After the passage of the Cannabis Act, in some ways adult recreational marijuana legalization in Canada has brought more questions than answers as companies seek to navigate the shifting industry.
Besides varying rules and regulations by province, cannabis companies have rushed to be listed on both U.S. and Canadian stock exchanges, with many going after coveted ticker symbols that are instantly recognizable.
With WEED already taken by Canopy Growth Corporation, an extremely high interest from a wide range of companies in the POT symbol has prompted the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) to initiate a new process to acquire the name.
In conjunction with the Toronto Stock Exchange and Aequitas NEO Exchange, the CSE has revealed that POT will be granted by a random lottery on Jan. 30, 2019.
Any issuer listed on those three exchanges have until Jan. 29 to enter into the lottery, which is a free process.
To avoid a lottery winner holding the name for a third party not yet ready to use it, the winner will have 90 days to change their company symbol to POT, with no extensions to that deadline.
While cannabis corporations rush to enter their names, the battle over who will be known as POT isn’t the only lottery that has cannabis companies concerned.
The Ontario cannabis retail storefront lottery was just held, with 25 licenses granted to allow for the province’s first brick and mortar stores to open in April.
More than 17,000 individuals and corporations applied for the license, including a variety of established brands and total newcomers.
In a development that will likely shake up the business landscape in Ontario, none of the 25 winners were major names in the Canadian marijuana industry.
Some of the competing companies had even gone so far as to already construct their storefronts under the assumption they would either win the lottery, or be able to entice a winner to offer a franchise in exchange for a lump sum or revenue deal.
Winners are currently fielding large scale offers from those who weren’t lucky enough to nab a license, with a bidding war underway that could be more lucrative for the winners than actually opening their own stores.
While the content of many of those offers are unknown, both High Tide Inc. (CSE:HITI) and Inner Spirit Holdings (OTCMKTS: INSHF) have revealed they are courting winners.
Professional Cannabis Consulting also announced it is currently representing one of the winners, who is now considering offers to franchise their license from companies based in Canada, the U.S., and even Amsterdam.
About Author
The opinions provided in this article are those of the author and do not constitute investment advice. Readers should assume that the author and/or employees of Grizzle hold positions in the company or companies mentioned in the article. For more information, please see our Content Disclaimer.