Tilray Rally As Georgia Runoffs Signal Democratic SenateMarijuana Stocks Rally As Georgia Runoffs Signal Democratic Senate
Tilray, Inc. surge on hopes Democrats' win in Georgia could spark US legalization
Tilray, Inc. surged on Wednesday following the early results of Georgia’s key Senate runoffs that could open the door to federal cannabis reform.
With Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock claiming victory in his race against incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R -GA) and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff winning his race against GOP Sen. David Perdue, Democrats took control of the Senate. That fuels hopes that prior roadblocks, including refusal on the part of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring cannabis reform bills to the chamber, could be removed to move legalization efforts forward on a national level.
the change of Senate control would catalyze constructive changes for the sector.
Democratic control of the Senate, “could help provide better access to capital, alleviate operating headwinds, and help drive industry growth.”
more moderate reform could come first, perhaps in the form of a modified Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, which could allow cannabis companies to access traditional banking and financial services and alleviate burdensome federal taxes.
“To the extent that the industry is presented with an opportunity to lobby for either of these measures, we would expect a consensus to form around the STATES Act over the MORE Act,” she said.
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Key to that growth will be the speed in which states that voted to legalize cannabis set up policy frameworks, and at a federal level, which policy proposals receive the largest attention from legislators.
potential reforms range from mild banking reforms through the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow the industry to tap traditional financing and banking, to more progressive agenda goals like federal decriminalization and criminal expungements through the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. A combination deal could also be pushed through.
With New Jersey legalizing through a ballot initiative this November and New York increasingly looking likely to follow with legalization, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address.
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