Cannabis stocks have struggled in the market in recent years. But while the cannabis industry itself is still struggling to gain ground on the regulatory front, plenty of companies outside the industry are benefitting from the rising popularity of cannabis products.
Here are consumer stock plays on the cannabis industry for investors to watch ahead of the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference April 11-12 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Delivery And Advertising: In 2022, ridesharing leader Uber Technologies Inc UBER made history by partnering with Leafly Holdings Inc LFLY to deliver cannabis in Toronto. The deal marked the first major partnership between a major third-party delivery platform and a cannabis company. Leafly shares are down 91% in the past year, but Uber’s stock is up 15.8% in that time.
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In February 2023, Twitter made history by becoming the first social media platform to allow cannabis ads in the U.S. Meta Platforms META platforms Facebook and Instagram prohibit U.S. cannabis ads, even in the 21 U.S. states in which recreational cannabis is legal.
Cannabis Product Retailers: Several major pharmacies and grocery stores rode the CBD wave early. Kroger Co KR announced it would begin selling CBD creams, balms and oils back in 2019. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA, CVS Health Corp CVS, GNC and Franchise Group Inc FRG subsidiary Vitamin Shoppe have stocked their shelves with CBD products.
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Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN subsidiary Whole Foods also sells CBD products, but Amazon has also gone a step further in supporting the cannabis industry. Amazon has publicly backed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 (MORE Act), the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and the States Reform Act in the U.S.
Sports Partnerships: Major sports leagues and pro athletes have also capitalized on the popularity of cannabis. In October 2022, Major League Baseball became the first major sports league to partner with a CBD company when it inked a deal with Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc CWBHF to make Charlotte’s Web the “official CBD of MLB.”
Canada’s Avicanna Inc AVCNF has also partnered with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to provide players with recovery promoting products, including topicals, kinesiology tape and massage guns.
Sparkling CBD water brand Day One Beverages has partnered with USA Pickleball. A growing number of pro athletes, including Joe Montana, Paul Pierce, Mike Tyson, Ricky Williams, Rob Gronkowski and Isiah Thomas, have all invested in or partnered with cannabis companies.
To learn more about cannabis industry partnerships and unconventional ways to invest in the cannabis industry, check out the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, April 11-12.
Learn more about this and other upcoming Benzinga Cannabis events at this link.
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