Cannabis referendum: Cannasouth, Rua Bioscience stocks sold down after 'no' vote

Shares in Rua Bioscience and Cannasouth have been sold down in the aftermath of the cannabis referendum.

Shares in the two NZX-listed medicinal cannabis companies were sold down in volatile trading in the aftermath of the "no" vote in the recreational cannabis referendum, held in conjunction with the October 17 general election.

Both companies have stressed that their business models are in the medicinal cannabis area, not recreational.

By mid afternoon, Cannasouth, which listed in June last year, was trading at 72c, down 6c, after sinking as low as 61c.

At the same time, Rua, which listed last week, fell by 4c to 64c after sinking to 58c.

At Rua's NZX launch, the Herald asked Rua chairman Trevor Burt if a yes or no vote would mean anything for the company.

"No it does not," Burt said.

"And we have no intention at all of going into that commercial market," he said.

"It's a bit of noise more than anything," he said.

"I would like to see it go away so that we can get on and focus on what we are about."

Medicinal cannabis, under prescription, has been legal since April.

The preliminary referendum results indicate that a majority of Kiwis voted against legalising cannabis for personal recreational use.

Today's results show 46.1 per cent voted for legalised cannabis, compared with 53.1 per cent against.