washington State have climbed up to $1.3 billion in the fiscal year 2017, up from $786 million in fiscal 2016, and $259 million the year before. The Canadian market was worth only 6 percent of that $9.5 billion total in 2017. In Canada, competition is heating up as the larger cannabis companies battle for their share of the market. They are relying on their brands and name recognition to help them achieve success.

However, the U.S. cannabis market is shaping up differently. Due to cannabis being federally illegal in the United States, cannabis companies are unable to ship their products across state lines. The unique state-by-state approach to legalization has provided Chemistree Technology, Inc. (CSE:CHM) (OTCQB:CHMJF) with an ideal environment to build its brands through the production and sale of premium cannabis in California and Washington. It has also shielded American companies from an influx of foreign product.

Chemistree is another company that is focused on establishing quality brands. The company originally acquired Sugarleaf's assets in Washington in order to augment its product line with a desirable premium brand. Sugarleaf is already featured in over 50 dispensaries within the state, with estimates suggesting that it will penetrate over 100 stores by 2018 and as many as 200 stores by 2019.

Sugarleaf's signature White 99 strain has a THC level that registers between 28-32 percent. This is incredibly high even when compared to some of the premium cannabis strains that are being grown in Canada. Sugarleaf's master grower, Jason Flynn, is one of the many reasons Chemistree chose to acquire the brand. Flynn and his team have won two consecutive cannabis cup competitions for their strains, including the 2014 People's Choice (Presidential Kush) and 2015 People's Choice (White 99).

Chemistree also managed to purchase property in the middle of California's cannabis-friendly Desert Hot Springs for a reasonable $1.23 million. The site is large enough to support up to 205,000 square feet of greenhouses spread out across three facilities. Once fully operational, the company could produce nearly 50,000 pounds of cannabis per year. Desert Hot Springs is a popular cannabis region where there are 3.78 dispensaries for every one thousand people, which is the second highest pot shop density in the state.

Premium Cannabis is the Real Asset 

The demand for premium products exists as cannabis enthusiasts desire THC-rich strains in order to achieve a vivid sensory experience. Growing high-quality cannabis at scale is a challenge that many large producers struggle with as it costs more to produce, and the margin of error is higher.

Health Canada predicts that nearly 2.2 million pounds of cannabis will be consumed within Canada in 2018 alone. The majority of that cannabis will be low- and mid-grade quality, which wholesales for a lot less. Premium cannabis, while more difficult to grow, does provide companies that can grow it with higher profit margins. According to Deloitte, high-quality cannabis could sell for up to 12 percent more than lower quality flower.

The majority of the provinces have supply agreements in place with various licensed producers in the industry. These supply agreements were established in order to provide additional premium cannabis to those provinces.

Demand Will Only Increase 

The U.S. cannabis sector is currently in its formative stages. Established companies within the industry that are preemptively laying the framework before the federal government legalizes recreational cannabis should have the ability to build brand recognition and scale them as the floodgates open.

Grand View Research predicts that the global cannabis market could be worth $146.4 billion by 2025. Companies such as Chemistree may be ideally positioned to take advantage of a larger global market because of its focus on building long-term brands that appeal to cannabis users.

Major Players in North American Cannabis 

Origin House (CSE:OH) (OTCQX: ORHOF) is focused on creating global brands. It currently holds more than 50 brands including Bhang^[TM], Soul Sugar Soul Kitchen and Green Rock Botanicals, among others. The company has a distribution network of 4500plus dispensaries across the United States. With a suite of established brands across key markets in North America, Origin is actively developing infrastructure to support the proliferation of its brands internationally, initially through its acquisition of Canadian retailer 180 Smoke.

CannTrust Holdings (TSX:TRST) (OTC:CNTTF) is a relatively new Canadian cannabis company specializing in medical cannabis products including CBD- and THC-infused capsules and oils. CannTrust recently partnered with Breakthru Beverage Group's subsidiary company Kindred to secure distribution through the Canadian adult consumer market.

Namaste Technologies (TSX.V:N) (OTC: NXTTF) operates the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform with more than 30 websites in 20 countries under various brands. The company product offering through its subsidiaries - such as CannMart Inc., VapeBR, VaporSeller, etc. - includes vaporizers, glassware, accessories, CBD (cannabidiol) products and medical cannabis in the Canadian market.

iAnthus Capital (CSE:IAN)(OTCQB:ITHUF) is a U.S.-based licensed producer and cannabis retail company. iAnthus currently owns a 200,000-square-foot facility in Lake Wales, Florida, and a 4,500-square-foot dispensary in Palm Beach County, Florida. It is also planning to scale to more than 30 locations throughout the state in the coming years.

For more information on Chemistree Technology, Inc., please visit Chemistree Technology, Inc. (CSE:CHM) (OTCQB:CHMJF). Please also read and review the following article, With Cannabis Now Legal in Canada, Investors Are Turning South to the Largest Emerging Cannabis Market in the World .

About CannabisNewsWire 

CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

Receive Text Alerts from CannabisNewsWire: Text "Cannabis" to 21000

For more information please visit https://www.CannabisNewsWire.com and or https://CannabisNewsWire.News

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with CNW or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by CNW are solely those of CNW and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable CNW and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. CNW and FNM and their respective affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.

The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author, and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, CNW, FNM, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment.

CNW & FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and CNW and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.

CannabisNewsWire (CNW) & NetworkNewsWire (NNW) are proud to be affiliated partners of the Investor Brand Network (IBN)

About IBN 

Over the past 10+ years we have consistently introduced new network brands, each specifically designed to fulfil the unique needs of our growing client base and services. Today, we continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.

Please feel free to visit the Investor Brand Network (IBN) http://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com

Corporate Communications Contact:
CannabisNewsWire (CNW)
Denver, Colorado
http://www.CannabisNewsWire.com
+303-498-7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.net

Media Contact:
FN Media Group, LLC
NNW@FinancialNewsMedia.com  
+1-(954)345-0611