Cannabis Growth
Cannabis has been a booming industry in the USA and many other countries in the past decade. This followed a slow, but steady trend toward full legalization, even if doing so at the US federal level of what was formerly considered a drug might wait some more years.
Public acceptance is following, with support for legalizing cannabis hitting a record 88% and cannabis tax revenue at $20 billion, nearly double that of alcohol.
This has created a large market for legal cannabis cultivators, who usually leverage high-tech methods of cultivation, mixing greenhouses, vertical farming, advanced plant varieties, and high-performance extraction methods.
Investing In Cannabis
Still, despite its obvious popularity and increasing acceptance as a “mild” drug akin to tobacco or alcohol, investors often struggle to access cannabis stock. This is because as long as it is illegal at the federal level, most stock brokers and banks are not authorized or unwilling to trade the stocks producing and selling cannabis products.
This is a pity, as such “sin stocks”, involved in “immoral” activities, have historically generated superior investing performance, be it casinos, alcohol, tobacco, weapon manufacturing, etc.
However there might be an opportunity for investors to capitalize on the providers of the cannabis industry, which are not exposed to such restrictions. As a result, such a company can more easily raise money and be a viable investment from financial institutions like banks, investment funds, and pension funds.
One such company is Aurora Cannabis (ACB -3.46%), a biotech company specializing in cannabis.
The company, together with researchers at the nearby University of British Columbia (Canada), recently published a new discovery regarding cannabis plant mechanism for defense against fungal diseases1 in the scientific journal Frontiers In Plant Sciences, under the title “Mapping and characterization of a novel powdery mildew resistance locus (PM2) in Cannabis sativa L.”.
Cannabis Cultivation
The cannabis plant, or marijuana, or Cannabis sativa L, is a plant rich in active compounds. While it is known mostly for its psychoactive effects, its complex biochemistry could also provide interesting chemicals for the treatment of depression, mental illnesses, and cancer.
It is also a plant requiring a very warm climate and abundant fertilizers for optimal growth and production of the desired chemical compounds.
So, cultivators have progressively moved from low-tech open-field cultivation in warm climates to advanced cultivation strategies in greenhouses or indoor farms. This is also a must for growers in US states that legalized cannabis, as inter-state trade of the plant is still strictly banned (as it falls under federal jurisdiction, where marijuana is still a restricted drug).
The problem with these cultivation methods is that the high-temperature, high-moisture, and very fertilized plants create the ideal conditions for contamination by pathogens, especially fungi. So even more than in open fields, keeping control of disease in most modern cannabis farms is a very important topic, one associated with a lot of potential financial losses.
While heavy use of pesticides can help, this is far from ideal for a product that will later be used by humans and could cause significant health issues and problems for the industry in the long term.
Plants’ Immune System
One of the most prevalent cannabis plant diseases is powdery mildew (PM), caused by a microscopic fungus called Golovinomyces ambrosiae. It results in premature leaf drop, poor flower quality, and significant yield losses.
Source: Frontiers In Plant Sciences
Plants have many mechanisms to protect themselves from diseases. Some are in-built defenses, like thick cell walls or always present biochemicals.
But some are more complex, reacting to the detection of a pathogen attacking the plant.
It is one such mechanism that has recently been discovered by Aurora Cannabis based on a genetic region of cannabis’ genome they named PM resistant locus (PM2).
Genes For Mildew Resistance
The researchers found that the genetic expression of PM2 induces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), very oxidative molecules that can stop the pathogen’s growth. It also blocks it from reproducing through spore production, reducing the risk of contamination of other plants.
They double-checked that this hypothesis was correct by observing the ROS production in a microscope.
Source: Frontiers In Plant Sciences
This gene cluster was found in two different variants of cannabis in a large genetic databank of the plant. They subsequently tested the plant, and confirmed that these “cultivars” of cannabis were resistant to powdery mildew.
Source: Frontiers In Plant Sciences
This resistance also proved to be “dominant”, meaning that only one copy of the gene was enough, making it a lot easier for plant breeders to create resistant varieties.
