Marijuana News Today: Great Sign for U.S. Marijuana Legalization & Great Sign for Pot Stocks

Marijuana News Today

More good stuff in the marijuana news today as a leading Democratic Party presidential candidate praises pot reform in the United States. On the negative side, most pot stocks fell in early trading this morning.

Senator Kamala Harris recently surged in the polls after a fiery debate performance that saw her targeting front-runner Joe Biden for his voting record on busing.

Make of it what you will, but strategically it was a bold move that has helped Harris surge back into relevance after having been overshadowed by a number of other candidates.

Politics aside, this is a very good thing for marijuana stocks because Harris is very much in favor of marijuana reform.

“Thankful states like Illinois are stepping up to correct the mistakes of our past,” she tweeted about marijuana legalization. “It’s time to do the same at the federal level.”

This is significant for two main reasons.

The first is that Harris could be president in a few years, and if that were to occur, her position on marijuana is on record. Sure, she may just be saying it on the campaign trail to garner support (hardly the first politician to execute that move) but, at the very least, legalization advocates would be able to use her own words to hold her feet to the fire.

Besides, I believe that Harris actually would pursue a pro-marijuana agenda as president. It just makes too much sense.

The other main takeaway is that Harris is surging in popularity right now, so her opponents will either have to mirror her positions or directly challenge them in order to stay relevant.

Considering that most Democrat presidential hopefuls have already come out in support of U.S. marijuana legalization, it stands to reason that tweets like the one above would help push the issue forward.

Senator Cory Booker, another potential future president, lamented the total absence of the marijuana legalization issue in the recent Democratic debates.

All of this says that U.S. marijuana legalization is closer than it has ever been. A huge amount of momentum has been building up behind the issue as state after state falls into place and passes pot reform laws.

While I would like to see the issue broached more often in the media and in the upcoming debates, this is without a doubt the most pro-pot presidential candidate cohort that we have ever seen.

As I said above, it makes a lot of sense why this is happening now: marijuana reform represents a cross-section of sound economics with strong social justice overtones.

As for marijuana stocks, the faster we see federal cannabis legalization in the U.S., the faster we’ll see huge growth in share value.

OGI Stock

Meanwhile, the marijuana news today as it pertains to the pot stock market isn’t all that great. Most marijuana stocks were down a point or two this morning, with nothing major having shaken up the market.

One weed stock has been performing rather strongly over the past few days: OrganiGram Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OGI).

Those familiar with this column will no doubt have heard me sing OrganiGram stock’s praises on more than one occasion. Those who listened with their wallets likely saw a good bit of gains in 2019.

Recent times have, however, been less kind to OGI stock as it suffers alongside the rest of the market. During downturns, marijuana penny stocks often take harder hits than the stocks of larger companies.

Having said that, OrganiGram stock is up about seven percent over the past five days. It was down about two percent in early-morning trading today though.

The recent past notwithstanding, I’m still bullish when it comes to OGI stock. Sure, things have been bad for OrganiGram lately and its share price has fallen, but it is still among my top pot stocks, especially when you consider the company’s size.

While acquisitions have slowed lately as pot companies look to show profits rather than losses on their balance sheets, there’s still a chance for a large company to absorb or partner with OrganiGram Holdings in the near future.

Another big event on OGI stock’s horizon is the company’s next quarterly report, due to be released on July 15.

IIPR Stock

I don’t write about Innovative Industrial Properties Inc (NYSE:IIPR) too often because it’s not a traditional marijuana company. Instead, it’s a real estate business that targets the marijuana sector due to its expansion. Still, IIPR stock represents one of the best ways to expose oneself to the U.S. marijuana trade.

Innovative Industrial Properties is a marijuana real estate investment trust (REIT). What that means is that it buys and leases properties to marijuana producers.

One of the benefits of IIPR being a marijuana REIT is that it has to, by law, distribute 90% of its profits to its shareholders. The company also has a healthy dividend that it pays out.

I first wrote about Innovative Industrial Properties several months ago, and we’ve seen its share value balloon since then.

Having said that, it appears that the stock has swelled too much for its own good, and that several days, weeks, or even months of correction may lie ahead.

IIPR stock fell about two percent in early-morning trading today, while it is down about six percent over the past five days.

Nevertheless, I believe that Innovative Industrial Properties stock will recover swiftly from the current marijuana stock market downturn.

I can imagine this stock trading at $150.00 before the year is out, depending on the severity and length of the likely upcoming correction.

OGI and IIPR Stock Performances

The performances of OGI stock (black line) and IIPR stock (blue line) over the past week are seen on the chart below:

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Analyst Take

There is little doubt in my mind that 2020 is going to be one of the most important years for the marijuana industry.

The marijuana news today shows why: we may very well see a sitting U.S. president in 18 months that is pro-marijuana-legalization. If this comes to pass, we can expect to see another green rush, with huge surges among marijuana stocks.