There were numerous political announcements shaping the industry last week, with a Michigan state board ruling that more than 60 medical cannabis dispensaries that had to close at the end of last year due to new regulations will be allowed to re-open until March 31, providing them time to become compliant; and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pledging to end the ban on medical marijuana flowers in the state.

“We saw a lot of movement at the state level this week. Ohio began its first medical marijuana sales with five dispensaries... For such a conservative state, this is a big deal,” Debra Borchard, CEO of Green Market Report, told Benzinga. “Then New York, which has one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs, heard the governor say he wanted to legalize adult use cannabis within 100 days. That doesn't mean dispensaries will be selling product anytime soon, but this is a big switch from someone who once said that marijuana was a gateway drug.”

On the markets front, talk was dominated by Benzinga's 2019 Cannabis Capital Conference, getting investors and companies from around the world together for one of the most interesting industry gatherings of the year. Here are a few stories on the event worth checking out:

• 4 Cannabis Investors Share Their Predictions For Industry's Future

• 'The Rest Of The World Is Moving Very Quickly': Cannabis Execs Tackle Global Market Opportunity

• Multistate Operators Respond To Changing Cannabis Market

• How iAnthus, Aurora, CuraLeaf, Cannex Make Their Pitch To Investors

• 'It Pays to be Vertical,' Curaleaf CEO Tells Cannabis Capital Conference

• MediPharm Labs, Pure Global Cannabis, Weekend Unlimited, Plus Products, Trulieve Make Elevator Pitches

• 'It's Our Turn Now For Wealth Creation,' iAnthus CEO Tells Cannabis Capital Conference

Over the last five trading days, the United States Marijuana Index, which tracks most of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., inched down by 1.85 percent, while the North American Marijuana Index, which also includes Canadian stocks, declined by around 2.63 percent.

Stock Moves

Here are some of the top marijuana stocks (market cap above $300 million) in U.S. exchanges and how the performed over the last five trading days:

• Acreage Holdings (OTC:ACRGF): up 5.55 percent

• Aphria Inc (NYSE:APHA): down 4.30 percent

• Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB): down 2.58 percent

• CannTrust Holdings Inc (OTC:CNTTF): up 1.71 percent

• Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC): up 13.93 percent

• Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON): up 9.16 percent

• Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTC:CURLF): down 7.23 percent

• Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd (OTC:TGODF): down 7.88 percent

• Green Thumb Industries Inc (OTC:GTBIF): down 6.27 percent

• GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH): up 10.56 percent

• Hexo Corp (OTC:HYYDF): up 8.98 percent

• iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc (OTC:ITHUF): up 4.68 percent

• Marimed Inc (OTC:MRMD): up 9.39 percent

• MedMen Enterprises Inc. (OTC:MMNFF): down 7.42 percent

• OrganiGram Holdings Inc (OTC:OGRMF): down 3.44 percent

• Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE:SMG): up 2.71 percent

• Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY): down 19.4 percent

In Other News

Canada-based Aurora Cannabis announced plans to acquire privately-held, certified organic cannabis producer Whistler Medical Marijuana Corporation in a deal valued at $175 million.

Canopy Growth received a license from the state of New York to process and produce hemp, announcing plans to invest between $100 million and $150 million in developing this grow.

Tilray signed a global revenue sharing agreement with Authentic Brands Group for the development and marketing of cannabis.

Canadian cannabinoid-focused company Avicanna announced it has filed a preliminary prospectus to go public on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

MariMed announced the formation of MariMed Hemp, a wholly-owned subsidiary that will be focused on hemp-derived CBD products. MariMed Hemp will be separate from MariMed’s core cannabis business.

"The hemp CBD industry will be as big as or bigger than the legal cannabis industry,” said Robert Fireman, CEO of MariMed. “We began implementing our hemp strategy a year ago in anticipation of federal legalization.  With its similarities to the cannabis industry, it is a natural extension of MariMed’s business.”

“Due to strict regulatory requirements about what can be processed and sold within licensed cannabis facilities, we created MariMed Hemp as a separate subsidiary. Our shareholders will benefit from both. Investors at our recent presentation at the Benzinga Cannabis Investment conference are clearly enthusiastic about the hemp opportunity,” Fireman said.

