MJ seeks to provide investment results correspond generally to the total return performance of the Prime Alternative Harvest Index, which is concentrated in the pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries. The serendipitous growth of these cannabis stocks may force large pharmaceutical companies to partner with these companies to effectively hedge against the marijuana medicine industry invading their market share, according to Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy.
“Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you’re an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you’re a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution,” Kennedy told CNBC in an interview.
Last month, cannabis stocks received a bevy of positive news, including investment firm Morgan Stanley saying that GW Pharmaceuticals’ new cannabinoid-based therapy will be a “blockbuster.” Additionally, beverage giant Coca-Cola is looking to enter the marijuana industry space with purported interest in Canadian company Aurora Cannabis Inc to help stymie slowing soda sales.
In August, Constellation Brands, an international producer and beer marketer, invested $5 billion in Canopy Growth Corp. Canopy Growth hopes to parlay this capital infusion, along with a high-level management team and a high-tech distribution center, into becoming a global powerhouse in its respective market.
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