Vancouver-based cannabis firm wins trading symbol POT

A Vancouver-based cannabis lifestyle company has won a lottery to trade on major Canadian stock exchanges under the trading symbol POT.

Weekend Unlimited, an aggregator of marijuana industry brands, has been trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol YOLO (you only live once) since October. Its shares surged by as much as 70 per cent on Friday after its win.

POT became available after Potash Corp. merged with Agrium Inc. in early 2018 to become Nutrien Ltd., which now trades under NTR.

“Weekend Unlimited is thrilled to add the iconic POT trading symbol to its identity,” Paul Chu, the company’s president and CEO, said in a news release.

“As a fast-growing multi-state operator, Weekend Unlimited is developing lifestyle brands around recreational and wellness (products) to help define the future of the cannabis industry. The POT symbol is a tremendous fit with our brand identity.”

Canadian stock exchanges, including the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, the CSE and the Aequitas NEO Exchange, announced in January that the POT symbol would be assigned by random lottery after companies (listed or in the process of getting listed) expressed significant interest.

“There has been tremendous excitement generated globally for the POT symbol,” said Chu.

“The POT lottery served to raise the profile of Canada’s leadership in legal recreational cannabis and we believe it will also serve to raise Weekend Unlimited’s leadership profile.”

Weekend Unlimited expects to begin trading with the new symbol POT on Feb. 4, subject to confirmation by the CSE.

The POT symbol is a tremendous fit with our brand identity.” Paul Chu, Weekend Unlimited president and CEO