Mara Marijuana

“I want to get high, but I never knew why.” David Peel 1968

Now that the overall market has performed like it’s starring in the film,Reefer Madness, it’s time to look at value that has the potential to grow like a weed.

A Megatrend still in infancy, medical and recreational marijuana is clearly controversial.

Added to the list of states that have legal medical and recreational pot is Vermont. Thus far, 30 states and the District of Columbia currently have laws broadly legalizing marijuana in some form. Eight states have adopted the most expansive laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Recreational marijuana in California began on Jan. 1. Massachusetts will begin retail sales of cannabis later this year in July.

A vast majority of states allow for limited use of medical marijuana. The majority of Americans surveyed, are in favor of legal weed.

Yet, Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General, recently annouced that he is rescinding the federal prosecutors laissez-faire attitude towards states where pot is legal. That announcement sent marijuana stocks plummeting.

Is this a fresh buy opportunity?

The most popular stocks that I see trading in the pot sector are GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) and Cara Therapeutics (CARA).

CARA, after a huge run last June, has settled into a trading range and is trying to base, provided it holds near $12.00 per share. GWPH has done better. The all-time high made last month at $140.42 has been met with selling this month. I am watching to see if it can hold around $130.00

What interests me most, is the ETF MJX, called the Alternative Harvest ETF.

Solactive’s North American Medical Marijuana Index is made-up of a basket of 16 leading cannabis companies.

The chart shows MJX’s daily price action. The dotted line is the 50-day moving average and the solid black line is the 200-day moving average. The horizontal red-line is a trendline delineating the breakout from the base above $32.00. Currently, the 2 MA’s converge below at $30.20-30.95.