3 Marijuana Stock CEOs on the Hot Seat in 2020
In what was supposed to be a prove-it year for marijuana stocks, 2019 turned out to be a complete dud. Although the scenario looked right for cannabis stocks to thrive, including the launch of derivative products in Canada (e.g., edibles, infused beverages, and topicals), shares ultimately face-planted due to a host of regulatory and internal issues.
For example, Canadian growers have been dealing with supply issues since day one of legalization. Health Canada has struggled to approve cultivation and sales licenses in a timely manner, while Ontario's retail lottery system has been a mess. Put simply, product hasn't reached the market, as expected, and the black market has proved ever-resilient. Meanwhile, high tax rates in the U.S. on pot products have made it very difficult for legal growers to compete with illicit producers. As a result, marijuana stocks went up in smoke in 2019.
But shareholders may not be the only casualty. It could be rightly argued that the drubbing pot stocks took in 2019 has put a number of high-profile marijuana CEOs in a shaky position. While I can't say with any certainty whether or not the following three CEOs will keep their jobs in 2020, my personal leaning is that they're on thin ice.
Source Fool.com