Canada marijuana stocks jump after recreational bill clears hurdle

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian marijuana stocks rose on Wednesday after the country became the first major economy to legalize its recreational use, but earlier rallies in anticipation of victory in the key upper house vote muted some post-approval gains in the sector.

Smoke rises during the annual 4/20 marijuana rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

Canada’s Senate voted 52-29 on Tuesday in favor of a revised bill from the elected House of Commons, paving the way for a fully legal cannabis market within eight-to-12 weeks following a final sign-off from the country’s governor general in the next few days.

“The legislation… marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis,” Jody Wilson-Raybould, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada told reporters on Wednesday. “It leaves behind a failed model of prohibition, a model that has made organized crime rich and left our young people vulnerable.”

Shares of Canopy Growth Corp, Canada’s biggest marijuana producer by market value, jumped as much as 6 percent to a new high, before giving back most of those gains.

Aurora Cannabis Inc and…

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