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New Jersey voters approved legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, and Democrats Joe Biden and Cory Booker won at the top of the ticket in New Jersey's first mostly mail-in election.

New Jersey now joins the District of Columbia and 11 states legalizing recreational cannabis. Though, people could legally buy and use cannabis under the constitutional amendment voters approved by a wide margin, it's unclear how quickly the new market will be set up.

But the Democrat-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy supported legalization and are expected to move quickly to pass legislation establishing the marketplace.

Booker will head back to Washington for a second full term. His and Biden's victories confirm Democrats’ firm control of the state’s presidential electors and the party’s lock on Senate seats.

Booker won against Rik Mehta, a business executive with a law degree and a doctorate in pharmacy, who staunchly supported the president.

Mississippi is sending all four of its U.S. House members back to Washington.

Two Republicans — Trent Kelly and Michael Guest — and the state federal delegation’s sole Democrat, Bennie Thompson, all bested challengers on Election Day. Republican Rep. Steve Palazzo won his race after running unopposed.

Voters also approved the legalization of medical marijuana in Mississippi, choosing to adopt the less restrictive of two medical marijuana ballot measures. They voted to eliminate a Reconstruction-era electoral college provision in races for governor and other statewide offices.

Justices Josiah Dennis Coleman, Mike Randolph and Leslie King were reelected to the state Supreme Court. Yet to be decided is one Supreme Court race between Justice Kenny Griffis and Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks, who would be the first Black woman on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

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Will These Marijuana Stocks Benefit From Election Day?

As election day comes, investors continue to wonder which marijuana stocks are worth watching. The answer to this question is a little bit more complicated than previously imagined. For one, there are a few factors that may or may not change the trajectory of the cannabis industry on November 3rd. First, there are five states that are voting on whether or not to legalize cannabis come election day. This could benefit MSO pot stocks like Harvest Health and Recreation Inc. (HRVSF Stock Report), Planet 13 Holdings Inc. (PLNHF Stock Report), and Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CURLF Stock Report). In addition, Canadian pot stocks could also see a boost due to their correlation with the greater cannabis industry.

As election day comes, we also have to consider what the presidential election will do to marijuana stocks. While President Trump has not done much to advance the cannabis industry, Biden already has plans to decriminalize cannabis on day one. This would be a major step in the right direction for the future of the cannabis industry. As we can see, there is a lot that is going on in the cannabis industry right now. With that in mind, there is also a lot of opportunities to be had for investors who are willing to find it. All things considered, here are two marijuana stocks that could see a boost from election day.

Top Marijuana Stock To Watch: Innovative Industrial Properties Inc.

Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (IIPR Stock Report) is quite a popular choice for marijuana stock investors. There are a few reasons why this is the case. For one, IIPR stock has shown some solid financials in the past that rival even the greatest marijuana stocks to watch. The company operates as a REIT or real estate investment trust. This means that it purchases real estate to be leased out to those who wish to grow or process cannabis. The company has historically worked mostly in the medicinal marijuana industry. Year to date, IIPR stock is up by as much as 60%.

If you are a cannabis voter, this is a critically important election for the industry.

Voters are considering a number of cannabis ballot initiatives nationally on their presidential election ballots. Voters in New Jersey, Arizona and Montana — where there are existing medical cannabis markets — will consider legalizing adult use.

Mississippi may potentially become a new market for medical cannabis, and there are two ballot initiatives in South Dakota that seek to legalize both medical and adult use.

In the event of a contested election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, Benzinga wondered whether that would hurt or delay the legalization initiatives in these states.

In recent years, the amount of time it takes to go from legalization to “market open” is typically long. Nevada, for example, took eight months while Maine took as long as 47 months.

There seems to be no stopping drug seizures, the majority being cannabis, at border crossings in New York state, with the amount of confiscated weed increasing more than 1,100 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures from its annual report show that 3,456 pounds (1,568 kg) of cannabis was seized at the Buffalo Field Office in fiscal year 2019, a mere portion of the 41,688 pounds (18,909 kg) confiscated in fiscal 2020. The field office covers 16 ports of entry in the state of New York.

