The cannabis stock sector is booming, with legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in the United States and abroad rapidly expanding. In hot pursuit is the psychedelics industry, with legalization efforts initiated worldwide for a variety of different alternative medical treatments from this category. Investors want to know more about the cannabis and psychedelic investment opportunities from industry-leading experts. Today, we chatted with Alexej Pikovsky is the CEO and Founder of the Alphagreen Group. Alphagreen Group is a next-gen technology provider and e-commerce platform in the alternative health and wellness sector. The group began by launching alternative health and CBD marketplace alphagreen.io as the United Kingdom's CBD industry experienced speedy growth in 2020. The platform grew to the largest CBD marketplace in Europe within just six months As an investor in new alternative health brands, Pikovsky is also well versed in the potential growth of the psychedelics for mental health market and was a panelist at the Virtual Psychedelics Conference in 2020. 

Schaeffer's: What are your thoughts on the cannabis industry right now? Where are the best places to find cannabis stocks worth investing in? And what kind of growth can investors expect to see in the future for the legalized marijuana industry?

Alexej Pikovsky: Like with any nascent industry, investing in cannabis in the current climate is a high-risk venture with the potential for high rewards. If you are looking to invest in cannabis stocks, multi-state operators growing 30% year on year with high cash flow generation are your best bet for the next 12 months.

Alexej Pikovsky: On the positive side, it’s easier to connect with IPO’s and leaders in the industry, seeing as psychedelics for healthcare are in the early stages of growth and the space is still relatively small. However, investing in this space is risky as most companies have no revenue and are, for the most part, based on predictions or some indication of clinical results. The majority of psychedelics for healthcare companies are listed in Canada due to their regulatory framework, which is far more agreeable for listings in the Cannabis and Psychedelic space. A fair amount of US companies list in Canada. We’ve seen an upswing in the trend for medical mushroom and psychedelics for health and feel there’s a huge potential for growth

There are several pharmaceutical companies that are now developing hallucinogenic drugs for regulatory approval. Early scientific research suggests that compounds such as psilocybin are showing exciting promise for treating mental illnesses, including depression and schizophrenia. If further research concludes that hallucinogens are effective, there will be a surge of interest from investors, which will undoubtedly lead to exponential growth for Big Pharma.

In terms of the recreational space, there is a long way to go. In most regions, psilocybin is a prohibited drug and is condemned by large quarters of most societies. But if research suggested that psilocybin was effective medically, we could see a push from advocates for legalization in the US and beyond. Despite this regulatory pushback in most countries, we have seen the success in the Netherlands of companies selling psychoactive truffles containing psilocybin, showing there is a big market waiting to be unlocked.