Cannabis information resource, Leafly, and Flowhub, a provider of compliance services and point of sale solutions for the cannabis industry, launched a partnership to provide real-time dispensary inventory and pricing for every strain and product.

Camp Green Organics, a California-based producer of cannabis and CBD products, announced a partnership with NBA veteran Keyon Dooling. Dooling and Camp Green Organic will create a new company, Krafted Organics, which will be focused on a CBD product line that will include topicals, capsules and balms.

“While healing my mind and body from my inner personal challenges that I had to face, I discovered certain oils and scents such as lavender that worked really well for me in regard to wellness when combined with CBD. CBD actually plays a big part in my everyday wellness regimen - so much so, that I decided to take things further and share my knowledge and wellness success with the world,” Dooling said in a statement.

California cannabis company NUG added three new people to its team following a successful 2018 that was marked by the company beating the revenue projections and raising its forecasts for 2019.

Interesting Data

Colorado reported its December marijuana sales tax collections.

“Full-year implied revenues are flat at $1.5 billion over the year, in line with our expectations (to slightly down), which establishes an industry benchmark of 5 years to maturity (January 2014 – December 2018),” Greenwave Advisors’ Matt Karnes told Benzinga. The trajectory of growth in any one state may not be congruent with other markets as the velocity of falling wholesale prices is not consistent.

“We note that Colorado is likely an outlier because it benefited from “canna” tourism in the market's early years (the only state to allow cannabis consumption for recreational use). As we continue to evaluate the fundamentals of other fully legal states we expect a shorter time horizon to maturity.”

Average patient spend per month declined to $305 in 2018 from $395 the previous year, which is likely due to falling flower prices. For 2018, medical marijuana was down 20 percent to $327 million, largely attributed to a decline in cardholder counts which decreased by 7 percent to approximately 87,000 in 2018.

“Though recreational use increased by 13 percent to $1.2 million last year, we note a  deceleration in its growth trajectory (it increased by 20 percent in 2017),” Karnes said. “These results validate our industry thesis published in our inaugural GreenWave Report (2014) that a recreational use market will disrupt medical marijuana sales.”

Given that similar results can be observed in other states with both medical and recreational use, Greenwave anticipates Colorado will also include both markets under the same regulatory authority.

More From Benzinga’s Cannabis Newsdesk

New Frontier Data’s take on the ramifications of the Patients Mutual Assistance Collective Corp. (d.b.a. Harborside Health Center) v. Commissioner, 151 T.C. 11 (2018) case.

Jeff Siegel’s interview with former Mexican President Vicente Fox.

GMP lifting its price target on Canopy after the hemp license was granted.

New Age Beverages Corp (NASDAQ:NBEV) entering into a partnership to develop and distribute Bob Marley-branded cannabis-infused beverages.

Aurora’s stock taking a dive after the company announced plans for a $250 million debt offering.

The strong performance of the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF year-to-date.

CIBC initiating coverage on cannabis stocks.

Wayland Group (OTC:MRRCF) selling half of its international assets to ICC International Cannabis Corp (OTC:KNHBF) for approximately $258 million.

Events Calendar

February 19: Accelerate Cannabis is an educational and networking event for anyone interested in cannabis, to learn about the New Jersey market and meet their peers from around the country. Hear from data scientists, application consultants, local government experts, ancillary business owners, and cannabis brand leaders as they discuss how New Jersey is prepared for adult-use legislation and the expansion of the medical program.

February 27 – March 1: The 5th Annual Emerald Conference will be held at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, California. The conference brings together top scientists, extraction and cultivation professionals, and visionary business leaders in a collaborative environment that fosters groundbreaking advancements.

May 28 – June 1: The Cons is a gathering of three trade and fan shows, the Cam Con, the Cannabis Con, and the Inked Con, all under one roof, at the SLS South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. The Cons 2019 will offer a variety of seminars with top industry panelist, networking parties and performance displays to benefit the industry’s content providers, models and affiliates.