Marijuana stocks failed to rise for a second straight session on Monday despite President Donald Trump confirming he was considering relaxing marijuana regulations through an executive order. The Amplify Seymour Marijuana ETF was slightly higher in afternoon trading after Trump said he was weighing reclassifying marijuana. But the fund still ended up down nearly 7% as investors took profits after rising more than 50% on Friday.


When asked on Monday whether he planned to adjust the classification of marijuana through an executive order, Trump responded that "we are considering it."

“A lot of people would like to see reclassification because it would bring a lot of research that wouldn’t otherwise be done — unless it was reclassified,” he said, “so we’re looking at this very seriously.”

Trump's comments followed reports on Friday that he was considering directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from a strictly regulated Schedule 1 drug to a less regulated Schedule 3 drug. A person familiar with the matter said the White House may issue an executive order as early as Monday.

The report sparked a sharp rally in the cannabis sector on Friday, pushing the Amplify Seymour ETF to its best day ever. The ETF has turned positive this year, on track to end a four-year losing streak.

Industry insiders have long anticipated the classification change, which would see marijuana moved off the list of Schedule I drugs such as heroin and placed into Schedule III along with steroids, codeine-containing Tylenol and others. Trump floated the idea of ​​changing the classification of marijuana in August.

But they said there is more reason to be optimistic now that this initiative has enough momentum to be implemented. The correction could help prompt banks and large investors to take a more positive view of the cannabis industry.

"I'm much more optimistic now than I've ever been," Tilray CEO Irving Simon said Friday.

Marijuana producers Tilray and Canopy Growth fell 10% and 4.6%, respectively, in Monday trading, while retailer SNDL plunged more than 13%.