Cannabis companies’ stock prices rise after federal report

As Canada gets one step closer to legalizing marijuana, the companies producing the drug are seeing a boost in the stock market.

Tuesday morning, the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation released recommendations on how pot should be regulated in Canada, including taxation recommendations, a minimum purchasing age of 18 years old, and where it should be sold.

At the end of the day, most publically traded marijuana companies’ stocks were up across the board.

READ MORE: Capitalizing on cannabis or profiting from potheads?

Emerald Health Therapeutics grew 12 per cent to close at $1.40. Canopy Growth Corp. went up nearly eight per cent and closed at $10.79. Aurora Cannabis Inc. closed a $2.44 – a growth of six per cent. Aphria Inc. grew five per cent to close at $5.34.

WATCH: News conference on Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation’s recommendations

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Brendan Kennedy, president of Tilray, said the spike is continuing a trend that started after November’s U.S. election, where multiple states voted in either medical marijuana laws or recreational marijuana laws.

He said the result may have driven U.S. investors to Canadian public companies because it’s the “easiest way for American investors to invest in the cannabis industry.”

Kennedy said some of the specific recommendations that may have helped drive up the stock prices include the way you get marijuana.

READ MORE: How will legal marijuana be taxed? The black market may play a role

The report recommends that it not be sold in stores where alcohol and tobacco are sold, which is a benefit to marijuana sellers.

He also says that the recommendation of keeping the recreational side separate from the existing medical framework is a good idea – a model that is in place in Colorado.

“Otherwise it could have been detrimental to the existing Canadian LPs,” he explained.

Though Tilray isn’t a publically traded company, the Washington State-based company sells medical marijuana in the U.S. as well as Canada.