Other drugs were seized, but their amounts paled in comparison to cannabis. In fact, one of the 2020 seizures represented a northern border record and involved 9,472 pounds (4,296 kg) of marijuana.

That said, seizures involving some other substances also skyrocketed, while others dropped like a stone.

Overall during fiscal 2020, “field office personnel seized 42,015 pounds (19, 058 kg) of narcotics, an increase of 968 per cent from the prior fiscal year,” according to a CBP press release. CBP officers also arrested 319 people and seized US$543,015 in unreported currency.

Big day for European hemp farmers and the CBD industry as the allowance of THC in industrial hemp was voted on by Parliament. While still low compared to countries like Switzerland, this Europe THC limit increase would certainly loosen things up.

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Hemp farmers in Europe have been pushing for change for quite some time. The .2% THC limit that was instituted many years ago has been making it difficult, and decreasing the amount of strains possible to use. Now, Parliament has voted to increase that maximum to .3%, included in the Common Agricultural Policy reform. But will it actually go through?

Where did .2% come from?

The first time a standard was set for a Europe THC limit in industrial hemp, was in 1984 when it was put at .5%. This was lowered in the 1970’s to .3%. At that time, .3% was the line that separated low-THC hemp (usually high-CBD flowers, but also high-CBG strains exist) and high-THC cannabis. In 1999 this dropped down again to the .2% that its been since, with the original aim being to prevent high-THC marijuana from being grown in low-THC industrial hemp fields. The proposal to increase the THC limit is not new, and has been pushed for quite some time.

Before going any further, it should be pointed out that between the date in the 1970’s when THC limits were decreased to .3%, and 1999 when they were decreased further to .2%, Europe was functioning at .3% THC in hemp, and without any massive, adverse issues. It means that for at least 20 years of time, this standard was in place, which makes it almost silly that it would have to be argued for later, or that an argument against raising from .2% to .3% would be based on a fear of bad effects to people or business. If it didn’t happen in the 20+ years of recent history when it was the norm, how would it pass as a reputable argument now?

The USA’s Drug Enforcement Administration and others are being sued over what was claimed to be unlawful destruction of a hemp crop in California.

Agro Dynamics LLC says that in August 2019 it acquired the necessary authorisation for the legal cultivation of hemp on their premises in San Diego County. The company then planted approximately 3,000 hemp plants that it states tested at below the legal threshold of .3% THC.

“Specifically, a Victory Analysis laboratory test for this hemp cultivation showed results of less than 0.01 THC which is clearly within legal limits.”

It is alleged that an aerial reconnaissance in support of marijuana eradication on September 10 last year and a failure to investigate County records then led to a search warrant being issued at the property.  Then on September 12, 2019, law enforcement officers executed the search warrant. It’s alleged that despite being told there was Registration Issuance from the County of San Diego for the growing of hemp on the premises and the tenant offering to show officers proof of registration, the officers seized and destroyed all plants that appeared to be marijuana.

The value of the destroyed hemp plants has been put at around USD $3.45 million.

As Americans head to the polls more divided than ever on social and economic issues, there’s one thing they’re actually coming together on: cannabis.

Much has been made of whether a victory for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, or a potential liberal sweep in the Senate, could bolster marijuana companies. But initiatives on the ballot in a handful of conservative states show Republicans are increasingly on board with legalization as well -- perhaps paving the way for an end to federal prohibition, no matter who controls Washington.

“The prevailing wisdom has been that a conservative administration would be less receptive, but I think legalization is now inevitable on its own kinetic energy,” said Sturges Karban, chief executive officer of cannabis logistics company ManifestSeven. While federal legalization was a political “third rail” as recently as 2016, he said, it now looks as though 2021 will be a turning point for the industry.

