Episode summary
US Reduces Marijuana Restrictions in Lift to Ailing Industry | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 35 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Boris Jordan, Ed Ludlow, Florian Ielpo, George Ferguson, Aaron Grey
Summary
The headline move was the Justice Department’s decision to reclassify state-regulated marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, a shift that cannabis executives said could reshape research, banking, taxes, and capital access. The guest from Curaleaf called it a “monumental move,” arguing it will allow federal research partnerships, lower the industry’s punitive tax burden, and eventually support profitability for larger operators. He said the change is only the first step, with broader adult-use rescheduling, banking reform, and eventual uplisting to U.S. exchanges still ahead.
The guest argued that the market’s selloff after the initial rally reflected confusion, not a change in the long-term thesis. He expects consolidation to accelerate in 2026 and 2027 as a lower cost of capital and better cash flow make M&A easier. He also said full federal legalization is still likely to take two to three years, and probably not before the next administration.
Later segments shifted to Intel’s strong sales outlook, the effect of U.S. support on its balance sheet, and the company’s interest in Elon Musk’s reported use of Intel’s 14A process. Another guest warned that renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz could pressure earnings growth through inflation, while an airline analyst discussed Southwest’s turnaround, Spirit’s survival risk, and the likelihood of more airline consolidation.
Key takeaways
- The guest from Curaleaf said Schedule III reclassification should remove the industry’s 280E-style tax burden and make many large cannabis operators profitable.
- The guest expects the next major cannabis step to be banking and exchange access, not immediate nationwide recreational legalization.
- The guest said the industry should see substantial consolidation in the second half of 2026 and 2027 as capital gets cheaper and balance sheets improve.
- Ed Ludlow said Intel’s strong guide reflects high CPU demand, especially for Xeon servers, and not yet a solved margin story.
- George Ferguson argued Southwest’s loyalty-driven model is working, while Spirit remains vulnerable and could still be forced out of the market.
Notable quotes
“this is a monumental move it's been 55 years since President Nixon on a political decision of scheduled cannabis as a schedule one drug”
“we will be allowed to do research working with medical institutions to get federal grants to do that research on the product nationwide”
“now that will go away as well so we'll be taxed and treated as any other corporation in the United States”
“this breaks the glass ceiling Okay. this is the first piece of federal legislation that we've seen since the since 20 years ago”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg audio studios podcasts radio news. This — Is Bloomberg Business Week daily reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead with insight on the people
Companies and trends shaping today's complex economy plus global business finance and tech news as it happens the Bloomberg Business Week daily podcast with Carol Master and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg radio. Keeping a close watch on cannabis stocks advisor shares plus US cannabis ETF amplify alternative Harvest ETF Tilray Aurora cannabis Chronos canopy growth cureleaf Holdings I mean these are on our radar shares of these cannabis companies and ETF some getting a bit of a reset dropping back today after soaring in the yesterday in yesterday's session and that was on expectations that the Justice Department and DEA would move certain marijuana product to the less strictly controlled schedule three which is reserved for drugs with accepted medical uses and lower abuse potential well that happened Tim earlier today. Here to talk about the move and what if anything it changes for these companies we've got the CEO chairman and co-founder of one of them Boris Johnson is joining us he is chairman CEO and co-founder of cureleaf Holdings he joins us from Europe Boris good to have you on the program so what does it mean that the Justice Department and DEA moves removes certain marijuana products removes them to the less strictly controlled schedule three what does that do for your company?
Well Tim first I want to correct that just I'm not Boris Johnson Boris Jordan Boris Jordan excuse me.
I apologize thank you for that Boris Jordan good to see you.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- marijuana scheduling
- cannabis regulation
- cannabis company stocks
- banking access for cannabis
- etf performance
Companies and tickers mentioned
- MSOS
- Curaleaf Holdings
- AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF
- Lombard Odier
- Alliance Global Partners
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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