After cannabis getting legalised in many US states, the cannabis industry in Canada was also hopeful that recreational marijuana will be legalised in the country. The cannabis stocks were rising on the anticipation that it will be available freely by early next year, but then came the comments of Bill Blair, which flung down all such hopes. When he said that the government is in no hurry to establish legal marijuana in the country, the MJIC Canadian Marijuana Index was down by 8%.
But, things seem to again lighten up after a report indicated that the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will be unveiling plans to legalise sales for recreational use of marijuana in April. This news led to Canadian marijuana stocks going on a high. The frenzy around the country’s marijuana market intensified with shares gaining as much as 10-11 percent in a single day.
Aurora Cannabis and OrganiGram holdings surged by 10%, while Canopy Growth Corp. was up by 11%, Aphria rose 7.9%, and Emblem Corp went up by a good 6%. Canopy Growth Corp is the first company in Canada, which has a market valuation of C$1 billion. The gain of 11% in its shares in a single day is the biggest gain since November 2016.
It is suggested in the report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the minimum age for buying it for recreational purposes will be fixed at 18, but the individual provinces will have the freedom to set it even higher if they want. The provincial governments will also have the independence of setting the price and deciding on how it will be sold in their province.
The legislation is expected to be introduced in the week starting from April 10 and it is expected that marijuana will be legalised by July 1, 2018. There was no confirmation on the timelines indicated by the report from the spokesman for Justice Minister Jody Wilson Raybould. The spokesman David Taylor on being asked about the timelines simply reiterated that the government is pledged to unveil the proposed law this year by spring.
All the pot stocks of the country are soaring high as the investors are highly optimistic that the timelines indicated by the report will be met.
