Harris Endorsement pledge to legalize :) $$$$$$ DJ Cannabis Stocks Gain After Biden's Harris Endorsement
Monday, July 22, 2024, 11:01 AM ET
By Dean Seal
Shares of cannabis companies are getting a lift after President Joe Biden said he wouldn't run for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Harris has been consistently supportive of cannabis reform in recent years. In March, she called for cannabis to be reclassified to a less dangerous drug category "as quickly as possible."
AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis, a popular exchange-traded fund tracking marijuana stocks, was up 4.7% at $7.76 in early trading.
Shares of Canopy Growth were up 11% at $7.92, while shares of TerrAscend jumped 8.6% to $1.39 and Verano Holdings shares climbed 6% to $4.03. The stocks of bigger cannabis firms, including Curaleaf Holdings, Green Thumb Industries and Trulieve Cannabis, were up between 3% and 4%.
Given the high probability that Harris will become the formal Democratic nominee, Biden's change-up shouldn't impact his administration's efforts to reschedule cannabis this year, Alliance Global Partners analyst Aaron Grey said in a research note.
"In fact, a final rule rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III (from Schedule I) could further demonstrate the ability of the Biden administration (of which VP Harris is a part) to execute on a promise to voters," Grey said Monday.
The comment period for a proposed rule enacting the rescheduling ended on Monday. The Department of Justice has the final say on whether the rule gets finalized.