Pot pundits have long said national legalization will only gain ground once Republican senators have a reason to bring up the issue. After Nov. 3, that could happen, with more of their constituents supporting the measure. Three of the four states voting on recreational use are red ones: Arizona, Montana and South Dakota. New Jersey, which swings liberal, is also considering adult-use legalization. Medical use is on the ballot in conservative Mississippi and South Dakota.

Gaining Traction

A recent report by analyst Bobby Burleson at Cannacord Genuity, an investment banking and financial services company, concluded that “the outlook for the legal US cannabis market is improving” both state and federal levels. Burleson cites polls that demonstrate strong support for ballot initiatives in states like Arizona and South Dakota, while governors of other states such as New York and Pennsylvania are making encouraging noises about rapid roll-outs for recreational programs. Burleson also references polling by aggregator FiveThirtyEight, which shows a 75% likelihood of a Democratic majority in the senate, boding well for cannabis legalization at the federal level. Recent statements by Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris about decriminalizing marijuana further improve the outlook.

It is not overly simplistic to equate a Democratic senate majority and executive office victory with a bright future for cannabis legalization, as historically Democrats have demonstrated more consistent support for legalization in greater numbers than Republicans. In fact, legalization has been one of the stand-out campaign issues polarizing Dems and Republicans over the last decade, though this gap seems to be shrinking as Republicans look to win battleground states like Pennsylvania. There, swing voters are in support of legalization and Governor Tom Wolf is calling on legislators to expedite legalization of recreational marijuana as one means of recovering from the economic hit of Covid-19.

A November 2019 Pew Research Study showed that two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization, with only 32% opposing. While proportions vary in terms of those who support legalization solely for medical use (32%) or medical and recreational use (59%), a survey conducted on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel in September 2019 revealed that only 8% of those surveyed prefer to keep marijuana illegal in all circumstances. This trend showed no signs of changing course as 2019 rolled into 2020. In the run-up to the election, fifty-eight percent of all likely voters (54% of whom identified as Republican) supported legalization for adults use (Data For Progress). In addition, 60% of Republicans polled in support of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) introduced to the senate by Kamala Harris, which would decriminalize marijuana and allow certain marijuana offenses to be expunged from an individual’s record.

As the clock ticks down to the final vote count, however long that may take, it appears that whether the executive branch and Congress go red or blue this election season, cannabis legalization is one campaign issue poised to benefit from growing bipartisan support and an impetus to be competitive in the cannabis market at the state level.

The Mexican Senate will likely vote on a bill to legalize marijuana within the next two weeks, the chamber's majority leader recently said.

Activists have been eagerly awaiting action on the reform legislation since the Supreme Court deemed personal possession and cultivation of cannabis unconstitutional in 2018—though some are pushing for a greater emphasis on social equity before lawmakers pass the pending bill in its current form.

The high court in April granted a second deadline extension to give legislators additional time to enact the policy change amid the coronavirus pandemic, pushing it to December 15. That said, Ricardo Monreal, the ruling MORENA party's leader in the Senate, said the chamber will advance the bill before the end of October.

It's not clear if the legislation will go through the committee process or straight to the floor given that tight timeline. Zara Snapp, a legalization activist with the Instituto RIA and the coalition #RegulacionPorLaPaz, told Marijuana Moment that advocates have similarly heard from senators that the plan is to quickly pass the proposal and they're “hopeful” that's the case.

If the Senate passes the legal cannabis bill it will still have to go before the other house of the nation's Congress, the Chamber of Deputies.

Employees who use medical marijuana to cope with a work-related injury can’t get reimbursed for it through workers’ compensation, Massachusetts’ highest court held Tuesday. 

If workers’ comp insurers had to pay for marijuana, they could in theory be charged with a federal crime since it’s still illegal under federal law to aid or abet someone in using pot, the court said. 

“It is one thing to voluntarily assume a risk of federal prosecution” by using pot, Justice Scott Kafker wrote in a unanimous decision, “it is another to involuntarily have such a risk imposed upon you.”

