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Medical Marijuana Gets Backing From Church of England, FT Says

Medical Marijuana Gets Backing From Church of England, FT Says

(Bloomberg) -- Even religious bodies are seeing the light when it comes to cannabis. The Church of England will relax a self-imposed ban and consider investments in medical marijuana, the Financial Times reported.

The Church Commissioners for England will still exclude recreational cannabis producers, the FT said, citing Edward Mason, the head of responsible investment at the entity that oversees the church’s 12.6 billion pound ($16 billion) investment portfolio.

Cannabis is seeing an investment boom as restrictions on its use ease around the world. In the U.S., Illinois recently became the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana, and pot is now legal in Canada. The market for legal cannabis was worth almost $11 billion globally in 2018, and is expected to reach at least $50 billion by 2029, according to Jefferies Financial Group equity research, the FT reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Singapore at rpakiam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, Andrew Hobbs, Stanley James

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