Replies to post #2958 on Aleafia Health Inc. (ALEAF)

[FUNMAN]

Aleafia Health to Enter Israeli Cannabis Market, Bolstering International Sales Opportunity

Three-year agreement signed with Equinox International

Shipments expected to commence in Q1 2021, marking Aleafia’s fourth country with products in market

Israel is largest net importer of medical cannabis globally -

That says a lot compared to Germany, where everyone is hanging their hat.

Isn't this old news? - FUNMAN

TORONTO, December 10, 2020 – Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: AH, OTC: ALEAF) (“Aleafia Health” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it will commence cannabis exports to the Israeli medical cannabis market. The Company signed a binding letter of intent (the “LOI”) with Equinox International Ltd., a licensed British medical cannabis company with operations in the Israeli market.

Under the LOI, Equinox has committed to purchasing approximately 1,400 kg of dried flower in 2021. The first shipment to Equinox is expected to occur in Q1 2021 pending receipt of necessary import and export permits and completion of Aleafia’s cultivation cycle. Permit applications have already been submitted and will mark the first export of EU GACP-compliant dried flower grown at Aleafia’s Niagara Greenhouse facility.

Israel, the world’s fastest growing medical cannabis market, reached over 60,000 registered patients in 2020, from half that figure in 2018. It is also the largest net importer of cannabis globally, recently surpassing Germany.

Equinox International, in partnership with Aleafia Health, will establish an Israeli Land-to-Brand ecosystem covering supply, distribution, market leading brands and retail.

“Gaining market access to Israel, an incredibly dynamic country with a fast growing, highly innovative cannabis market, is something we’ve long aspired to,” said Aleafia Health CEO Geoffrey Benic. “Doing so with Equinox, an accomplished, internationally scaled partner, marks an exciting chapter as we commercialize Aleafia Health globally.”

“Equinox is delighted to form a Land-to-Brand strategic partnership with Aleafia Health,” said Equinox International CEO Xan Morgan. “Equinox is firmly positioned as a British champion and in partnership with Aleafia will be a leader in the Israeli cannabis market.”

The parties must now negotiate a definitive agreement concerning the supply of dried flower to Israel over a three-year term. They have agreed to negotiate the definitive agreement exclusively with one another for a period of 45 days.

The parties shall negotiate and include in the definitive agreement additional minimum purchase commitments for the second and third years of the contract. For the duration of the definitive agreement and in respect of the Israeli market, Aleafia shall be Equinox’s sole supplier of cannabis products and Equinox shall be Aleafia’s sole purchaser of cannabis products.

Aleafia Health Contact:

Nicholas Bergamini, VP Investor Relations
1-833-879-2533
[e-mail]
LEARN MORE: www.AleafiaHealth.com

Equinox International Contact:

Simon Nayyar, Equinox Investor & Press Relations
D: [phone]
M: [phone]
[e-mail]
LEARN MORE: www.EquinoxInternational.com

About Aleafia Health:

Aleafia Health is a vertically integrated and federally licensed Canadian cannabis company offering cannabis health and wellness services and products in Canada and in international markets. The Company operates medical clinics, education centres and production facilities for the production and sale of cannabis.

Aleafia Health owns three significant licensed cannabis production facilities, including the first large-scale, legal outdoor cultivation facility in Canadian history. The Company produces a diverse portfolio of commercially proven, high-margin derivative products including oils, capsules and sprays. Aleafia Health operates the largest national network of medical cannabis clinics and education centres staffed by MDs, nurse practitioners and educators and operates internationally in three continents.

Innovation, the heart of Aleafia Health’s competitive advantage, has led to the Company maintaining a medical cannabis dataset with over 10 million data points to inform proprietary illness-specific product development and its highly differentiated education platform FoliEdge Academy. The Company is committed to creating sustainable shareholder value; the TSX Venture Exchange named Aleafia the 2019 top performing company prior to its graduation to the TSX.

