Following the latest round of state recreational legalizations, about 31% of the U.S. population will now live in states with legal access to recreational cannabis.
By Wayne Duggan , Benzinga Staff Writer
Cannabis stocks rebounded on Thursday after initial election disappointment on Wednesday.
Votes are still being counted, but marijuana investors don’t seem likely to get the “blue wave” Democratic sweep they had hoped for. However, state cannabis measures passed in five different states, and Joe Biden appears to be on the brink of securing the White House, opening the door for potential federal cannabis reform measures down the road.
Bullish Election Results
On Wednesday, executives from Curaleaf Holdings Inc and Green Thumb Industries Inc told Cantor Fitzgerald that the election results could ramp up pressure for federal U.S. cannabis reforms.
RELATED: Cannabis Stocks, Cruise Lines Have A Lot To Gain From A Biden Victory
“Both speakers believe that under a Biden WH and Republican-controlled Senate, banking reform would pass in early 2021 and would be included in a COVID relief package (Sen. Toomey from PA will chair the Senate Banking Committee, and this is seen as a positive change vs. Sen. Crapo from Idaho),” Cantor analyst Pablo Zuanic wrote in a note.
In the longer-term, Zuanic said industry insiders are hopeful some form of legislation making cannabis federally permissible could pass following the 2022 midterm elections.
RELATED: Marijuana Is Biggest Winner In The 2020 Election
Stocks On The Move
After an initial blue wave disappointment sell-off on Wednesday, here’s how some major cannabis stocks and funds were trading on Thursday:
- Aurora Cannabis Inc ACB 41.21% was up 18.4%.
- Canopy Growth Corp CGC 11.59% was up 5.8%.
- Cronos Group Inc CRON 16.7% was up 7.3%.
- Tilray Inc TLRY 30.33% was up 20%.
- ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ 10.41% was up 5.8%.
- Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF CNBS 10.23% was up 5.4%.
- AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF YOLO 9.35% was up 4.3%.
Benzinga’s Take: Following the latest round of state recreational legalizations in New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana and Arizona, about 31% of the U.S. population will now live in states with legal access to recreational cannabis. But on a federal level, cannabis investors must now wait out the official results of the U.S. presidential and Senate races to eliminate the possibility of any last-minute surprises in the vote counts.
