Wall St.’s into the weed

AMERICA saw reefer madness take over the stock market last week.

For a few months now, the budding industry has captured the hearts, minds and money of many investors.

However, the party may have gotten a bit too crazy over the past few weeks.

There certainly appears to be a promising medicinal value to be had, but it is still early.

Just as the internet boom showed lots of promise in the late 1990s — as have bitcoin and blockchain more recently — things sometimes get ahead of themselves. The latest example is marijuana mania, with Tilray taking center stage. The Canadian cannabis company is backed by early-stage investor extraordinaire and billionaire Peter Thiel.

I have no doubt that Tilray has the goods to be a leader — or even the leader — in the budding cannabis industry. But, as with any investment, price matters.

On Wednesday, shares had to be halted five times due to the massive stock demand imbalances as the price skyrocketed 94 percent intraday to $300 a share, up from $154 Tuesday — all before closing the session at $214, up 38 percent for the day.

However, by the close on Friday, shares were at $123 — still not bad for a stock that only went public in July at $17 per share.

So what caused the big party in Tilray stock? On Tuesday, Tilray announced that the company received approval from the DEAtoimportcannabis products for clinical study. And later that night, the Tilray CEO said that cannabis is “a great hedge” for alcohol and drug companies.

Yes, Canada is legalizing recreational use on Oct. 17, and there are those promised medicinal benefits. But right now, there isn’t even a legal way to bank profits here in America.

Just like in the internet bubble days, there are numerous companies with a hope and a prayer and a crazy valuation. However, there’s still a whole bunch of chips that must fall into place for “This Bud’s for You” to take on a whole new meaning in America.