As more European countries impose nationwide shutdown orders, leaving all stores except food and pharmacy outlets shuttered, cannabis stores are experiencing a dramatic surge in sales this weekend.
Tensions are running high in Los Angeles over coronavirus-related health concerns, the cancelation of numerous public events and the new normal of working from home. Local cannabis companies and delivery services say they're seeing an uptick in business in these trying times. Angelenos are turning to CBD and THC products to combat anxieties and stocking up like they are with bottled water and toilet paper.
At the urging of caregivers, state lawmakers have stripped a department-sponsored medical marijuana reform bill of provisions to ban small extraction labs, require federal background checks, limit plant size and institute fines for willful violations.
On Thursday, WBRC reported that the Alabama Senate cleared Senate Bill 165. The bill will create the Compassion Act, which legalizes medical marijuana. The bill has listed several qualifying medical conditions and symptoms. Patients suffering from these medical conditions can access medical marijuana products after receiving approval from qualified doctors. A doctor can only prescribe marijuana products after all the other methods have been exhausted.
Advocates for equity in the cannabis industry hope to see more diversity among licensees if a bill approved by the Legislature gets the governor’s signature.
The legislation, which passed through the House 57-40 Tuesday, creates a task force that will help create the Marijuana Social Equity Program. It would allow the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to issue forfeited, canceled and revoked retail licenses to applicants in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The program would last for eight years.
The marijuana industry is very volatile right now. On Monday, cannabis stocks crashed hard. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF fell 9.5%. The crash was mainly fueled by the global stock market fall due to fear about the coronavirus and declining oil prices. None of the concerns impact the marijuana industry directly. However, I wouldn’t say that marijuana stocks are safe either. So, should you consider investing in marijuana stocks in March?
In light of the cannabis industry's ongoing bear market, restructuring has been framed as a necessary option for companies looking to stay afloat.
Perhaps most devastating are the job losses affecting thousands of staffers throughout the cannabis industry.
Companies that have conducted layoffs recently include Tilray Inc TLRY and Aurora Cannabis Inc ACB 0.07%, both of which reducing their workforces 10% in a bid to stanch losses.
Just two months into adult-use legalization and Illinois dispensaries are selling more than a million dollars of legal cannabis—per day.
That number is based off revenue from steep taxes on legal sales. The state reported $10 million in cannabis tax revenue for the month of January, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office reported Feb. 24. The report shows how legalization is off to a roaring start in the Land of Lincoln.
Shares of Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) were up 3.4% as of 11:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday after rising as much as 12.6% earlier in the day. The Canadian cannabis producer didn't have any news of its own. Instead, today's move is part of an overall rebound for the stock market after Monday's massive sell-off.
Exchange-traded funds that invest in cannabis stocks rebounded Tuesday, one day after a global equity rout dropped them to all-time lows.
The $509 million ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ.P) gained 2.2% in afternoon trade, while the $318 million Horizon Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ.TO) rose 1.8% during a market rally that pushed the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 up nearly 2.8%.
