With the ongoing craziness of the 2020s many Americans have become discouraged from investing, due to increasing losses in many sectors across the market.
Cannabis Stocks
It can be particularly nerve-wracking to put more of your hard-earned paycheck into an account that has seen enormous volatility throughout the last couple of years.
Nevertheless, investors with a long-term point of view could see this market uncertainty as an opportunity to buy up high potential stocks for a significant discount.
So, aside from high flying tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Telsa, what other high growth options exist?
One interesting option for investors is the cannabis industry.
Despite seeing significant share price declines this year, due to fiscal and legislative pressures, the US cannabis industry is expected to see legal sales topping 52 billion dollars in 2026 alone.
The sector as a whole is primed for growth, especially if federal legalization is brought forward during the current administration.
Trends
So, if cannabis stocks are so great why are their share prices dropping?
The primary reason for this downtrend lies in uncertainty surrounding the timing of federal legalizations on several accounts.
Most importantly when and how the industry will become legitimized by the federal government, and in the short-term when will banks be allowed to offer credit to current legal state run operations?
It is widely expected that either or both of these hurdles being eliminated could help cannabis stocks reach new heights.
According to Viridian Capital Advisors and others, the first chance for legislative change could come in late 2022 after the midterm elections.
Furthermore, they state that one of the biggest challenges for the industry is its inaccessibility for investors.
Many US cannabis stocks have to be traded as OTCs or over the counter equities, meaning it can be both harder to invest in them and also a riskier investment than NASDAQ graded stocks.
This is one of the biggest reasons US investors turned quickly to Canadian companies such as Tilray that were available to almost all mainstream investors.
With all of these risks assumed, why would investors take the chance on the cannabis industry?
For one thing, almost all experts agree that legalization is a certainty in the future.
Well more than 50% of Americans believe that cannabis use should be legalized and its use is already legal in some form in 35 states.
Every year more states are expected to include recreational marijuana usage to their dockets, and eventually it’s expected that the federal government will do the same.
Once the cannabis industry is legalized and able to access investor and institutional capital, experts expect widespread opportunities and growth on both a domestic and international level.
For investors looking to take advantage of such phenomenal long-term expectations, 2022 may be the perfect year to invest.
With overall market downtrends and uncertainty, almost all sectors have dropped well below their 2021 valuations.
This widespread market pressure could allow investors to enter the cannabis industry for a significant discount, particularly if the industry makes legislative headway in late 2022.
How to Invest in Cannabis Stocks
If you decide investing in the cannabis industry is the right option for you, what are the best and safest ways to go about it?
For the most part, buying individual US cannabis stocks can be tricky depending on your broker.
For investors that handle their own investing, make sure to check your broker for what options are available in the OTC market.
For other investors that prefer to invest in ETFs and/or through a traditional broker, there are a growing number of index funds and ETFs that widely cover and track the cannabis industry and could provide a way to invest without giving up the safety of diversification.
Furthermore, international cannabis stocks such as Tilray do trade on common exchanges such as the NASDAQ and are widely available to investors on almost every platform out there.
These stocks could provide a safe and proven entrance into the industry, without having to worry about the short-term risks surrounding US legalization.
Overall, the cannabis industry has been an exciting sector to watch over the last few years and it’s expected to continue to see short-term volatility as the road to legalization continues.
For long-term investors looking to expand their portfolios at a potential discount, the marijuana business could offer significant upside.
Additionally, with increased accessibility to institutional capital, the cannabis sector could soar to new heights with a rush to acquire competitors and to expand with a large increase in funding.
Whether or not you decide to invest in the marijuana industry is up to you, but either way the sector is expected to continue to make headlines on its long and tumultuous road to both state and federal legalization across the United States.
We are paid subscribers to dozens of stock newsletters. We actively track every recommendation from all of these services, calculate performance, and share the results of the top performing stock newsletters whose subscriptions fees are under $500. The main metric to look for is "Excess Return" which is their return above that of the S&P500. So, based on last 3 years ending June 29, 2025:The Best Stock Newsletters as of June 29, 2025
Ranking of Top Stock Newsletters Based on Last 3 Years of Stock Picks
Rank Stock Newsletter Stock
PicksAverage
ReturnExcess
ReturnPercent
ProfitableMax %
Return1. 
Alpha Picks76 63% 40% 73% 969% Summary: 2 picks/month based on Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating; Retail Price is $499/yr. See details in our Alpha Picks Review. July, 2025 Promotion:
Save $502. 
Moby.co308 43.3% 12.3% 74% 1764% Summary: 60-150 stock picks per year, segmented by industry; Retail Price is $199/yr. Read our Moby Review. July, 2025 Promotion:Next pick free! 3. 
Stock Advisor72 41.2% 6.9% 78% 258% Summary: 2 picks/month and 2 Best Buy Stocks lists focusing on high growth potential stocks over 5 years; Retail Price is $199/yr.
Read our Motley Fool Review.July, 2025 Promotion: Get $100 Off 4. 
Value Investor39 17.5% 6.1% 38% 410% Summary: 10-25 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. July, 2025 PROMOTION:$1, then $495/yr 5.
Rule Breakers66 40.0% 4.7% 61% 311% Summary: 2 picks/month focusing on disruptive technology and business models; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2005; Now part of Motley Fool Epic. Read our Motley Fool Epic Review. Current Promotion: Save $200 6. 
TipRanks SmartInvestor121 10.6% 3.7% 55% 340% Summary: About 1 pick/week focusing on short term trades; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2015. Retail Price is $379/yr. Read our TipRanks Review. Current Promotion: Save $180 7. 
Action Alerts Plus394 20.0% 3.4% 57% 220% Summary: 100-150 trades per year, lots of buying and selling and short term trades. Read our Jim Cramer Review. Current Promotion: None 8.
Stock Advisor Canada36 32.3% 0.5% 69% 378% Summary: 1 pick/month from the Toronto stock exchange; Retail Price is CD$199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Canada Stock Advisor Review. July, 2025 Promotion: Save $100 Top Ranking Stock Newsletters based on their last 3 years of stock picks' performance through May 31, 2025 as compared to S&P500. S&P500's return is based on average return of S&P500 from date each stock pick is released. NOTE: To get these results you must buy equal dollar amounts of each pick on the date the stock pick is released. Investor Business Daily Top 50 based on performance of FFTY ETF.