How to Invest in Pot, Legally

finance | BCBusiness

Want to take a flyer on a pot investment? B.C. miners switching to the pot business have seen their share prices soar

More than a dozen B.C. junior mining companies have injected new life into their share price by expressing an interest in switching from mineral exploration to the pot business.
 
None has gone so far as to actually get into the business of growing, selling or distributing pot, but the mere whiff of potential profits has sent their stock prices soaring, many doubling and quadrupling.
 
Papuan Precious Metals Corp., for example has seen its share price quadruple to 12 cents since the start of the year. It announced on April 22 that it had hired a consultant to advise the company on “potential projects within the Medical Marijuana sector.”
 
Thelon Capital Ltd. (which trades on the TSX-Venture Exchange under the symbol THC), has seen its share price jump from a penny to six cents since the start of the year. It announced on April 10 that it was exploring partnership opportunities with Net Gram Royalty Co., which has a plan to finance licensed marijuana producers.
 
Investing in these stocks may be more hypothetical than practical, since most trade at pennies a share, and some trade fewer than a thousand shares a day. In theory, though, if you had invested in the basket of stocks below at the start of this year, you would have seen a 196-per-cent return to date.
 
Watch for a full-length story on mining companies going to pot in the July issue of BCBusiness magazine. In the meantime, here’s a sampling of B.C. junior miners that are contemplating moving into the marijuana business:
 
• Bayhorse Silver Inc. (TSX-V:BHS)
• Big Bar Resources Corp. (TSX.V:BBR.H)
• Canada Coal Inc. (TSX-V:CCK)
• Cavan Ventures Inc. (TSX-V:CVN)
• Next Gen Metals Inc. (CN:N)
• Papuan Precious Metals Corp. (TSX-V:PAU)
• Prominex Resource Corp. (TSX-V:PXR)
• Southbridge Resources Corp. (CN:SOU)
• Southern Sun Minerals Inc. (TSX-V:SSI)
• Spearmint Resources Inc. (TSX-V:SRJ)
• Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly Supreme Resources) (CN:SL)
• Terra Firma Resources Inc. (TSX-V:TFR)
• Thelon Capital Ltd. (TSX-V:THC)
• Victory Ventures Inc. (TSX-V:VVN)
• West Point Resources Inc. (TSX-V:WPO)
• Weststar Resources Corp. (TSX-V:WER)
• Windfire Capital Corp. (TSX-V:WIF)