Improving Commercial Cultivars
Resistance to disease in some varieties of the plant is a good start. But often, these varieties are also less-than-desirable in other traits from a cultivator’s point of view: speed of growth, chemical composition, resistance to heat, drought, other diseases, etc.
In the past, this would have meant a long and tedious process, often taking years or even decades to hybridize the plant with the resistance to commercial cultivars so that the trait can be transferred without losing any of the other qualities of the commercial variant.
This is not true today, as genetic engineering has made great progress, opening the way for taking this gene and putting it directly into commercial plants.
Finding the Right Gene
To perform this feat of genetic engineering, the researchers need to find not just the part of a chromosome responsible for the resistance to mildew but the exact gene involved. So they created a complete map of this part of the plant genetics, completed with the likelihood of a specific gene being the one causing the resistance (blue bars below).
Source: Frontiers In Plant Sciences
So far, it is not yet clear if one specific gene is responsible for the resistance, or maybe a combination of 2-5 genes in this PM2 genetic cluster.
Still, this represents a major step in improving cannabis’s natural resistance to its most common disease.
“This discovery offers a critical solution to a pressing challenge in the cannabis industry worldwide.
Successful introgression of PM2-mediated resistance into elite cannabis cultivars will reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides, which are heavily regulated in cannabis as in most other crops.
Lana Culley – Vice President of Innovation and International Operations at Aurora.
Investing in the Cannabis Sector
Aurora Cannabis
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB -3.46%)
While some cannabis companies focus on branding or large-scale production, Aurora Cannabis is first and foremost a biotech company with a focus on the medical use of cannabis. Since its founding in 2013, it has become the #1 company in medical cannabis in Canada.
Aurora has been expanding on international markets quickly, with leadership in key markets such as Germany, Switzerland, Poland, the UK, and Australia. Together, these markets represent a total of 405 million people. It expects its international sales to grow year-to-year by 112% in Q3 2025.
Source: Aurora Cannabis
Cultivation is done locally when needed, for example, the first German-cultivated medical cannabis product, under the brand IndiMed.
Source: Aurora Cannabis
In addition to dried cannabis and cannabis oil, the company is also manufacturing cannabis products like lotions and topicals, edible & beverages, and vape & concentrates.
Source: Aurora Cannabis
This prominent position has been achieved with a focus on plant genetics, with the company’s cultivar presenting an all-in per unit costs at least 30% better than legacy cultivars.
So far, 24 new proprietary cultivars, grown at scale, have been added to Aurora’s product pipeline since June 2021. Close collaborations with the University of British Columbia, as in the study discussed above, have also been important.
The new powdery mildew development should be turned into the beginning of a commercial product by the end of 2025.
The development of this proprietary genetic marker technology, which is now in use in Aurora’s breeding program, is set to produce powdery mildew-resistant cultivars that will be explored for commercial launch this year.
This has been achieved through Aurora acquiring a controlling interest in Bevo Farms, an industry leader in plant propagation and one of the largest suppliers of propagated vegetables and ornamental plants in North America.
Bevo’s track record in generating not only positive Adjusted EBITDA but free cash flow, world-class propagation expertise, and established distribution networks in Canada and the United States makes them an ideal strategic partner.”
Miguel Martin – CEO of Aurora Cannabis
Contrary to many cannabis companies hunting growth at all costs, Aurora’s cannabis business segment was debt-free, as well as profitable in Q3 2025: cash flow positive ($27.4M) & an EBITDA of $23.1M.
Overall, Aurora Cannabis is a stock for investors interested in medical cannabis and the international growth of the sector, with most Western countries progressively legalizing it, and ignoring the slow and messy process toward federal legalization in the USA.
Latest on Aurora Cannabis
Studies Referenced:
1. Seifi et al. (2025). Mapping and characterization of a novel powdery mildew resistance locus (PM2) in Cannabis sativa L. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1543229