The market was high on marijuana stocks Friday, with positive news from the White House juicing the stock prices of many of the sector's companies. One was Canadian pot purveyor Canopy Growth (CGC 2.41%) whose U.S.-listed shares closed the day a meaty 14% higher. That meant a convincing beat over the S&P 500's gain, which was less than 0.2% across the trading session.
Biden pardons pot convicts
That morning, President Joe Biden expanded his pardon of individuals convicted of certain marijuana possession offenses. Widening a general pardon he decreed toward the end of 2022, he is now legally forgiving "additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law," in his words.
Under the new proclamation, such offenses include cannabis "use and possession on certain Federal lands."
Biden accompanied the proclamation with a set of commutations for 11 people convicted of drug-related offenses, although none of the crimes involve marijuana.
Biden's move is the latest indication that the deep freeze of restrictive U.S. marijuana laws continues to thaw. Accompanied by the wave of successful state recreational legalization initiatives that continues to crest (although slowly), we are clearly heading to a future of decriminalization for the drug. And that would benefit not only domestic pot companies but also Canadian ones eager to legally sell product south of their border.
Small win, big impact
As with most marijuana victories, this one is small but consequential, and it helps build momentum for the inevitable. Pot stock investors were right to be cheerful about it; they'll be hoping for more such wins in the coming months and years.
