2024-04-30 16:15:00 ET
Shares of Canadian cannabis companies Tilray Brands (NASDAQ: TLRY) , Canopy Growth Company (NASDAQ: CGC) , Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON) , and SNDL (NASDAQ: SNDL) exploded higher on Tuesday, rallying 41.7%, 67.5%, 15.7%, and 24.4%, respectively, as of 3:18 PM EDT. It wasn't hard to figure out why cannabis stocks had across-the-board rallies today: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agreed with the historic recommendation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule III drug, down from its Schedule I classification that the drug has had since 1971.
Rescheduling will come with huge financial benefits for U.S. cannabis companies. But will these Canadian companies trading on U.S. stock exchanges benefit, too?
Marijuana probably never should have been classified as a Schedule I drug to begin with. That's a designation shared with extremely dangerous drugs that have no known medical benefits and significant abuse potential, like heroin. A Schedule III drug is a lower-risk classification, on par with medically prescribed Tylenol with codeine (less than 90ml), ketamine, or anabolic steroids.
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Why Cannabis Companies Tilray, Canopy Growth, Cronos, and SNDL Got Really High on Tuesday