Can Medical Marijuana Legalization Solve the $78.5 Billion Opioid Crisis?  

Medical marijuana legalization could be the solution to America's ongoing opioid epidemic, and that could unlock better than 85% profits for savvy investors...

"You don't need me to tell you that we're in the middle of a huge and growing opioid crisis. I'm almost certain you've seen the statistics - and you've likely seen the evidence yourself," Money Morning Director of Technology & Venture Capital Research Michael A. Robinson said on June 28, 2017.

From funding substance abuse programs to criminal justice-related costs, the opioid crisis has a staggering economic burden of $78.5 billion, according a 2015 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) report.

medical marijuana legalizationHowever, legalizing medical marijuana could be a way to cut the cost of the pricey epidemic, reduce the number of addictions, and provide a profit opportunity for forward-thinking investors.

According to studies from the past three years, there's already evidence that cannabis legalization is helping curb the opioid crisis.

And we've uncovered one marijuana stock that is set to soar as it develops a groundbreaking new treatment that will combat the opiate crisis...

Medical Marijuana Legalization Is Reducing the Amount of Opioid Overdoses

As you can see from the chart below, the opioid crisis affects people of all ages. The crisis is hitting middle-aged Americans especially hard. In 2014, nearly 12 out of 100,000 people aged 45 to 54 years in the United States died from an opioid overdose.

Marijuana stocks

Fortunately, there appears to be some hope for people battling addiction, thanks to medical marijuana...

A 2014 study examined the relationship between legalized marijuana and overdose deaths from opioids. In the study, Dr. Marcus Bachuber discovered that between 1999 and 2000, the U.S. states with legalized medical marijuana had a 25% lower annual opioid overdose death rate than states without legalized medical marijuana.

In a more informal study, psychiatric nurse practitioner Anita Willard Briscoe and three colleagues had similar findings, according to Rolling Stone. Briscoe found 25% of patients were able to stop using opioids because they used marijuana instead, according to self-reported data from 400 patients collected between 2015 and 2016.

BREAKING: New Legislation Could Turn Tiny Pot Stocks into Millions. Click Here...

The evidence shows medical marijuana's potential to combat the opioid crisis, and one company is taking it a step further. This company is producing a cannabis-based drug that could replace opioids as a pain reliever, eliminating the need to prescribe the dangerous drugs.

In a May 24 report, Reuters reported the company would file with U.S. regulators for its cannabis-derived drug.

He calls this a game changer, and the profit potential for early investors is real.

Financial service firm Cantor Fitzgerald believes this company's stock price could climb more than 85% in the next 12 months.

Here's everything you need to know about this profit opportunity in the cannabis industry...

Medical Marijuana Legalization Poised to Help This Stock Price Skyrocket

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GW Pharmaceuticals Plc. (Nasdaq ADR: GWPH) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes cannabinoid prescription medicines.

And the company's cannabis-based drug that could be approved by the FDA is called Epidiolex. Right now, Epidiolex is used for patients with childhood epilepsy and Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic epileptic dysfunction.

But eventually, Robinson believes this will have a much wider range of uses as pain management.

"Children won't end up being Epidiolex's only focus. After all, chronic pain affects everyone, especially seniors - the drug industry's most important market," Robinson said.

Over the next 12 months, Cantor Fitzgerald projects the GWPH stock price will climb to $208 per share, according to FactSet. That's a gain of 85.43% from today's opening price of $112.17.

"We're at the beginning of a sea of change in how we treat chronic pain, shifting from opioid-based medications to cannabis-based ones. And with first-mover advantage, we're in the perfect spot to profit," Robinson said.

We will keep Money Morning Members up to date with any developments on Epidiolex's final approval.

In the meantime, Robinson has another profit opportunity in the medical industry.

But before we share more details, we wanted to make sure our members knew more about our investing guru.

Who Is Investing Guru Michael Robinson?

Money Morning Director of Technology & Venture Capital Research Michael A. Robinson is one of our most prominent and respected investing "gurus" here at Money Map Press - and for good reason. He is one of the top financial analysts working today. Make no mistake: Michael's ideas are completely his own.

He's a true original. He works solely for Money Map Press... and receives absolutely no compensation from companies he writes about.

His book, "Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings," was a prescient look at the anatomy of the nation's S&L crisis, long before the word "bailout" became part of our daily lexicon. He's a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter, lauded by the Columbia Journalism Review for his aggressive style.

Michael's 30-year track record as a leading tech analyst has garnered him rave reviews, too.

As editor of the financial newsletter American Wealth Underground, Michael amassed an amazing track record using rigorous investing. The first analyst to uncover the rare earth mineral crisis, he amassed cumulative gains of 990% for his readers in just 16 months.

His research is world class, too. The Oakland TribuneDetroit NewsThe San Francisco ExaminerThe Kansas City TimesWealth Magazine, and American Banker all publish his reporting. He has appeared on Larry King's syndicated radio show.

Robinson has an honors economics degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia with a minor in journalism.

And he's uncovered a company behind a microscopic device that will likely disrupt every aspect of the $3 trillion healthcare industry.

In the process, it could make a handful of people very, very rich...

Millionaire status? You might want to think bigger.

Much bigger...

You see, this device makes a quantum-leap advancement on a revolutionary technology - one that's taking medicine, science, and Wall Street by storm.

Even if this tiny $6 million company grabs a mere 5% of the $100 billion cancer market, they'd be looking at a $5 billion a year revenue stream.

And that's only going to grow... and grow... and grow.

Now, before we get any further, Robinson wants to point out that, between the eye drug market and the cancer drug market, this tiny $6 million company could lock in over $6.1 billion in annual revenue streams.

And that's if they only capture 5% of each market!

The most important thing Robinson can tell you today is this:

"Time is of the essence... because the company is expected to make a major announcement. Already, some of the biggest, savviest, and wealthiest people on the planet are loading up on this tiny company..."

In fact, over 70 institutions just upped their stake.

The big boys are swarming, and the time is now.

Robinson provides all the details about this profit opportunity in a special presentation, which you can access right here.

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