By the end of this month, people over the age of 21 will have the right to recreationally smoke, eat, or otherwise ingest marijuana in 10 American states, following successful state propositions in yesterday’s midterm elections. In a further 22 states, the drug is now legal for medical usage.
It may not be the federal legalization that cannabis investors hold out hope for—you have to go north of the border to Canada for that—but it sparked a rally in some weed stocks today. Tilray jumped by 8% at one point in the morning, before mellowing somewhat:
“We believe today, the US is where Canada was 24 months ago,” Verano Holdings CEO George Archos told Business Insider, “with cannabis legalization a shining beacon in its not-too distant future.”
This optimism will be welcomed by cannabis companies’ shareholders, who could be forgiven for becoming a bit paranoid amid incredibly volatile trading over the past two months. For all those recent ups and downs, weed stocks are currently about even with the S&P 500 for the year.