I Just Updated My 2017 Legal Marijuana Forecast

Just two weeks ago, I released my 2017 Legal Marijuana Forecast.

Despite the many legal victories and the nice returns cannabis investing has already brought in the past year, it was a very bullish report.

However, I've been hearing from some of you.

You're worried about the future of medicinal marijuana investing.

First off, pretty much everyone paying attention has read or heard about attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions' stated views on marijuana. They're not progressive - to say the least.

What's more, many of you are now seeing legislative "pushback" in some state assemblies where voters voted "Yes" on legal marijuana use back on Nov. 8.

In today's report, we'll figure out what's really happening here - and then we'll update that 2017 Legal Marijuana Forecast with these new facts.

Take a look...

No One Said This Would Be Easy

Look, there's almost 100 years of ferocious downward social and legal pressure keeping pot illegal and the cannabis industry depressed. For generations, people have been told by successive Democratic and Republican administrations that it's simply a dangerous substance for bad people.

Those are stiff headwinds.

But for just as long, there's been a strong tradition of activism that's been advocating for cannabis.

And it's now winning.

American society's views on marijuana - who should use it, how it should be used, and how it ought to be regulated - are changing with blinding speed. More than 60% of U.S. adults now favor legalizing, taxing, and regulating medicinal and/or recreational marijuana.

Just look at the powerful dynamic that's been playing out in the two months or so since the election...

Voters said "Yes" to medical and/or recreational marijuana in eight out of nine states on Nov. 8, but some state legislators are dragging their feet on turning those referendums into laws.

Legislators in Maine, Massachusetts, and Arkansas have already passed initiatives to delay pot sales in their states.

For example, in Maine, there is a bill now pending that would push back the deadline to lift its prohibition on recreational marijuana from Jan. 30 of this year to February 2018. The bill, L.D. 88, also would clarify that recreational marijuana will remain illegal for Mainers under age 21 and would prohibit the sale of edible marijuana products for recreational purposes until February 2018.

Of course, legal marijuana proponents are pushing back - hard...

Becky DeKeuster - a founder of the largest medical marijuana dispensary company in Maine, Wellness Connection - said the "well-intentioned" bill overturns the will of voters. Moreover, she said the bill would support the black market for marijuana - and would act as a "jobs, revenue, and investment killer."

"Here we have an industry that is ready to create hundreds of small- to medium-sized businesses and thousands of new jobs, an industry that will benefit ancillary businesses, generate revenue and an industry... with deep roots in Maine... that plays to our agricultural and our entrepreneurial strengths," DeKeuster said.

On the national scene, we'll likely see pushback from Sessions and other forces working against legal cannabis.

But here's the important thing to remember when it starts to look like the odds are stacking up against marijuana legalization...

This Is an Unstoppable Trend

As it stands, voters in 28 states - including hugely populated ones like California, Florida, Illinois, and New York - have legalized medical marijuana.

In eight of those states, voters also have approved cannabis for recreational use. That alone puts around 191 million potential customers in the market for one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.

So while state legislators and others might try to delay this bandwagon, they're only putting off the inevitable. Broad, bipartisan consensus on legalization in Congress and the overwhelming sense that legal marijuana is an issue for state legislatures mean there's simply no way they can pull the break completely.

Moreover, voters in four more states - Arizona, Missouri, North Carolina, and Vermont - are likely to legalize marijuana in the next few years and bring the number of states up to 32.

In fact, momentum is accelerating worldwide. Not only in neighboring countries like Canada, but in places like Germany, too.

The world's fifth-largest economy is emerging as a medical marijuana powerhouse.

Last week, the German Bundestag unanimously passed an act to legalize medical marijuana for people suffering from serious illnesses, such as chronic pain and multiple sclerosis. This comes after the nation's cabinet approved the act in May 2016.

According to the act, patients will be granted the right to be treated with marijuana "in very limited exceptional cases" but they will not be allowed to grow their own.

The German health minister, Hermann Gröhe, said: "Those who are severely ill need to get the best possible treatment and that includes health insurance funds paying for cannabis as a medicine for those who are chronically ill if they can't be effectively treated any other way."

When the act is implemented in March, patients will be able to get a prescription from their doctor and a refund for the upfront cost from their health insurance.

And Germany isn't alone.

Italy and the Czech Republic also recently started granting medical marijuana access for patients. And marijuana has been either decriminalized or legalized for some time in Mexico, Australia, and much of South America and Europe.

It's a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, neither here in the United States nor across the globe.

I've covered tech investing - venture capital, Silicon Valley innovation, M&A, you name it - for 35 years now, and biotech legal marijuana is one of the most powerful trends I've ever seen.

Just look at the peak gains we've enjoyed playing the 30 stocks in my "weed investors' bible," The Roadmap to Marijuana Millions. Fully 25 of 30 open positions are turning a profit, and 12 of those have been up by triple digits - and I'm talking gains as high as 500%... 516%... and even 523%...

Cannabis investing is that powerful.

And that's why I continue to have high expectations for the legal cannabis industry in 2017 - and beyond...

An 87.5% Win Rate

On Tuesday, we took a close look at Paycom Software Inc. (NYSE: PAYC), a market-beating small-cap company, up 70% in the past year, that develops human resources software and services that it then delivers to clients via the cloud.

In addition to the 30 stocks in The Roadmap, I deliver investments like this one like clockwork, each and every month, to my paid-up Nova-X Report subscribers.

As of the start of 2017, these members were enjoying an 87.5% win rate on their investments. Even better, they'd scored average gains of 76% on our top five picks, including a 267% gainer.

It doesn't take many market-beating wins like that to make a fortune...

Now, in addition to these winning stock picks, I make sure every single Nova-X Report reader gets my "weed investors' bible," The Roadmap to Marijuana Millions.

To learn more about Nova-X - and to get your free copy of The Roadmap - just click here.

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The post I Just Updated My 2017 Legal Marijuana Forecast appeared first on Strategic Tech Investor.

About the Author

Michael A. Robinson is a 36-year Silicon Valley veteran and one of the top tech and biotech financial analysts working today. That's because, as a consultant, senior adviser, and board member for Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Michael enjoys privileged access to pioneering CEOs, scientists, and high-profile players. And he brings this entire world of Silicon Valley "insiders" right to you...

  • He was one of five people involved in early meetings for the $160 billion "cloud" computing phenomenon.
  • He was there as Lee Iacocca and Roger Smith, the CEOs of Chrysler and GM, led the robotics revolution that saved the U.S. automotive industry.
  • As cyber-security was becoming a focus of national security, Michael was with Dave DeWalt, the CEO of McAfee, right before Intel acquired his company for $7.8 billion.

This all means the entire world is constantly seeking Michael's insight.

In addition to being a regular guest and panelist on CNBC and Fox Business, he is also a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter. His first book Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings warned people about the coming financial collapse - years before the word "bailout" became a household word.

Silicon Valley defense publications vie for his analysis. He's worked for Defense Media Network and Signal Magazine, as well as The New York Times, American Enterprise, and The Wall Street Journal.

And even with decades of experience, Michael believes there has never been a moment in time quite like this.

Right now, medical breakthroughs that once took years to develop are moving at a record speed. And that means we are going to see highly lucrative biotech investment opportunities come in fast and furious.

To help you navigate the historic opportunity in biotech, Michael launched the Bio-Tech Profit Alliance.

His other publications include: Strategic Tech Investor, The Nova-X Report, Bio-Technology Profit Alliance and Nexus-9 Network.

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