Cannabis stocks, as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index, exploded higher in late August on news that the Department of Health and Human Services had recommended to the DEA that it move cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3, and the move continued into September. October wiped out the entire rally, with the index falling 21.7% to 7.18:
The end of 2022 was challenging, with the index falling 23.7% in Q3 and 13.8% in Q4, which contributed to a 70.4% decline for the full year. In 2023, Q1 saw a 12.5% decline, and the index, which dropped 11.8% in Q2. The 22.3% gain in Q3 was the first positive quarter since Q1 of 2021. With the October decline, the index is now down 26.1% year-to-date:
Since the peak in February 2021, the Global Cannabis Stock Index has dropped 92.2.1% from the 92.48 closing high:
The strongest 4 names in October all fell by less than 8%:
- Jazz Pharma (NASDAQ: JAZZ): -1.9%
- Chicago Atlantic (NASDAQ: REFI): -4.3%
- Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR): -5.1%
- NewLake Capital (OTC: NLCP): -7.7%.
Jazz Pharma, which may be spinning out its cannabis pharmaceuticals, is down 20.2% in 2023. The other three relative strong performers were all REITs. Chicago Atlantic has dropped 6.5%. Innovative Industrial Properties has fallen 29.1%. NewLake Capital is down 21.5%.
The 4 weakest names in October all fell by more than 35%:
- Cannabist (OTC: CBSTF) (NEO: CBST): -56.3%
- 22nd Century Group (NASDAQ: XXII): -54.1%
- Cresco Labs (OTC: CRLBF) (CSE: CL): -36.9%
- Curaleaf (OTC: CURLF) (CSE: CURA): -35.5%
The worst performers were mainly from the MSO sub-category. Formerly Columbia Care, Cannabist is down now in 2023 by 47.6% so far in 2023. 22nd Century Group has lost 96.7%. Cresco Labs has dropped 28.1%. Curaleaf is down 31.4%.
We will summarize the index performance again in a month. You can learn more about the index members and the qualifications for inclusion by visiting the Global Cannabis Stock Index. Be sure to bookmark the page to stay current on cannabis stock price movements within the day or from day-to-day.
New Cannabis Ventures maintains four proprietary indices designed to help investors monitor the publicly-traded cannabis stocks, including the Global Cannabis Stock Index as well as the Canadian Cannabis LP Index. The American Cannabis Operator Index, was launched at the end of October 2018 and tracks the leading cultivators, processors and retailers of cannabis in the United States. More recently, we introduced the Ancillary Cannabis Index at the end of March 2021, reflecting the increasing number of publicly-traded companies providing goods or services to cannabis operators.
