Marijuana News Today: Midterms Approach With Huge Implications for Pot Legalization in the U.S.

Marijuana News Today

Taking a break from focusing exclusively on the pot stock market, the marijuana news today will instead tackle how the upcoming U.S. midterms will affect the future of marijuana legalization in the United States.

While political newshounds are following the midterm elections for how they will reshape Congress from a partisan perspective, those interested in the marijuana market also have a lot riding on the upcoming elections.

Four states have marijuana legalization on the ballot. Michigan is the largest among them and, alongside North Dakota, is the only other state considering recreational pot legalization in the U.S.

Meanwhile, deep-red states that have been Republican strongholds for decades are increasingly looking into marijuana legalization, as seen in North Dakota and Utah, both of which will have medical marijuana on the November ballot.

All this speaks to a changing attitude that we’ve been tracking for years at Profit Confidential. Whereas in earlier days, marijuana was strictly a progressive issue (sometimes a fringe progressive issue, at that), more and more mainstream politicians are coming out in support of cannabis legalization—from both sides of the political spectrum.

“The train has left the station,” said Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), a leading marijuana reform advocate in Congress, in a recent interview.

“I see all the pieces coming together… It’s the same arc we saw two generations ago with the prohibitions of alcohol.” (Source: “Marijuana midterms: Why legal weed advocates think ‘all the pieces are coming together’ this year,” NBC News, October 23, 2018.)

The fact of the matter is that we’re approaching the threshold of no return. Most of the U.S. supports legalized marijuana, forcing the federal government’s hand. At that point, marijuana legalization in the U.S. is all but a certainty.

We’re already seeing that take place as the Democratic Party features pot legalization as a central plank in its platform, with several gubernatorial and senate candidates espousing marijuana reform during their campaigns.

Considering that the House is likely to turn Democrat in the upcoming midterms, there’s even more hope that marijuana policy reform will be done sooner rather than later in the U.S.

Canopy Growth Stock

In a welcome respite from yesterday’s poor stock market performance, the marijuana news today saw pot stocks rising early in the morning, only for most of them to end up breaking even on the day.

Still, stagnancy is better than the plummets experienced industry-wide after the marijuana correction sparked.

Today we saw strong gains from several marijuana stocks to start the day, including Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC).

CGC stock jumped about three percent to start the day, while many other marijuana stocks were down or stagnant.

Of course, over the past five days, we’ve seen many pot stocks dive by more than 20%, but these small gains are a welcome change of pace.

As I’ve said countless times, CGC stock remains one of my favorite marijuana stocks precisely because it has both the staying power of larger stocks and the great potential for growth of smaller stocks—even at its considerable size.

We’re seeing that play out again here as the marijuana stock market contends with another downturn.

As with the last downturn, I expect Canopy Growth stock to take relatively fewer losses compared to other marijuana stocks, while also being quicker to recover versus its competitors.

This is due to its strong foundations and its positioning as the premier marijuana stock.

With a bevy of supply agreements signed, an international presence, and robust supply capacity, CGC stock is uniquely suited to thrive both in boom and bust times.

OrganiGram Stock

Another marijuana stock that was seeing strong gains to start the day is OrganiGram Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:OGRMF, CVE:OGI).

A marijuana penny stock at $4.00 a share, OrganiGram stock is in a strong position to bounce back from the downturn, relative to its competitors.

OrganiGram stock climbed nearly five percent to start the day.

Now, as was the case yesterday, we may see the gains that were made in the morning dissipate by the end of the day’s trading. But as with CGC stock, OGRMF stock has a lot going for it that makes it a strong player in the market, despite the correction.

OrganiGram stock has made several plays to keep up with its larger competitors, most notably its continued global expansion.

The most recent case of this was the company’s purchase of a 25% stake in alpha-cannabis Pharma GmbH, a German company. (Source: “Organigram to Take 25% Stake in German Cannabis Company,” New Cannabis Ventures, October 17, 2018.)

Germany, of course, is one of the largest markets in the world, one that is increasingly flirting with the idea of marijuana legalization. That makes OrganiGram’s 25% stake a good choice.

CGC & OGRMF Stock Performances

The CGC stock (black line) and OGRMF stock (blue line) performances from the past week are seen in the chart below:

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Analyst Take

There are concerns over how the marijuana market is going to fare in the coming weeks. That’s an entirely reasonable worry to have, considering we’re entering what I believe will be a prolonged correction (provided that no major investment or announcement takes place to send the market into a surge).

Still, the marijuana industry is the strongest it has ever been. U.S. marijuana legalization is gaining steam while Canada is showing how modern economies can regulate and tax the herb for everyone’s benefit.

Correction or no, I expect to see huge gains in many marijuana stocks moving forward, especially in 2019.