Marijuana stocks are on a high as many companies like Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC), Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY), Cronos (NASDAQ: CRON), and Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB) rose to report better-than-expected earnings. Canadian Canopy Growth did particularly well, as the largest cannabis company in the world saw a 22% growth in shares.
Cannabis stocks didn't do so well as medicinal dispensaries popped up in states that had legalized it, simply because they grew too much in anticipations for extreme demand that didn't quite meet expectations. Meanwhile, many companies sold very well throughout Canada since pot is already legal there. Many of the dispensaries are Canada-based companies that have branched out into specific states. Even with the bump in supply, they were able to scrape by. Now with work-from-home life taking center stage, Canopy Growth has 62% surges in revenue from its previous quarter, and those numbers could continue to rise for all pot companies.
Most of the stocks' big boost came from the discussion of legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana in the vice presidential debate between Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence. Harris stated that the Biden administration plans on decriminalizing marijuana on a federal level. That would include regulating pot, declassify it as a federally controlled substance, authorize a 5% sales tax on all marijuana products, and expunge the records of those who have been convicted of a marijuana-related crime. While there was supposed to be a vote held in the House of Representatives in September on decriminalizing pot, it was delayed until after the upcoming election as there were more pressing, pandemic-related issues.
After that, Reuters reported that Nasdaq (NASDAQ: QQQ) marijuana stocks shot up at various levels, but most of them closed between 10% to 13% higher than normal. Some of the marijuana companies still forecast falling sales even with their recent stock boost, but that may change as legalization shifts and demand rises to meet supply.