Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Launches Medical Cannabis Index

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is launching a new stock index focused on medical cannabis. The index will include nine companies involved in the medical cannabis industry.

Israel is a global leader in medical cannabis research. This year, the government approved the export of medical cannabis, a move expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the country.

The companies included in the new index are primarily engaged in the research, cultivation, sale, production, and marketing of cannabis products, according to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

The index has a relatively low market capitalization of 1.7 billion shekels (about 30 billion rubles). Nevertheless, exchange officials stated that the index was created to set a trend and “establish a benchmark for actively managed mutual funds investing in this developing and growing sector.”

It’s worth noting that shares of companies producing medical cannabis products are also traded on major stock exchanges in the United States and Canada. For example, GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) recently received FDA approval for Epidiolex, a cannabidiol-based epilepsy treatment.