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Law
The growing industry of cannabis stocks
By Jay Gomez, Javi Triay, Rupert Moffatt, Triay & Triay Financial Services Team
Cannabis stocks are hot property right now. Over the last few years there has been a surge in interest in investment in the industry which has led to proliferation of opportunities for pioneering investors prepared to take a punt (both from a legal and asset class point of view) on the growing industry.
Some market analysts have estimated that the total cannabis industry in Europe by 2028 will be worth over £100 Billion. Coupled with the growth and changing legislation across North America there is space for investors to claw back losses in the post-Covid economy seeking high returns through canny investment in regulated ventures.
The growth has largely been driven by changes in attitudes towards cannabis over the recent years – the UK, Canada, and the US providing real examples of change. The then UK Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, made changes to the
licensing and use of medical grade cannabis after high profile medical cases, such as that of Alfie Dingley, highlighted the potential benefits of the drug as a treatment for severe epilepsy. As well as this, the British and Gibraltar highstreets have seen a flood of cannabis related products deriving their ingredients from CBD, the non-psychoactive substance within cannabis said to have health benefits from relieving anxiety to relieving pain.
Strict controls in place
On the other side of the pond, we’ve seen Canada become the first G7 country to legalise the production, sale and use of cannabis to a potential market of nearly 40 million people, with over $1.2 Billion in legal sales of cannabis in 2019 while contributing many more billions to the GDP of the country. Whilst in the US, California alone saw over $3.1 billion in sales over the course of 2019.
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