The DEA Can Save the Withering Weed Industry. Will It? (1)

North America’s cannabis industry can’t afford much more political heartbreak.

In the 14 months since the last failed US attempt at meaningful cannabis reform, weed stocks have tanked, investment’s dried up, sales have stagnated and spending on growth has shrunk. The industry’s now placing its hope in the government agency that’s responsible for much of its misery in the first place: the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Talk of rescheduling — moving marijuana from the most-restricted drug category to a lesser one — has overtaken talk of complete legalization on cannabis companies’ conference calls, according to transcripts analyzed by Bloomberg, following an ...