Investors buy marijuana stocks for the potential high they can provide, but on Hump Day, Curaleaf (CURLF -4.55%) produced the wrong kind of buzz. The veteran pot company saw its share price sag by almost 5% on the day, on the back of a discouraging media report about weed legalization. That was a far more pronounced slide than the S&P 500's (^GSPC -1.61%) decrease of 1.6%.
Pot reform resistance?
An article published well before market open in The New York Times that day detailed the stalling effort to effectively decriminalize marijuana sale and consumption.
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Although both have been legalized at the state level in many instances, technically the drug remains illegal per federal law. In the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) schedule of drugs, marijuana is categorized as Schedule I. In the agency's language, this means it is a substance "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."
Citing unnamed "leading supporters and critics" of marijuana law reform efforts, the article stated that continued resistance from DEA officials has slowed the process of reform. It also pointed out that, despite implying on the campaign trail that reform would occur if he were to be elected, President Donald Trump's administration released a drug policy blueprint that didn't include it.
Ignoring the wishes of the public
Neither the White House nor the DEA has yet commented on the Times article, and isn't likely to. There is an odd dichotomy in this country about marijuana reform: It is broadly supported by the public; however, the few moves made by politicians and law enforcement figures aren't producing results. Hopefully that will change in the very near future, or Curaleaf and its marijuana industry peers will struggle even more.
