Marijuana News Today: Pot Stock Market Rallies, U.S. Surgeon General Warns About Pot Use
Marijuana News Today
The marijuana news today has us smiling at the pot stock market even while the U.S. federal government warns about marijuana use among pregnant women and teenagers.
To be fair, the warning coming from the U.S. federal government isn’t all that damning. It simply says that teenagers and pregnant women ought to avoid the drug. Considering that all marijuana laws in existence right now already have some form of age limit on them, this won’t be too debilitating for pot stocks.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement meant to protect younger people and pregnant women from marijuana’s potentially deleterious effects. (Source: “Surgeon General Releases Advisory on Marijuana’s Damaging Effects on the Developing Brain,” U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, August 29, 2019.)
“Marijuana is a dangerous drug, especially for young people and pregnant women,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
He added:
This historic Surgeon General’s advisory is focused on the risks marijuana poses for these populations, which have been well-established by scientific evidence. As indicated by President Trump’s generous donation of his salary to support this advisory, the Trump Administration is committed to fighting substance abuse of all kinds, and that means continuing research, education, and prevention efforts around the risks of marijuana use.
(Source: Ibid.)
The important nugget to take away from the above is that President Donald Trump donates a portion of his salary toward marijuana prevention. That does not exactly sound like the move of a pro-pot president.
While he’s never really stuck to one position or another when it comes to marijuana legislation, there was always some hope that the pro-business Trump would potentially see the light and push forward federal marijuana legalization. It’s hardly as if he’s ever been constrained by Republican tradition or dogma, so going against the grain here would be very much in character for the president.
But that’s probably not going to happen. Instead, we’ll have to wait for a new president to come in and push the pro-legalization agenda. Considering that most of the Democratic presidential hopefuls have unveiled some manner of drug reform in their platforms, there’s good reason to be hopeful about U.S. marijuana legalization happening in the coming years.
As far as that relates to pot stocks, the future of the industry very much lies in expansion. Whether in the U.S. or abroad, the opening of the market around the globe will help spur sales and share prices.
U.S. marijuana legalization is closer to becoming reality than it has ever been, and I’d imagine we’ll see legislation on this issue within the next five years, depending on the president in power and the makeup of Congress.
Marijuana companies, meanwhile, will have to bide their time. But as we’re waiting, investors need not be so reactive. Instead, they can be proactive and buy up marijuana stocks at low prices, hold on to them as the industry matures, and watch their portfolios swell with gains.
While it may be too late to get in on the ground floor of the marijuana business, we’re not even close to the top yet. Pot investors stand to make a good bit of money if they play the long game.
CURLF Stock
One of the stronger days on the marijuana stock market in some time, the marijuana news today has us looking at one of the biggest players in the U.S. pot market right now: Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF, CNSX:CURA).
Considered the largest marijuana company in the U.S., Curaleaf Holdings operates in 11 states and is quickly growing its U.S.-based marijuana empire. As such, you can imagine the hype surrounding the company as it is among the few publicly traded American pot stocks.
CURLF stock jumped by nearly three percent in early-morning trading today. Despite the overall marijuana stock market correction, Curaleaf stock has thrived in the past few days, up 12%.
Much of the hype surrounding the company is well founded. It recently released a very strong second-quarter earnings report that beat analyst expectations.
Even better, the company issued guidance that predicts over $1.0 billion in revenue for the next fiscal year. That would make it the first marijuana company to clear that mark if it’s successful. (Source: “Cannabis Canada: Will Curaleaf be the first pot company to report US$1B in sales?” BNN Bloomberg, August 28, 2019.)
Combine its promise of massive revenue in the coming fiscal year with its strong position in the U.S. marijuana market and CURLF stock has a lot of momentum.
CGC Stock
While Curaleaf Holdings has seen its standing largely rise over the past few days, Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC) continues to struggle, even if today was a stronger day for CGC stock.
It gained a point in early-morning trading today, and has only lost about two percent over the past five days.
Those are far better numbers than Canopy Growth stock has seen since the summer started. Overall, the second half of 2019 has been difficult for the top pot stock by market cap. Between jettisoning its CEO Bruce Linton to showing massive losses in its most recent quarterly reports, 2019 has quickly devolved for the company.
CGC stock, you’ll remember, had one of the fastest-rising share prices and was among my top pot stocks when 2019 began.
Now Canopy Growth stock finds itself down about nine percent since the beginning of the year.
On top of that, I’m not as bullish on the company since it got rid of Linton. It’s less about the man and more about the direction of the company more broadly. Canopy Growth is now too focused on profits and short-term gains instead of positioning itself for growth as many other pot companies are.
Right now, I’d be bullish on CURFL stock and wary of CGC stock.
CURLF and CGC Stock Performances
The performances of CURLF stock (black line) and CGC stock (blue line) over the past week are seen in the chart below:
Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com
Analyst Take
The marijuana news today is pretty strong on the pot stock market even as the U.S. federal government issues a health warning about pot.
Overall, Curaleaf Holdings stock seems to be on the rise and I wouldn’t be surprised if the company was able to double its share value in the coming year.
