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During Wednesday night's debate with Vice President Mike Pence,
Harris said she and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
would also expunge the criminal records of people convicted of
marijuana-related offences in the past.
Cannabis stock tracker MJ ETF <MJ.P> rose 5.5% to mark its best
session since early June, while Tilray Inc <TLRY.O> jumped 19.2%
on the Nasdaq. U.S.-listed shares of Canopy Growth Corp <WEED.TO>,
Aphria Inc <APHA.TO> and Aurora Cannabis Inc <ACB.TO> closed
between 10% and 13% higher.
Even though many U.S. states have legalized marijuana use, banks
and other traditional financial institutions have so far largely
refused to work with the industry as cannabis is still a
classified substance at the federal level.
"Access to safe banking will transform the industry, freeing up
capital markets for investment and reducing the risk of
operating a cannabis business," said Keith Cich, co-founder of
cannabis-related products manufacturer Sunderstorm Inc.
Regulatory issues have also restricted cash availability for
companies in the nascent sector at a time when they are
struggling with a lack of profitability due to high costs.
"From a business perspective, (decriminalization) will level the
playing field by allowing companies to expense normal
operational costs instead of being taxed on gross profit," said
Sam Armenia, vice president at producer C21 Investments Inc <CXXI.CD>.
Harris, who has supported cannabis decriminalization even before
Biden picked her as his running mate, is the lead sponsor of the
Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act
of 2019, which sought to end federal prohibition of marijuana.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli and Devika Syamnath)
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