Cannabis stocks, as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index, exploded higher in late August on news that the Department of Health and Human Services had recommended to the DEA that it move cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3, and the move continued into September. October wiped out the entire rally, and November and December saw the market recover some of the losses. In January, the rally continued as the index rose 12.2%, and it pulled back in February by 6.0% to 8.55:
In 2023, Q1 saw a 12.5% decline, and the index dropped 11.8% in Q2. The 22.3% gain in Q3 was the first positive quarter since Q1 of 2021, and Q4 saw it lose 11.6%. The index ended 2023 down 16.5% to 8.11, and it is up 5.4% so far in 2024:
Since the peak in February 2021, the Global Cannabis Stock Index has dropped 90.8% from the 92.48 closing high:
The strongest 3 names in February all rose by more than 5%:
Unlike January, none of three best…
