Personally, I am not a weedinista. I hate feeling stoned. I don't think pot will save the world, and dependence, especially with younger users, can be a problem. But I do think, in some settings, it can work miracles.

A year ago, probably after hearing me knock pot smokers one too many times, David Downs, a San Francisco cannabis journalist, who is married to my niece, sat me down and explained something I hadn't known. There are two important components in marijuana. The primary psychoactive ingredient in pot is THC, which also has medicinal properties such as pain relief and nausea reduction. And there's CBD, a non-psychoactive ingredient that has been shown to be helpful for many ailments, including epilepsy, cancer pain and anxiety.

Increasingly, researchers are investigating the health benefits of CBD. Growers, in turn, are meeting consumer demand for pot strains that are high in CBD and low in THC.

You can achieve a tremendous benefit from high-CBD marijuana and never feel stoned.
This was a revelation.

Eoin Treacy's view

I have to smile at signs proclaiming UCLA is a smoke free campus when driving through Westwood Los Angeles since the smell of marijuana smoke is such a common occurrence. Cannabis is available to anyone who wants it today and not just in California. Considering it is now legal in a handful of states and the FDA is coming under increasing pressure to reclassify it, the movement to build a greater awareness and market for the drug is increasingly successful. 

In the departures lounge at San Francisco International a couple of months ago I was chatting to a young man in the restaurant who said that during the winter he works as a stone mason but during the prime growing season he works 24/7 growing cannabis. The temperate climate in Humboldt county allows three crops to be grown in a short period of time. This netted his four man team $4.5 million in as many months. They were even interviewed by Governor Jerry Brown and the San Francisco Chronicle as an exemplar for how lucrative this cash crop is for budding entrepreneurs. 

It’s open to question whether the November ballot will open up California to cannabis sales outside of the medical arena, but it does appear to be an inevitability; particularly as the differences between CBD and THC are explored. 

There are only a small number of shares offering exposure to the sector and they are all small cap.  

Canopy Growth Corp (market cap C$280 million) is Canadian listed and has been ranging mostly above C$2.50 since November. A sustained move below that level would be required to question potential for additional higher to lateral ranging. 

Aphria is also Canadian listed (market cap C$96.2 million) The share has been trending higher since September and will need to continue to hold the region of the trend mean during pullbacks if the benefit of the doubt is to be given to additional higher to lateral ranging. 

Mettrum Health is another Canadian listed company (market cap C$60.5million) and has been ranging mostly above C$150 since 2014. 

Cannabis Sativa Inc (market cap $30 million) has been ranging above the trend mean since early April and a sustained move below it would be required to question potential for additional upside. 

Terra Tech Corp (market cap $220million) is a hydroponics company and surged out of an almost yearlong base in February. It is now consolidating that move and will need to demonstrate support above the trend mean to signal a return to demand dominance beyond the short term.

Pineapple Express (market cap $223.8million) is a cannabis services, marketing and consulting company. It’s share has collapsed back to test the pre-surge lows near $4 and a clear upward dynamic is required to signal a return of investor interest.