The availability of workers’ comp payments has become a hot issue as medical marijuana continues to be legalized across the country — 33 states and counting. Fueling the trend, injured workers are increasingly turning to marijuana as workers’ comp insurers and boards limit their access to opioids for chronic pain, responding to an addiction crisis that has been ravaged much of the country for years.

“We have an anti-opioid movement, but the court is now taking away the alternative,” complained the worker’s lawyer in this case, Katherine Lamondia-Wrinkle of the Law Office of Thomas Libbos in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

A massive raid involving hundreds of investigators and 27 simultaneous search warrants in nine communities in Washington State has taken down an illegal weed-mailing ring based out of Seattle.

“Illegal grow operations such as these, with their extensive networks, have a wide-reaching and destructive impact to the communities they inhabit.  With these arrests and seizures of illegal marijuana grow operations, we bring down one of the largest networks in the region,” Tony Galetti, inspector in charge at the United States Postal Inspection Service, notes in a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington.

The illegal operation was ambitious and targeted multiple states for receipt of millions and millions of dollars of illegal marijuana, reports Galetti, according to KIRO7. The evidence collected includes processed cannabis, thousands of marijuana plants and related documents.

Many of the targeted locations in Washington were illegal grow houses, while others were businesses that allegedly served as front companies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports. There were also searches in New York.

Weed was being grown in homes throughout King County, Washington before being distributed through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia and Missouri, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Will Biden and Harris Be a Benefit to These Pot Stocks?

The upcoming U.S. election will have a lot of effects on marijuana stocks and the cannabis industry. While U.S. pot stocks like Scotts Miracle-Gro Inc. (SMG Stock Report) and Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (IIPR Stock Report), will see a change, Canadian pot stocks will also potentially benefit. Under President Trump, we have yet to see any major shifts in how the cannabis industry runs. But, if Biden and Harris are elected, we could see the cannabis industry reach new heights in the near future. This is because the pair seem to support legislation that backs the cannabis industry.

On day one, Kamala Harris has stated that they will decriminalize cannabis. After she announced this, the cannabis industry shot up by around 10% in value during the next trading day. While this could be just an empty campaign promise, it does seem likely that the two would do so given their past. In addition, while we do know U.S. marijuana stocks would benefit, Canadian cannabis stocks could see a boost as well. This boost may not be felt immediately, but rather in the long term of the cannabis industry. With this in mind, let’s take a look at two marijuana stocks to watch that could benefit from the upcoming election.

A Major Canadian Pot Stock to Watch: Aurora Cannabis Inc.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB Stock Report) is one of the largest marijuana stocks in the industry. After the U.S. government passed the Farm Bill two years ago, Canadian cannabis companies were effectively able to move into the U.S. market. In May of this year, ACB stock shot up in value after announcing that it had completed its $40 million acquisition of Reliva. For those who don’t know, Reliva is a CBD product retailer based out of the U.S. Although this in itself is not a reason to invest in ACB stock, it does present an interesting opportunity for ACB in the long term.

Progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared her feelings on a bipartisan path towards the legalization of marijuana in the United States at a recent virtual town hall alongside Representative Earl Blumenauer. 

According to Representative Ocasio-Cortez, popularly abbreviated as AOC, the gap between Republicans and Democrats on the issue of cannabis has been decreasing recently in Congress, as well as on a few other matters, namely civil rights and civil liberties policies. 

“We’ve been able to propose solutions on a wide spectrum towards decriminalization, towards legalization, and that is increasingly becoming a position that more Republicans are amenable to,” AOC said. 

To support her claims, Ocasio-Cortez pointed to a recent amendment of hers that sought to divert millions in funding from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) towards treatment programs for people suffering from opioid addiction. The congresswoman said she was “surprised” to discover “widespread” support from the GOP for her proposal.   

“That’s defund before defund became a widespread demand that we heard this year, and Republicans supported it and it passed. So there are some areas where you can find common ground,” the representative explained. 

While ruby red South Dakota may not be a swing state in the presidential election -- it may be at the forefront of the green revolution as one of five states where recreational and medical marijuana legalization are up for a vote this election year.

