Tilray Brands (TLRY -4.62%) stock, the Canadian cannabis company, soared 40% through 10:25 a.m. ET Monday morning -- and you can thank President Trump for that.
Over the weekend, the president posted a near-three-minute-long video on Truth Social, promising that CBD oil "can revolutionize senior healthcare" and lower annual medical costs in America by $64 billion. Investors are taking this as evidence that legislation could be in the works to legalize marijuana, and even be promoted as a favored medical treatment by doctors.
Image source: Getty Images.
What the Trump marijuana video says, and who made it
President Trump himself doesn't appear in the video, which "reads" like a late night infomercial and was published by The Commonwealth Project, a nonprofit backed by philanthropist Howard Kessler that says it "is working to prioritize the 65-plus population by integrating medical cannabis into mainstream healthcare for seniors."
But the president does seem to be promoting the video -- and the idea of promoting medical marijuana use.
The video argues that doctors have discovered an "endocannabinoid system" within the human body that weakens with age. It notes standard medical practice is to prescribed "dangerous and addictive pharmaceuticals" to treat symptoms of this decline, but argues that "hemp-derived CBD" is a better alternative to "restore" the system, curing pain, reducing stress, granting better sleep, and even adding "years" to lifespan!
The video calls specifically for Medicare to cover marijuana-related treatments, and promises $64 billion in annual savings for the healthcare system once this happens.
What does this mean for Tilray?
Long story short, President Trump appears to have just publicly thrown his support behind not just legalizing marijuana in America (at least for seniors), but actually granting the industry federal subsidies in the form of Medicare coverage.
It's obvious why Tilray investors are excited by that.
