Perth-based metal explorer company International Goldfields will head to market within weeks to raise money for its foray into medicinal cannabis in South America.

The company is acquiring an 85 per cent stake in Uruguayan pharmaceutical company Wintergarden, giving it access to laboratories and cannabis plantations there.

It might be unchartered territory for a company more familiar with golden nuggets, but director David Tasker said it was a necessary step with markets unwilling to fund exploration.

"It's diversifying out of something that the capital markets aren't supporting," he said.

"We have mining assets that we like but we just couldn't get support for them, so ultimately what we're looking to do is invest in something that the capital markets will support."

The company has already managed to raise money for the project and Mr Tasker expects to receive more support, aiming to raise up to $5 million in the next two months.

"We have raised some money here in Australia to support the investment into Wintergarden, and we are seeing a lot of interest out of the Australian market," he said.

"But additionally, and more importantly to our shareholders, we're seeing a lot of support and interest in the investment globally as well.

"Although as an ASX-listed company, a lot of the support will come from the global capital markets."

Mr Tasker said his company had an advantage because it was investing in Uruguay, the only country in the world to legalise the entire production process of cannabis, from cultivation to exporting.

He said investing in the pharmaceutical company also made sure it was producing the best medicinal product it could to export into the US and Europe.

"What Wintergarden is looking to do through its lab work is to create proprietary products that can then either be licensed, on-sold or collaborated with big pharmaceutical or agricultural companies," he said.

"Wintergarden is currently establishing its plantation facility on land it loans or is currently leasing and plans to be in production within the month."

Medical pot boom taking US by storm

In the United States, 23 states have legalised the drug to treat health conditions.

Annual sales in the US have grown to $2.6 billion with predictions of it trebling within five years.

Some have estimated sales in the US alone could eventually reach $37 billion, if the drug was to be fully legalised.

International Goldfields is not the only junior Australian explorer to see the potential in the medicinal marijuana market, with Erin Resources and Capital Mining also taking a punt.

Patersons Securities head of research Rob Brierley expects more to follow suit, with more than 800 juniors currently on the ASX all competing for the same small pool of funding.

"There's far too many small mining companies around, they're trying to reinvent themselves and what better way than in a new risk capital market such as biotechnology," he said.

"They all morphed into exploration during the glory times and there's just not enough capital around at the moment so they need to transform.

"It is a case of survival, competition for capital is quite extreme."

Funding boost for cannabis research in Australia

Legalising medicinal cannabis has been met with resistance in Australia, but New South Wales is set to become the first state to start clinical trials next year.

The WA government has backed the move but will not declare support until the results are in.

Sydney University researchers studying medicinal cannabinoids today received a $34 million donation from businessman Barry Lambert.

Mr Lambert said he decided to make the donation after seeing his three-year-old granddaughter, who has epilepsy, benefit from the drug.

"She's been having medical cannabis for six or seven months now and it appears to be working wonders for her," he said.

"This condition is a debilitating one so it usually gets worse before it gets better, but in the last seven months she's never been so good.

"The only problem of course is we don't know exactly what it is, what the impacts might be in the long term etcetera, and that's why the research needs to be done.

"The funding will enable them to do things that hasn't happened around the world in part because of the stigma of marijuana."

The record-breaking donation will allow researchers to test the drug's affects on a range of conditions including epilepsy, cancer, dementia and chronic pain.