And it is the only state where both forms of legalization will be on the ballot.

Matthew Schweich, the deputy director of the nonprofit group the Marijuana Policy Project, which has been running campaigns across the country to legalize, told ABC News this is the first time in U.S. history that a state has had two ballot measures to ask voters for approval for recreational and medical marijuana during an election year.

While there is some opposition from Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and South Dakota business owners over the recreational ballot, Schweich noted that more than 50,000 residents signed on to that initiative and more than 30,000 signatures for the medical provision.

Compliance is a beast with many tentacles — it’s way more than just inventory tracking.

For cannabis cultivators, it can be easy to get tangled and tripped up in the bureaucracy. 

And things can quickly go sideways if a business isn’t responsive and professional when a regulatory agency flags an issue.

Officials in charge will likely wonder what other problems are brewing and take a closer look. 

It’s all too easy for minor infractions to become major (and expensive) headaches that pull you away from what you need to be doing to keep your business on an upward trajectory.   

Germany has the largest legal medicinal cannabis flower market in the EU, and it’s about to expand out even further. With imports coming from Canada and even Uruguay, the German cannabis flower market is, indeed, ready to fully explode.​

Germany has been growing its medical cannabis market in the last few years. According to worldstopexports for 2019, Germany imported $240 million worth of cannabis oil – or 7.8% of all cannabis imports for the year, making it the second largest importer behind the US. In that same time period, it also exported $230 million worth of cannabis oil – or 8% of the market for the year.

Now, the emphasis is more on cannabis flowers, and Germany sure isn’t slowing down. In July, Germany released data on medical cannabis imports for Q1 and Q2 of 2020. Q1 showed an increase of 16%, while Q2 showed an increase of 32%. It should be remembered that Q2 of 2020 was when the coronavirus was at its worst, and lockdown measures were strictest.

Prior to this year, Germany imported approximately 3.1 tons of cannabis flower in 2018, and 6.7 tons in 2019. During this time, Germany requested additional imported cannabis from the Netherlands to help with supply shortages it was experiencing. The increase this year in imports is related to the rise in new patients in Germany, as well as the addition of new cannabis exporting countries. Approximately 60,000 Germans are registered to use medical cannabis as of June 2019. That number has likely risen substantially since that time.

A little about Germany and cannabis

Possession of cannabis is still illegal in Germany, despite the growth of its medicinal market.  German law does allow for residents to have a ‘small amount’ of cannabis, but this amount is not consistent and can vary between 6-15 grams depending on location. Sale and supply crimes are predicably illegal, with prison sentences of five years or below for more standard cases, or up to 15 for more severe cases. Personal growing of cannabis is also illegal.

Wednesday afternoon, the Pennsylvania state House passed a bill amending the state’s existing DUI law to decriminalize driving while traces of marijuana are still in the system of legal medical-marijuana users.

In Pennsylvania, the current laws and provisions related to driving while under the influence of alcohol or substances, aka DUI, criminalize driving while tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a component of marijuana, is still in a driver’s system, even if it has been weeks after ingestion. This currently also applies to those with medical-marijuana cards.

“I think you can ask any veteran or anybody that’s using medical cannabis that if they took a prescription on Monday, [by] Wednesday they’re not high and if they got pulled over, they darn sure shouldn’t be charged for being intoxicated or under the influence of medical marijuana and the last time they took it was Monday,” said state Rep. Ed Gainey (D-East Liberty) on the state House floor on Oct. 21.

The act amended this provision on grounds to decriminalize residual traces of THC left in the system of legal marijuana users. The amendment was introduced by state Rep. Mike Carroll (D-Luzerne). It passed 109-93 with unanimous support from Democrats, and 16 Republicans crossing the aisle, including local state Rep. Mike Puskaric (R-Elizabeth)

Moreover, the amended bill states that an individual may not drive under a controlled substance with the exception of “marijuana used lawfully in accordance with the act of April 17, 2016, known as the Medical Marijuana Act.”