By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Cannabis shares and ETFs tracking them were higher on hopes that pot smoking may soon shed its criminal robe in New York.
Lawmakers are close to an agreement on recreational marijuana legislation, and a vote could come as early as this week, Newsday reported. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is currently facing calls to resign after several women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct, said on Friday that staff would be working on the bill over the weekend.
Shares of Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF), a greenhouse grower of hemp and vegetables, were up over 6%. VFF getting added to Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite index March 22 also helped drive sentiment for the stock.
Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR), a REIT that buys and leases industrial real estate used to grow medical marijuana, gained almost 3%.
ETFs AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis (NYSE:YOLO) (Yolo) rose 4.7% and Global X Cannabis ETF (NASDAQ:POTX) (POTX) gained 4.5%.