Smoking Cannabis Is Considered Addictive
Cannabis is a psychoactive plant that contains THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the chemical that gets you high.
It has been said by some that cannabis can be addictive and can cause unwanted side effects.
We will look into the addiction and side effects of cannabis to find out what they are and how to avoid them.
What are the side effects of smoking cannabis?
The most common side effect is usually a case of the "munchies," which may be caused by the THC chemical in cannabis that stimulates hunger. Some people have experienced but not reported depression, anxiety and schizophrenia from smoking cannabis, and for some people it can make them feel paranoid or anxious.
Full Text (Article): http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/214636.php [ARTICLE END]
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" The physician is an easy man to deal with when you have money. " – Oliver Wendell Holmes (1888)
PRINCETON, N.J., June 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marlboro-manufacturer Altria Group, Inc. (MO) said today that it has raised $3.4 billion of equity capital in connection with its purchase of the remaining approximately 75% interest in Cronos Group (CRON), a Toronto-based international cannabis company that produces and sells one of Canada's best known brands: Marlboro cigarette cigarettes (Canada). The transaction closed on May 23, 2018 .
MO shares are getting hammered today. The reason : an announcement that they have completed their acquisition of a 75% stake in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group (CRON) for a total consideration of $1.8 billion, consisting of common shares and warrants.
Since we last covered the stock back in February , the share price had already fallen 40%. I suppose it's not entirely surprising to see it fall again, given the dramatic rise in cannabis stocks over the past two months .
Today's fall was notable, however, because Joey Berman from New York-based hedge fund Ram Partners told Reuters that he has exited his entire stake, or roughly 3%, in Altria .
***UPDATE 6/7/18 -- MO shares are selling off again today, this time due to a downgrade from RBC Capital to Underperform .
1) Gross Margin Target is $32.00Million (+/-) 2% over the next 5Â years, with a long-term target of reaching $45.00 Million by 2028; 2) EBITDA Target is $25.00 Million (+/-) 1% over the next 5Â years, with a long-term target of reaching $35.00 million by 2028; 3) Net Income Target is $15.00 Million (+/-) 3% over the next 5Â years, with a long-term target of reaching $20.00 Million by 2028; 4) Capital Expenditure Target is $17.00 Million (+/-) 2% over the next 5Â years, with a long-term target of reaching $25.00 Million by 2028; and 5) Average share count ratio is 100.00:1.
Update: July 6th
MO shares are up another 1% today as they report first quarter results after the market close .
First quarter sales were $6,185,000 (vs. $5,883,000 in Q4 2017), gross margin was 27% (vs. 36% in Q4 2017), and net income was $1,280,000 (vs. $2,032,000 in Q4 2017).
It sounds like MO is targeting cannabis for their next source of growth . As I wrote about last month , Altria has a deep bench of brands that can be developed into profitable marijuana brands. I would imagine that we'll see the company begin to sell Marlboro-branded marijuana products in Canada and beyond over the next year or two.
I'm going to continue to watch this closely because I think it could become one of Altria's most important growth businesses.
Update: June 8th
News broke yesterday that Altria has bought a 5% stake in Leafly , the leading cannabis and hemp marketplace.
As a reminder, the Cronos deal added about $1.4 billion in sales for the company last year, which was about 10% of Altria's total sales (about $12 billion). That kind of growth, paired with Marijuana's close correlation to cigarettes, could attract other companies as well as individual investors looking to invest in cannabis .
I have also been watching this stock closely because it could become one of Altria's most important growth businesses.
I'm still holding onto my shares.
As of this writing, I did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. No intention to buy/sell any in next 72 hours. Ideas are my own, not advice to buy/sell stocks.
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Next Year Will Be Different
The slow-growth narrative has been beaten into investors' heads over the past year or so, and it is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. I believe investors should start looking for the next growth story.
I believe that the next big growth story will pop up among the car companies. Last year, Ford ( F ) and GM ( GM ) delivered solid earnings with dividends reinvested, but they underperformed the S&P 500 in terms of sales and margins. While GM's market cap is far bigger than Ford's, I think investors are underestimating how much upside there could be over the next year or two with a change to leadership at both companies.
Over at Lyft , our partner on Stock Advisor , Stephen Brodbeck has been taking a close look at this stock over the past 4 months . He recently updated his article here to include the appointment of former Ford CEO Mark Fields to Lyft's board of directors. Brodbeck also noted that the company has a big hiring event going on this week , which could signal some big news ahead.
Lyft might be the safer bet because it trades at less than 20x next year's earnings and is growing revenue faster than Uber. That said, I think investors should take a look at both companies, especially if they're used to slow-growth investing.
This content is being provided to you for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed herein are those of Salient Capital and are subject to change in the sole discretion of Salient Capital.
Conclusion:
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