About Equinox International

Equinox is a Land to Brand British cannabis company investing in the development of licensed cannabis facilities and partnerships around the world, including proprietary formulations and genetics, as well as two British Champion brands. By combining extensive knowledge of the cannabis industry with scientific expertise and diverse business experience, Equinox aims to become a leading global cannabis supplier and a mark of quality around the world.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes” or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this news release. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks contained in the Company’s annual information form filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

[FUNMAN]

More sales stats --->>> Ontario’s legal weed market share climbs to 40%, OCS says

Ontario led all provinces in Q4 with $251 million in legal weed sales, according to the OCS's latest quarterly report

By: Jared Gnam
March 8, 2021

Read at this link to see the graphics:

https://mugglehead.com/ontarios-legal-weed-market-share-climbs-to-40-ocs-says/

Canada’s largest pot market continued to eat away at illicit sales at the end of 2020, according to the latest quarterly report from the Ontario Cannabis Store.

On Friday, the OCS said legal sales in Ontario represented 40.3 per cent of all cannabis sold in the three months ended Dec. 31, up from 36.2 per cent in the previous quarter.

“It is clear that expanding physical access in unserved or under-served communities is key to continued growth over the long term,” CEO Thomas Haig wrote in the report.

There were 324 legal pot shops open in Ontario at the end of last year, according to the OCS.

The Crown corporation, which manages its own online sales as well as wholesale distribution to private retailers, says it’s continuing to support the Ontario government’s enhanced retail rollout effort in 2021.

With just 100 cannabis stores open by last June, critics have said that a slow rollout was hampering legal sales and boosting the illicit market.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the province’s cannabis regulator, said last month that it started upping retail authorizations to 30 per week. With over 430 stores up and running today, Ontario is now on pace to hit 1,000 by the fall.

The OCS says focusing on increasing legal retail access helped Ontario hit a new high of $251 million in legal sales in the fourth quarter, up 23 per cent over the previous quarter.

Despite the major sales growth, the public operator says the province still lags behind the national average of 52 per cent of the legal recreational cannabis market share.

However, industry experts have questioned how total weed spending in the country gets calculated. That’s because Statistics Canada, which the OCS sources, uses self-reported surveys to estimate national illicit cannabis spending.

Another concern for the industry is how the expanded store rollout leading to saturation in some regions. Around 70 Ontario municipalities have refused to allow the opening of cannabis stores, creating clusters in those that permit pot shops.

The average private store made $670,000 between October and December, according to the OCS. That’s down from $2.6 million during the same period a year earlier, as Covid-19 restrictions and growing competition in some concentrated areas hurt retailers.

Bargain buyers prefer the OCS over private stores

To keep sales flowing to legal channels, the OCS says it’s continuing to work with licensed producers to lower prices.

The average price per gram of dried flower on OCS.ca hit a reported $6.24 per gram in the fourth quarter, while prices found on the illegal market through analysis of online sellers decreased to $7.76.

The OCS noted consumers that buy weed on its website tend to be significantly more thrifty versus those who purchase in person at private stores, which sold an average of $9.13 per gram.

Value products — priced around $4.75 per gram — sold 4.6 times faster at the OCS.ca than those at the top end of the scale at around $22.25 per gram. But shops sold value products at the same speed as premium products, the report reads.

Ontario continued to have the broadest catalogue of cannabis products in the country, with a reported 1,362 unique shop-keeping-units available last quarter.

The province also led all Canadian jurisdictions with 31.5 percent of the country’s total legal weed sales.

Dried flower continued to rake in the largest share of sales, accounting for 57.4 percent of the Ontario market, the OCS says. Vapes and pre-rolls made up the next two spots at 15.7 percent and 12.5 per cent, respectively.

Pure Sunfarms, the producer owned by vegetable grower Village Farms International Inc. (TSX: VFF) (Nasdaq: VFF), led all companies in dried-flower sales at private stores with a 13 per cent share. Meanwhile, private operator Redecan led in both vape and pre-roll categories at 17 per cent and 15 per cent.

If you didn't read this on line to see the graphics, be sure to check out the sales numbers here:

https://mugglehead.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screenshot_2021-03-08-Final-OCS-InsightsReport_Q3-2020-pdf1.png