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The reclassification of cannabis as a lower risk Schedule III substance in the U.S. would, if implemented, potentially allow foreign companies to begin selling their products in the United States and that has had a significant affect on the prices of Canadian cannabis companies many of which are expected to expand into the United States if, and when, federal legalization is realized there. Indeed, the advance in prices continued this week with the Canadian Cannabis LP Index which tracks the performance of Canada's 5 largest cannabis LPs UP 26% in the past 2 weeks and is now "only" DOWN 17% YTD.

Below are the changes in the stock prices of the 5 constituents in the Index this week in descending order of performance, this week, MTD and YTD:

1. Aurora (ACB): UP 84.9% this week; UP 108.5% MTD; UP 10.1% YTD
   • Aurora Cannabis reiterated last Friday that it expects to achieve positive cash flow by calendar year 2024, beating analysts' expectations by two years. Mr. Market, for its part, seemed to take this news as a sign that the Canadian cannabis market is starting to work through its early growing pains.
2. Canopy Growth (CGC): UP 45.2% this week; UP 145.5% MTD; DOWN 40.5% YTD 
   • Canopy Growth announced yesterday that it will file bankruptcy papers for its BioSteel dietary supplements business, and cease pouring money into a venture that accounted for 60% of Canopy Growth's losses last quarter. TD Cowen notes that shuttering BioSteel will significantly reduce Canopy Growth's cash burn giving room for the share price to move higher.
3. OrganiGram (OGI): UP 15.9% this week; UP 18.2% MTD; DOWN 41.7% YTD
   • Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, reiterated his commitment to advancing the SAFE Banking Act this week, which would allow banks and other financial institutions to serve cannabis businesses without fear of federal prosecution. The bill reportedly has bipartisan support and could move out of committee in the coming weeks. This would be a major step forward for the U.S. cannabis industry, which currently operates largely on a cash basis.
4. Cronos (CRON): UP 8.6% this week; UP 21.3% MTD; DOWN 5.2% YTD
   • The global medical cannabis market is forecast to grow by a CAGR of 23.6% from 2021 to 2030 and Cronos is at the forefront in medical cannabis. It is Israel's top medical marijuana maven and with Israel poised to roll out new, patient-friendly regulations by December, the horizon looks brighter than ever. In addition, Cronos has inked a deal with a premier medical cannabis distributor in Germany, gearing up to kick-start shipments by the third quarter which should contribute significantly to Cronos’ top-line growth.
5. Tilray (TLRY): DOWN 3.0% this week; DOWN 2.0% MTD; UP 9.7% YTD
   • In August Tilray acquired eight brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev making it one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S. market thereby diversify its business yet building up a position in the U.S. that could pave the way for future growth there should the cannabis market open up.

Summary

The munKNEE Canadian Cannabis LPs Index is UP 14.8% this week on top of a 9.7% last week but still remains DOWN 17.4% YTD.

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