Cannabis and its derivative products are all the rage right now. State after state legalizes its recreational use and dispensaries all over the country are making loads of money. The medicinal aspects of the plant are also heavily taken advantage of by big pharmaceutical companies, with new, branded drugs being released with cannabis as their primary component. 

Although Canada is at the forefront of the legalization battle, having fully legalized all uses of the plant back in October 2018, the United States is not lagging behind. One of the better examples of this in Nevada, where after the passing of a bill allowing the sales of recreational pot by any licensed dispensary, free delivery of cannabis in Las Vegas drew so many customers in, that many of these businesses were running out of drivers! 

These developments naturally make investors around the world question whether investing in cannabis-related stocks is worthwhile. The weed market is very young, and therefore highly volatile, and therefore susceptible to many ups and downs in the nearest future. It will take an additional couple of years for it to stabilize, which is something you need to keep in mind when planning out your investments. 

The general trend seems to be that it will continue to grow, as proven by the continuous passing of legislation in countries around the world, liberalizing the restrictions on the stuff. This allows entrepreneurs and investors alike to get creative with their money and come up with exciting new ways to consume and make use of cannabis. 

Experts predict that by 2022, the marijuana market will reach $32 billion — that leaves plenty of room for improvement and growth, making weed stocks a perfectly viable option for investments. You will find the most powerful and stable publicly traded cannabis companies below. 

Canopy Growth Corporation

This Canadian company is a true cannabis giant — back in 2014, it became the first company of its kind to be publicly traded. Back then, it was listed on the Toronto stock exchange and made its way to the NYSE in May 2018. 

Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) made the headlines in 2018 when Constellation Brands bought $4 billion worth of their stock. They are an alcohol importer, so you can be sure that there’s a plan of producing branded marijuana-infused beverages in the works. 

Moreover, Canopy was the first Canadian producer to export their dried marijuana to Germany, making it a truly intercontinental corporation. They continue their operations on European soil through a wholly-owned subsidiary that distributes Canopy products to German pharmacies. 

As of recently, Canopy has been aggressively increasing its footprint in the American market, most notably through striking a deal with Acreage Holdings (a US-based major distributor), allowing it to secure a huge market share in the US, by far the largest cannabis market in the world. 

Canopy Growth is by far the most secure option to invest in, as they have proven their global ambitions and increased scope of their operations year after year since its inception back in 2013. 

Tilray 

Similarly to Canopy, Tilray is also one of the largest cannabis-producing corporations in the world. Based in the United States, its scope is even larger than that of Canopy Growth, with Tilray owning subsidiaries all over the globe — they’re exporting to places like Chile and Argentina, but also plenty of European countries, such as Ireland and Switzerland. Tilray has also opened a licensed production facility in Portugal, the only North American company to produce cannabis-based products in the EU. They can be found in pharmacies in most European countries. 

It is also worth noting that while the Asian cannabis market is largely untapped due to extremely strict regulations of the plant in those regions, Tilray has managed to open up limited facilities in South Korea and Japan — as the trend of cannabis laws being liberalized all over the globe continues onto Asia, Tilray will be ready for it, way ahead of other cannabis enterprises. 

If you need any more convincing of Tilray’s might and the influence it wields over the global cannabis industry, there is no better example of it than the fact that its CEO, Brendan Kennedy has become the first-ever marijuana billionaire, with his net worth being estimated at around $2.4 billion. 

The Choice is yours 

Investing large amounts of money into a volatile market should always be done with extreme caution. This is a move that needs to be thought through. Should you invest in one of the big boys, like Tilray and Canopy Growth, or move your money towards a smaller, but more exciting enterprise, such as the various local dispensary chains that are literally popping up like mushrooms after heavy rainfall? 

The choice belongs to you. As for the industry giants, it might be more reasonable to buy Canopy Growth stock, as it is still less developed than Tilray, and their potential is still largely untapped, making it the more exciting option of the two.