The House of Representatives voted to federally legalize marijuana on Friday and adopted two amendments to the legislation before final passage.
Following an hour or so of debate on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, presented by House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) the full chamber voted 220-204 to end federal cannabis prohibition and promote social equity in the industry.
The vote fell mostly along party lines with only three Republicans supporting the measure and two Democrats opposing it, reported Marijuana Moment.
Cannabis stocks respond:
- Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) was down 0.3%
- Curaleaf (NASDAQ:CURA) headed down 1.5%,
- Canopy Growth (NASDAQ:CGC) down 0.5%
- Tilray Brands (NASDAQ:TLRY) down 0.4%
- Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) was up 0.8%
- Sundial Growers (NASDAQ:SNDL) gained 3.5%.
- Federal legalization, long-awaited by the cannabis industry, will surely have major ramifications for cannabis companies as they will no longer be subject to a section of the U.S. internal revenue code that prohibits taxpayers from deducting business expenses associated with controlled substances, said Pedro Palandrani, director of research at Global X ETFs, in a statement to Barron's.
Legalization also could unlock access to basic financing options, like loans and capital raising on U.S. exchanges, that were previously inaccessible to cannabis companies, Palandrani added.
