Why Curaleaf Stock Sparked Investors’ Portfolios on Friday

What happened

It’s always exciting for a company’s shareholders when a new market opens, even if that market isn’t all that big. This was the case on Friday for marijuana company Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF 4.74%), whose stock was up by nearly 4% late in the trading session. That was well outpacing the less than 0.7% gain of the S&P 500 index. 

So what

Curaleaf announced that morning that it has been granted permission by Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection to launch recreational sales at its Stamford dispensary on Saturday. This is the first Connecticut dispensary owned by the multi-state operator (MSO), which is headquartered in neighboring Massachusetts, to be given that nod.

The company will commemorate the kickoff with a set of festivities at the dispensary, which will include giveaways, discounts, and free food and drink.

All told, Curaleaf operates four retail stores in the small New England state, all of which at present sell only medical marijuana. The three others are located in the municipalities of Hartford, Groton, and Milford.

Connecticut legalized recreational (aka adult-use) marijuana in 2021, becoming the 19th U.S. state to do so. Like many others, however, it took quite some time to get the recreational market up and running; such sales began only earlier this month.

Now what

For the U.S. marijuana industry, still patiently waiting for the government to get its act together and finally decriminalize the drug, progress comes in small hits. Connecticut’s legalization is one of these, and the more recreational markets open in the U.S., the better the prospects for all MSOs.