Trump released a video about marijuana products. Producers' stocks went up

Shares of companies related to the medical marijuana industry rose sharply on September 29. The occasion was a video posted by Donald Trump on social media: it calls for the inclusion of cannabidiol (CBD) in the Medicare insurance program. Investors are hoping for a relaxation of regulation of the cannabis market under Trump, while the likelihood of legalization is considered low.

In trading Monday, the Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF, which tracks cannabis producers, was up 22.2% to $37.9 at one point. Shares of Canadian medical marijuana producers Tilray Brands, Canopy Growth and Cronos Group were up 40%, 16% and 14%, respectively.

Investors in the struggling industry have been encouraged by the publication of a video about cannabidiol (CBD) on US President Donald Trump's Truth Social media page. The video, published by Trump, was released by The Commonwealth Project, an advocacy organization that advocates for the availability of medical cannabis, including CBD, for people over the age of 65. The Commonwealth Project was founded by Howard Kessler, who, according to the organization's website, had a long career in finance before focusing on the topic of medical cannabis, Bloomberg notes.

The video describes the effects that CBD has on people's health, including the elderly, and criticizes the "dangerous pharmaceutical drugs" that are often prescribed to older Americans.

CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the active chemical compounds found in marijuana. Unlike THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD has no psychoactive effects. As of February 2024, 47 states, the U.S. capital Washington, D.C., and three territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) have authorized the use of cannabis for medical purposes. At the same time, 24 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories allowed the use of cannabis by adults and without a medical condition.

The video released by Trump has added to the uncertainty surrounding the cannabis industry, which investors and lawmakers are watching closely in anticipation of a possible reclassification of marijuana in the U.S., Bloomberg explains. On August 8, WSJ reported, citing its sources, that Trump is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous substance "within the next few weeks," but no official announcement has yet been made.

CBD reclassification will allow cannabis companies to take advantage of standard business tax credits that are not currently available to them, the Financial Times notes.

In contrast, the clip on Trump's page comes amid congressional debate over tougher federal marijuana laws. Some Republicans are pushing for stricter regulation, which could make it harder to produce CBD products, many of which contain residual amounts of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, Bloomberg writes.

Shares of the Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF have fallen 90% over the past four years, from nearly $300 in February 2021 to $31 by Sept. 26, 2025.

Five years ago, traders expected the industry to take off if the U.S. legalized cannabis for non-medical use at the federal level, following the example of Canada. However, those hopes have not materialized, and with Donald Trump back in the White House, prospects for legalization remain extremely slim, Bloomberg wrote in June.

"The promised legalization was a carrot that was teased to the industry for years, but it ended up being a mirage," Roth Capital Partners analyst Bill Kirk told Bloomberg at the time. - If there's any of that carrot left, it rotted away a long time ago. No one is chasing it anymore - the belief that it will ever happen is simply gone."

Major players that had previously shown interest in the industry have already recorded losses. For example, last year, alcohol giant Constellation Brands (owner of the Corona and Modelo Marks) withdrew from the board of directors of Canada's Canopy Growth and converted its shares to non-voting shares. And in 2022, tobacco company Altria (maker of Marlboro) wrote off $483 million in losses on its investment in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor