Cannabis Stocks Jump; Schumer to Unveil Federal Legalization Bill

© TheStreet Cannabis Stocks Jump; Schumer to Unveil Federal Legalization Bill

Pot stocks could get a boost after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said he would introduce draft legislation to legalize marijuana at the federal level.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is meant to spur discussion for a formal introduction of the bill.

Reports say the bill would direct some tax revenue from marijuana sales to minority communities, give the Food and Drug Administration oversight over cannabis regulation, and retain some federal drug-testing provisions.

“Hopefully, the next time this unofficial holiday, 4/20, rolls around, our country will have made progress in addressing the massive overcriminalization of marijuana in a meaningful and comprehensive way,” Schumer said earlier this year.

On Wednesday U.S. and Canadian cannabis companies traded higher.

Among the U.S. players, at last check Trulieve Cannabis was up 1.7%, Green Thumb Industries rose 2.3%, Curaleaf Holdings moved up 2.2%, and Cresco Labs tacked on 3.9%.

As for the Canadian cannabis companies. Tilray advanced 1.8% and Sundial Growers ticked up 1.4%. Cronos Group wavered and recently eased 1%.

Canadian companies may have the most to gain from U.S. federal legalization as they are currently barred from doing business in the U.S. due to the lack of uniform legislation in the country.

Under federal law marijuana is still classified as a schedule 1 drug, placing it on the same restrictive level as heroin, LSD, mushrooms and ecstasy.

Marijuana sales are expected to top $24 billion in the U.S. this year, a 40% year-over-year increase, according to cannabis market research firm BDSA.

This article was originally published by TheStreet.