Something is Quietly Building in Cannabis Stocks
In our latest Trade to Black podcast, presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell kick things off with the newly introduced Advancing Botanical Drug Development Act of 2026, sponsored by Representative Lauren Boebert alongside Derrick Van Orden. The bill would grant FDA-approved botanical drugs 12 years of market exclusivity, and while it doesn’t mention cannabis by name, the FDA has explicitly identified cannabis-derived products as eligible under its existing botanical drug framework — making it one worth watching closely. The guys weigh what a cleaner pharmaceutical pathway for full-spectrum CBD and cannabis medicines could mean, note AJNA Biosciences CEO and Charlotte’s Web co-founder Joel Stanley’s involvement, and temper expectations on the bill’s near-term odds.
They also run through the Check-In Poll of the Week, presented by NuggMD. This week’s poll found that 42% of cannabis consumers say they’ve hidden their use from at least some loved ones, and 71% have hidden it from someone at some point — numbers that show real stigma persisting even after federal rescheduling. The hosts read the share who’ve stopped hiding it as a sign attitudes are shifting, and flag NuggMD’s Tyler Elson’s point that gateway-drug rhetoric from officials discourages patients from being honest with their doctors.
In segment two, Andrew O’Connell, author of the Pristine Capital Substack and cannabis technical trader, joins to break down recent price action, including the heavy volume in the October 16 $6 calls. Andrew walks through the $5 gamma wall building in MSOS (NYSE: MSOS) options, where heavy call open interest could force dealers into buying if price pushes through that level, along with the broader technical picture — MSOS trading above its anchored VWAP from December 12, 2025, the day rescheduling reporting first broke, and a Relative Strength moving-average crossover signaling MSOS is now outperforming the S&P 500.
They also map out the upside levels worth watching — $6.84, $7.25, and $11.38, each tied to major rescheduling milestones — and the catalysts still on deck: the ALJ’s recommendation, which could land any day with midterms now just 48 days away, the DEA’s final rule, and Trulieve’s (NYSE: TRLV) path toward Russell index inclusion in December following its NYSE uplisting and U.S. redomiciliation.
Give it a listen.
