(Bloomberg) — The case for investing in cannabis companies is, in theory, the strongest it’s ever been. Weed shops are popping up on street corners across the US at a frantic pace, while the 2024 presidential election offers an impetus for drug reform.
And yet the stocks underlying the industry are floundering, with even the bulls growing tired of waiting. An index tracking the shares of 100 marijuana-related companies has tumbled more than 15% so far this year, after touching an all-time low in October.
“The fundamentals don’t matter much at all, unfortunately,” said Dan Ahrens, managing director of Advisorshares Investments LLC. “They will again, but right now these companies and their stock prices are extremely tied to federal reform.”
Even though 24 states, two territories and Washington DC have all legalized weed for recreational use, the plant remains a Schedule I substance on a federal basis — on the same tier…
