What happened
One of the smaller marijuana companies on the stock market, Canada's OrganiGram Holdings (OGI 1.75%) punched above its weight class on Thursday, closing the day 12.9% higher. It was generally a fine, double-digit-rise day for marijuana stocks due to the latest political developments in that country's big, noisy neighbor to the south.
So what
On Thursday, which was (ahem) two days after the presidential election, it became increasingly likely that the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket would ascend to the White House. Cannabis advocates and pot stock investors generally favor these candidates heavily over the Donald Trump/Mike Pence incumbency because Harris has stated that they would decriminalize marijuana if elected.
Image source: Getty Images.
Before marijuana mavens get too excited about that, we should bear in mind that decriminalization is not the same as legalization. Still, the very fact that Biden and Harris are not only open to reforming the country's marijuana laws on the federal level, but are promising some form of change, is highly encouraging.
Now what
This won't solve the many problems of the marijuana industry, and the transformation of U.S. law isn't going to be the one magic happening that turns OrganiGram into a powerful and profitable company. Yet even if decriminalization doesn't morph into legalization, the company and its peers are sure to benefit from any opening of the vast U.S. market.
With a stock price that can't go much lower, OrganiGram could be poised for further serious lifts even after Thursday's healthy pop.
