With a fairly quiet start to the year, the cannabis market appeared to be struggling from the viewpoint of stock market analysts. Fortunately, the second half of the year seems to be picking up drastically, with sales revenue rising and profits soaring across various segments of the industry.

When the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off, medical cannabis was deemed to be an “essential” business. As a direct effect of this, sales peaked and U.S. cannabis sales revenue climbed 46 percent year-over-year (YoY) to $17 billion in 2020. 

This year, U.S. cannabis sales revenue is predicted to top $92 billion, which is 30 percent more than revenue recorded in 2020. 

Furthermore, analysis published in the most recent edition of the MJBizFactbook suggests that revenue will reach $160 billion or more by the year 2025, thus indicating that the cannabis stock market could be in for an exciting ride in the foreseeable future.

The MORE Act presents hope for cannabis reform and pot stocks traders in the U.S.

Aside from a surge in sales, the legal cannabis industry is also experiencing a boost from the optimism surrounding the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement Act (MORE Act). 

Reintroduced in the House of Representatives on Friday, May 28 by chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, the MORE Act (if approved by lawmakers) would federally decriminalize cannabis. 

Interestingly, Amazon backs the legislative effort. Even without the MORE Act in place, the following pot stocks could be a beneficial addition to investors’ portfolios for summer 2021:

• • 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII) – Numerous recently-published press releases declare that this leading plant biotechnology company sold 10 million shares of stock to an institutional investor at a per-share price of $4. This will ensure the Company is financed with $40 million “to support the Company’s strategic objectives across all of its plant franchises.” 
  • Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON) – Cannabis stock investors and traders may be keen to put their money on Cronos this summer  The cannabis company’s revenue climbed 50 percent Y-o-Y during Q1 2021 to $12.6 million with a $43.5 million operating loss. Impressively, the company is not sitting on any indissoluble debt and boasts in excess of $1.2 billion in cash and investments.
  • Pure Harvest Corporate Group, Inc. (OTC: PHCG) – For the first quarter of 2021, Pure Harvest Corporate Group announced that its revenues surged by 92.65 percent in comparison with revenue from Q4 2020. The cannabis company secured even more revenue during Q1 2021 as opposed to the entire of 2020. Figures totaled $794,148 for Q1 2021, whereas year-end revenue for 2020 amounted to $735,690; revenue increases have been attributed to sales growth at Pure Harvest’s Colorado cannabis operations in Dumont.
  • Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) – Tens of thousands of medical cannabis patients, of whom reside in 17 countries spread across five continents, are indulged with Tilray’s high-quality medical cannabis products. This is made possible through the company’s subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, Germany, Latin America and Portugal, as well as through agreements with acclaimed pharmaceutical distributors. Something else that makes this pot stock an appealing choice is the fact that Tilray cultivates medical and adult-use cannabis in the well-established legal cannabis country of Canada, and also cultivates medical cannabis in Portugal.

Reddit is driving pot stocks to new highs 

With increased sales and the prospect of federal cannabis decriminalization on the horizon, it’s not surprising that the aforementioned pot stocks – not to mention many others – are seeing an uptick in potential and value as of late.

Another factor that is stimulating cannabis stock interest relates to the intrigue stemming from Reddit investors, many of whom are starting to focus their energy on this sector. Exposure from the social media platform is helping cannabis stocks to attract a wider scope of attention from investors and analysts.

A report published by Vanda Research in mid-February showed that retail investors had funneled more than $440 million into pot stocks since the start of February; double the entire of January.