Aurora Cannabis Inc (ACB)

[john1311]

Philip Morris keeps powder dry on cannabis

Tobacco group wary of large investment amid differing regulatory policies worldwide

The head of Philip Morris International has said the cannabis market remains too risky for it to follow rival cigarette maker Altria by making a significant investment in the nascent sector.

André Calantzopoulos, chief executive, stressed that there was a paucity of scientific data on the long-term impact of cannabis.

Because international regulators were adopting different approaches to the drug, there could be logistical and reputational risks, he said.

“We need better scientific understanding of [cannabis],” he told the Financial Times on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We need to remember that we are operating in an international environment with different [policy] approaches.”

His comments came at a time when a host of consumer goods companies are diving into the cannabis sector, which is dominated by Canadian groups.

Last year, Altria agreed to take a 45 per cent stake in Cronos for C$2.4bn ($1.86bn), Corona beer maker Constellation Brands has pumped about $4bn into Canopy Growth, and the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has teamed with Tilray to research cannabis-infused drinks.

We don’t want to normalise nicotine use but we want to replace the delivery method Andrew Calantzopoulos, chief executive.

By contrast, Coca-Cola, which had studied whether to invest in cannabis, has decided to eschew the pot business.

Muhtar Kent, outgoing chairman of Coca-Cola, told the FT last month that “the jury is still out” on the health risks of cannabis. “We’re in non-alcoholic beverages and we’re not interested in putting anything other than good things into our beverages,” he said.

https://www.ft.com/content/6f713354-1d9e-11e9-b126-46fc3ad87c65