Investors Flock to Cannabis After Trump’s Promise to Leave Industry Alone

The cannabis industry has been reaping the benefits resulting from confirmation by U.S. President Donald Trump that his administration will not target the legal marijuana businesses in the country, resulting in a rush of investors pouring into the public markets.

It all started when Sen. Cory Gardner announced on Friday (April 13) Trump himself had promised he would not target the cannabis industry in any way, momentarily removing the cloud of uncertainty reigning over legal marijuana in the U.S. due to the rescission of the Cole memo by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Republican official from Colorado said in a statement he received a “commitment” from Trump last Wednesday (April 11), protecting the legal market in Colorado.

“Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice’s rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry,” Gardner said.

Gardner had faced the Trump administration’s position on cannabis by blocking votes for appointments in the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Colorado representative officially ceased his holds on the nominees for DOJ.

The reaction to the news caused celebration online and a buying increase in the public markets seen across the board.

For 5 years, I have watched and waited patiently. This was the biggest week yet for the U.S. #cannabis industry.

— Alan Brochstein, CFA (@Invest420) April 13, 2018

Trump’s promise boosts cannabis stocks

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks over 40 cannabis stocks across Canadian and U.S. stock exchanges, tracked positive in early trading for Monday (April 16). At the time of this writing, this index was up 4.34 percent for the day.

Another indicator of the overall cannabis industry performance is the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (TSX:HMMJ), which on Friday ended with a rush of 6.40 percent over the trading day. So far on Monday (April 16), the index has reached C$17.14, representing a 3.25 percent increase for the day

The rush in the market was felt all over the industry, but the predominant winners of this announcement are companies operating cannabis businesses in the U.S. already.

Some of the leaders in this space include the recently launched Cannex (CSE:CNNX), a company that closed on Friday with a price of C$1.33 per share. CannaRoyalty (CSE:CRZ; OTC:CNNRF) finished the trading day with a 12 percent increase, amounting to a C$0.45 gain for its Canadian stock.

Other U.S. operators listed in Canada, like MPX Bioceuticals (CSE:MPX; OTC:MPXEF) and iAnthus Capital Holdings (CSE:IAN; OTCQB:ITHUF) and Friday Night Inc. (CSE:TGIF) went up 22.22 percent, 8.49 percent, and 18.18 percent, respectively on Friday.

The CEO of FinCanna Capital (CSE:CALI; OTCQB:FNNZF), Andriyko Herchak, issued a statement in response to the Gardner announcement:

“While a bill has not yet been finalized, we feel these words of commitment from President Trump to a hands-off approach on states that legalized marijuana is extremely positive and should continue to create further comfort and momentum for investors looking to be a part of the licensed cannabis movement in the United States.”

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Cannabis for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: Friday Night Inc and FinCanna Capital are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.