Marijuana News Today: Global Pot Market Expands, Pot Stocks Trend Higher

Marijuana News Today

The marijuana news today is solid, with Thailand expanding its medical marijuana laws and several pot stocks seing strong growth to start the day.

Let’s start with expansion of the global pot market. Thailand legalized medical marijuana last year, but it just recently expanded that legalization to low-level cannabis and hemp extracts, removing them from the country’s prohibited list of drugs. (Source: “Thailand Includes Low Level Cannabis And Hemp Extracts On Its Approved Medical Marijuana list,” Forbes, September 2, 2019.)

What this means is that we’re seeing marijuana legalization begin to expand in places that were, frankly, not really on our radar. Thailand is hardly the first place you would think of when you think of marijuana legalization, but the country is leading the charge on that issue in south Asia.

Now, compared to Canada, Thailand is a fairly small market, GDP-wise. While it has about double the population of Canada, there’s less consumer power in the country, so total marijuana legalization in Thailand, were it to take place, would hardly result in a seismic shift among marijuana stocks.

Instead, Thailand represents something at once more symbolic but also more important: the growing acceptance of legal pot around the world.

While many countries still consider the drug to be illicit and taboo, countries like Thailand pushing for more acceptance of marijuana will help legitimize pot in the eyes of others. Countries in close proximity to Thailand will eventually see that cannabis is nothing to fear, and may follow suit with legalization.

In this case, familiarity does not breed contempt, but instead the opposite: it breeds acceptance, normalcy—boredom even.

And boredom, in this case, is good. If countries get bored of marijuana and begin to consider it just like any other drug, then legalization would be the next logical step.

As for pot companies, they are hungrily eyeing the international market.

While there’s a good chance that countries that legalize pot (medical and recreational) will likely do most of the growing of the crops themselves, that doesn’t mean North American marijuana companies can’t either establish outposts in these countries, acquire smaller companies operating there, or even directly supply pot to those countries.

So every country that puts forward some manner of marijuana legalization is another opportunity for recurring revenue for cannabis companies.

Recurring revenue  is something that every company needs, to not only stay afloat, but also to assure investors that each quarter will be profitable and stable. Supply agreements are a perfect way to achieve such a solid avenue of recurring revenue.

While what happens with Thailand likely won’t alter the future of pot stocks in any significant way at first, the growing trend of marijuana legalization around the world proves that weed companies are currently only operating within a tiny sliver of the potential market. And that potential is getting closer to reality with each passing day.

CURLF Stock

Speaking of potential, the marijuana news today has us looking at two pot stocks that are very high in potential, the first one being Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF, CNSX:CURA).

Curaleaf has become something of a darling in the American marijuana industry lately. One of the few pot companies with a strong base in many U.S. states, CURLF stock has been one of the few bright spots over the summer, able to withstand the marijuana stock correction better than most.

Curaleaf stock soared a whopping nine percent in early-morning trading today. The stock has fared even better over the past five days, climbing over 20%.

There are a lot of reasons that CURLF stock has been killing it on the market while so many other pot stocks have been struggling.

The most recent news is that the company launched yet another cannabis dispensary in the United States. The Port Charlotte, Florida location is the 49th dispensary that Curaleaf has opened in the U.S., and the 26th that the company has opened in Florida (Source: “Curaleaf Opens Port Charlotte’s Largest Medical Cannabis Center,” Curaleaf, September 3, 2019.)

This expansion, naturally, was met with appreciation by investors.

The move follows the company’s earlier issued guidance predicting over $1.0 billion in revenue for the next fiscal year. If successful, that would make it the first marijuana company to clear that mark. (Source: “Cannabis Canada: Will Curaleaf be the first pot company to report US$1B in sales?” BNN Bloomberg, August 28, 2019.)

Right now, I can’t think of a hotter pot stock than Curaleaf stock.

IIPR Stock

Another weed stock that is on the rise in the marijuana news today is Innovative Industrial Properties Inc (NYSE:IIPR).

One of the strongest-performing marijuana stocks in 2019, even during the downturn, IIPR stock has recently fallen on somewhat tough times. Falling from its all-time high, the stock has lost 10% over the past five days.

But Innovative Industrial Properties stock jumped nearly four percent in early-morning trading today and I believe the stock will see a rebound sooner rather than later.

Innovative Industrial Properties is a marijuana real estate investment trust (REIT), meaning that it doesn’t grow any pot itself but instead leases out land for marijuana growers to use.

This arrangement allows the company to profit off the marijuana industry without ever touching a plant. I’ve grown to associate Innovative Industrial Properties with the idiom “during a gold rush, sell shovels”  that we hear so often in the stock market.

Furthermore, marijuana REITs, like all REITs, are mandated to distribute at least 90% of their profits back to shareholders in the form of quarterly dividends.

So not only do IIPR stock investors get the benefit of a strong and growing dividend, but they also gain exposure to one of the fastest-growing stocks in 2019.

I have few doubts that Innovative Industrial Properties stock will climb back to its former glory in short order.

CURLF and IIPR Stock Performances

The performances of CURLF stock (black line) and IIPR stock (blue line) over the past week are seen in the chart below:

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Analyst Take

The marijuana news today is hopeful all around.

Aside from the continuing global expansion of the legal marijuana market, we also have a couple of very high-potential pot stocks seeing big gains on the market today.

CURLF stock and IIPR stock remain two of my favorite pot stocks, and long-term investors might want to consider holding on to them for big returns down the line.