Voters in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota are weighing in on legal cannabis today, with measures on the ballot in each of those states.
The state most likely to greenlight cannabis for adult use appears to be Maryland, where 70% of voters have signaled support in polls. Maryland would become the 20th state in the U.S. to allow regulated sales of adult-use cannabis.
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The ballot measures in Maryland, Missouri, Arkansas and North Dakota would establish a regulated retail trade for cannabis. South Dakota voters will decide whether adults should be allowed to possess or grow cannabis; retail sales are not under consideration.
The adult-use cannabis market in Maryland alone is estimated to be worth at least $1 billion. If cannabis sales to adults are legalized in Maryland, Missouri, Arkansas and North Dakota, the market in those states could be worth more than $2.8 billion by 2026, according to estimates from MJBizDaily.
Cannabis stocks rose Tuesday as investors weighed the impact of the voting on the cannabis business. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF
MSOS,
was up 2.5% on Tuesday, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF
MJ,
rose 0.2%.
As more states allow adult use, cannabis companies stand to gain a wider market for their products.
Also read: Amid steep inflation, one thing is getting cheaper: cannabis
Wana Brands, which is being acquired by Canopy Growth Corp.
CGC,
WEED,
supplies edibles to existing medical markets in Maryland, Arkansas and Missouri. The company is keeping a close watch on the referendum in those states, CEO Nancy Whiteman told MarketWatch.
“We have our fingers crossed,” Whiteman said. “It would be huge for us, and for the communities and citizens of those states, if those states approve it.”
Companies with exposure to potential new markets include Body & Mind Inc.
BMMJ,
in Arkansas; Curaleaf
CURLF,
in Arkansas, Maryland and Missouri; Verano
VRNOF,
in Arkansas and Maryland; Columbia Care
CCHWF,
in Maryland and Missouri; and Green Thumb Industries
GTBIF,
GTII,
in Maryland, said BTIG analyst Jonathan DeCourcey.
Other companies poised to benefit include MariMed Inc.
MRMD,
and Trulieve Cannabis
TCNNF,
both of which operate in Maryland.
Maryland’s and Missouri’s referendums rank as the most important this November, given the sizeable populations of each state, DeCourcey said.
If voters approve the measures, more challenges await. In most cases, the state legislature or other governmental body must then craft a set of regulations in order to set up adult-use markets.
That process can take years, but in states with robust medical programs, it tends to go more smoothly.
Medical cannabis is legal in all five states with measures up for a vote on Tuesday. Maryland’s program dates to 2013, while Arkansas and North Dakota legalized medical cannabis in 2016, Missouri in 2018 and South Dakota in 2020.
The 19 states that already have adult-use programs either operating or in the process of launching are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, as well as the District of Colombia.
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