This article originally appeared in InvestorObserver written by Michael Fowkles.
Weed, marijuana, pot, cannabis, loud, Mary Jane, sticky icky, green, chronic, tea… Whatever you call it, it is a growing market in the United States. Ten or fifteen years ago you would have been laughed out of a room if you brought up the idea of legalized marijuana in the U.S. In recent years though, the trend has definitely been in that direction. Medical marijuana has been around for years, but legalized recreational marijuana is fairly new. Ten states now have voted in favor of recreational marijuana, and our northern neighbor, Canada, legalized marijuana on the national level in 2018.
Medical marijuana has been around since California became the first state to legalize it for medical use when voters approved it in 1991. Since that time, medical marijuana laws have been put in place in 33 states, and many more are considering new legislation to join the list.
MariMed (MRMD)
MariMed (MRMD) is the only U.S., non-Canadian, marijuana stock in this week’s list. The company is based out of Massachusetts, where recreational marijuana recently became legal. The first legal sales in the state started in November, and it is still the very early stages of dispensaries opening for retail sale. What is important about MariMed is that the company itself does not actually grow marijuana. What it does do though, is to help a lot of other companies do it. The company consults on the designing and operations of marijuana facilities. As more states move in the direction of medical or complete recreational legalization, MariMed’s expertise in the industry will be in high demand.
The future of marijuana in the U.S. is very unclear, and it will be a long time before the U.S. follows Canada’s lead on national legalization, but the trend is definitely moving in that direction, and whether it is medial or recreational expansion, MariMed will have an easy time moving into new states with their expertise to help companies in the new markets develop their cultivation centers.
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