iAnthus Capital Holdings (CSE:IAN) (OTCQX:ITHUF) is climbing—up over 8% at the time of writing. The reason is that the company's upcoming flower release is causing a stir. In a press release today, the company announced the launch of its flower and pre-rolled products in Florida.
And this is big news for more reasons than investors might think.
iAnthus Stock on the Rise
The company is launching its sale of smokable flower and pre-rolled joints in Florida through its "GrowHealthy" dispensary brand. The flower sale begins on April 20th and is to coincide with the "4/20" holiday that same day. The new smokable flower and pre-rolled joints will be available in the company's GrowHealthy dispensaries in West Palm Beach.
So, What of It?
The news is big because this is iAnthus's first sale of smokable marijuana and pre-rolls in the state of Florida. Until one month ago, the law restricted these forms of cannabis.
Florida Legislation
Because of the restrictions, the industry has been incredibly stifled. Until recently, only certain forms of cannabis were legal: concentrates such as capsules, topicals, tinctures, and vapes. However, smokable marijuana and dried flower remained illegal.
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The 70% of Florida voters who voted in 2016 to make medical marijuana legal felt a little cheated. And businesses, as you can imagine, were frustrated.
It has taken over two years to update the legislation, but on March 20th, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation overturning the ban. Now, smokable medical marijuana is legal in the state and iAnthus, among other brands, is taking full advantage.
Limitations
Demand for the new line of product is expected to be huge and as such iAnthus has set limitations per customer.
According to the brand: "customers will initially be limited to five pre-rolled joints or a quarter ounce per customer per day."
The company was granted approval by the Florida Department of Health to commence sales of smokable flower in late-March 2019. Other cannabis brands have also received approval. These include Liberty Health Sciences (CSE:LHS) (OTCQX:LHSIF), Trulieve (OTCQX:TCNNF), and MedMen Enterprises (CSE:MMEN) (OTCQX:MMNFF).
As Florida begins to enjoy pre-rolls and smokable marijuana, iAnthus stock may continue to grow. It remains to be seen how big these sales will be but now, operations are not stifled, and the company can generate sales to full capacity.
Currently, ITHUF stock is trading for $4.97 on the OTCQX, up 8.22%.
Investors, watch this space!
Featured Image: DepositPhotos © gustavofrazao
