Vice President Kamala Harris further positioned herself as a pro-cannabis candidate in an interview with the sports and culture podcast “All the Smoke” on Monday, but industry leaders are not convinced her administration will deliver on the reforms she has promised.
“I just think we've reached a point where we have to understand that we need to decriminalize this and stop criminalizing this behavior,” Harris said in an interview.
This is the first time she has spoken publicly about the issue since becoming the Democratic presidential candidate.
“I am encouraged by Vice President Harris' support for legalizing cannabis; however, we need action, not just words,” said Jason Wild, executive chairman of TSX-listed Cannabis. Terdengaodoing business in the United States. “My hope is that this time, these campaign promises are not just empty words but will lead to real change.”
Four years ago, as a senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Harris advocated and introduced legislation to legalize and tax marijuana at the federal level. Biden also tapped her as vice president to lead discussions on criminal justice and marijuana reform as his administration works to reschedule marijuana use.
But Brady Cobb, founder of Sunburn Cannabis in Florida, said the process has been slow.
“I challenge the notion that Harris is the more pro-cannabis candidate,” Cobb said. “While progress has been made on the rescheduling and, if passed, would mark the largest incremental progress to date on federal cannabis reform, the fact It's still not done.”
The Biden administration said this spring it would take steps to loosen restrictions and reclassify marijuana from the most restrictive Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III, which would open the door for research and states to expand the sale and distribution of medical supplies where they are. Legal.
In July, the public comment period for the reclassification of marijuana ended, with 43,000 comments received for review. In August, the DEA further delayed the reclassification, scheduling a hearing on the proposed rule changes for Dec. 2, after the election.
Marijuana investors are eager to learn more details about future proposals.
Emily Paxhia, co-founder of Poseidon Investment Management, said: “We welcome more information from the Harris campaign about how they envision reform on this issue, as there are several paths to improvement. , including banking and capital market reforms.
The marijuana industry is also skeptical of former President Trump's support for legalization.
“Trump also hasn't moved any hand on marijuana during his presidency, so from my perspective, they (Trump and Harris) are very equal on this issue,” Cobb said.
In late August, Trump reversed his longstanding stance that legalizing marijuana should be left up to each state. He said that if elected, his administration “will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical use of marijuana as a Schedule 3 drug and work with Congress to pass common-sense laws, including providing safe banking services to state-licensed companies and supporting The right of states to pass cannabis laws.
He also said he plans to vote yes on a Florida ballot measure legalization Use recreational marijuana.
this AdvisorShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETFShares of companies tracking U.S. cannabis companies have risen 12% since Trump made the comments a month ago, as investors see bipartisan support for legalization as a key driver.
“The fact that both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates now support federal marijuana reform increases the likelihood that federal legalization is just a matter of time,” Bernstein analyst Nadine Sarwat said in a recent report.
However, while the candidate's support has boosted the market, Bernstein also noted that the category's growth has been stagnant as it faces macro headwinds.
“While all the headlines are about potential federal reforms, the sales performance at the state level is sobering,” Salvat said.