In a milestone event for the cannabis industry in Europe and the UK, on Wednesday, cannabis shares were traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for the first time.
It came as MGC Pharmaceuticals was listed on the LSE after the company successfully raised £6.5 million (€7.41 million) through an oversubscribed funding drive which saw the company decline millions in investment funding.
The company’s managing director, Roby Zomer, said it is “proud to make history as the first medical cannabis company on [the] historic exchange”.
MGC Pharma is an Australian-listed company. Its two flagship phytocannabinoid-derived medicines, CannEpil, and CogniCann are designed to treat refractory epilepsy, and improve dementia and Alzheimer’s patients quality of life.
The company has a growing patient base in Australia, the UK, Brazil and Ireland and has a global distribution format via its network of commercial partners, meaning it poised to supply the global market.
Europe’s medical cannabis market is believed to have massive potential.
In 2020, Marijuana Business Daily estimated that the European legal medical cannabis market one day eclipse North America’s. In the USA, the legal marijuana industry was estimated to have a value of $13.6 billion (€11.23 billion) in 2019.
Malta is an EU leader for its cannabis law. In 2018, it enacted the Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Research Purposes Act, which legalised the production of cannabis for medical purposes.
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While countries are slowly banning the practice, Malta remains firm in keeping the scheme alive