Marijuana stocks soar amid leaked legalization bill

© TheStreet Marijuana Stocks Soar Amid Leaked Legalization Bill

Cannabis stocks are soaring amid news of a Republican-led bill seeking to legalize and tax the substance at a federal level.

On Friday, online magazine Marijuana Moment broke the news that Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is leading a bill to deschedule and tax marijuana.

Currently in draft format, the bill known as the States Reform Act proposes officially making marijuana a regulated substance akin to alcohol and slapping it with a 3.75% excise tax.

While the bill is currently being circulated among stakeholders and not expected to be filed until the end of the month, the cannabis industry reacted swiftly.

The change could mean significantly upturn to a market that is currently held back by differing state-by-state laws and inability to work with Canadian companies, which have exploded since the country legalized cannabis in 2019.

Cannabis ETF (THCX) is up 6.97% to $12.72 while Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF), Chicago, Ill., is up 13.53% to $23.92. MarketWatch reported that Medical operator Curaleaf (CURLF), Wakefield, Mass., saw its stocks jump 10% and is currently up 8.4%

Trulieve (TCCNF), Tallahassee, Flor., stocks are currently up 8.14% to $30,28.

Many companies in Canada also reacted to the news. Tilray (TLRY), Toronto, Ont., stock is up 13.84% to C$15.13 while Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC), Smith Falls, Ont., is up 9.09% even, as TheStreet reported this morning, edging lower after analysts at Cowen downgraded it to market perform from outperform and lowered its price target to C$16 from C$33.

Another Canadian giant, Hexo Corporation (HEXO), based in Gatineau, Quebec, is currently up 13.67% to $1,58.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pablo Zuanic told MarketWatch that this type of bill “significantly increases the probability of federal level marijuana reform,” which, in turn, can lead to major reverberations on the market.

This article was originally published by TheStreet.