Cannabis Stocks Gain Following Rumors of Imminent Rescheduling

By Dean Seal

Cannabis stocks capped off a volatile week with gains after a prominent hedge fund manager suggested that regulators will soon reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis, a popular exchange-traded fund tracking marijuana stocks, was up 9% at $8.43 in late trading. After declines earlier this week, the ETF is now up from a week ago and has gained 20% year-to-date.

Shares of Curaleaf, the biggest U.S. cannabis company by revenue, were up more than 14% at $4.65. The stocks of Green Thumb Industries, Verano Holdings and Trulieve Cannabis, three major operators in the U.S., advanced around 6% to 9%.

Before the market opened, Dougie Kass of Seabreeze Capital Partners LP said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his firm has learned the Drug Enforcement Administration will soon approve a rescheduling of cannabis down to a less restrictive category of drugs after overcoming an international legal hurdle.

The gains also come after Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra testified before a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday and defended the Food and Drug Administration's review of cannabis' scheduling status.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 15, 2024 14:56 ET (18:56 GMT)

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