Cannabis has spent years trapped in the same loop.
Big promise. Bad policy. Worse capital markets.
That is why even a partial federal shift matters.
The Trump administration has now moved beyond vague talk and into action. The Justice Department said DEA will hold a hearing beginning June 29, 2026, on the proposed move of marijuana to Schedule III, and AP reported today that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III while also restarting the broader federal process. That does not legalize cannabis federally. It does change the economics around the industry in a way investors have wanted for years.
That is the setup.
If cannabis moves into Schedule III, the biggest near-term change is not some magical sales boom. It is that operators could get relief from the brutal federal tax treatment under 280E, while research restrictions ease and institutional interest becomes easier to imagine. In a beaten-down sector, that kind of policy move can matter more than one strong quarter ever could.
The Most Obvious Plant-Touching Name
Company: Tilray Brands (SYM: TLRY)
Cannabis operator with broader consumer exposure and leverage to any real federal easing.
Tilray remains one of the first names investors reach for when U.S. cannabis policy starts moving.
That makes sense.
It is liquid, widely followed, and still tied to the long-term hope that a better regulatory backdrop can reopen enthusiasm for the group. AP noted that cannabis names including Tilray gained through December when the market began anticipating Trump’s rescheduling push, even if the day-to-day reaction has been mixed. That is the important point: the sector is still trading more on policy than on clean fundamentals.
That means Tilray is still more of a policy vehicle than a pure operating-quality story.
If Washington really does move cannabis into a friendlier federal bucket, Tilray is one of the names most likely to benefit from renewed attention. The risk is that the stock has already taught investors a hard lesson about chasing hope too early. This is still a volatile name in a sector with a long history of false starts.
The Higher-Yield Real Estate Route
Company: Innovative Industrial Properties (SYM: IIPR)
Cannabis-focused REIT offering indirect exposure to the industry through long-term real estate leases.
IIPR is the cleaner income play in the space.
The company does not depend directly on selling cannabis to consumers. It owns and leases specialized properties to licensed operators. That matters because for investors who want cannabis exposure without fully jumping into plant-touching operations, the landlord model can feel a lot more stable.
The yield is still large.
Recent dividend data show IIPR pays $7.60 annually, and MarketBeat pegs the current dividend yield at about 14.35%. The latest quarterly dividend of $1.90 was paid on April 15. That does not make the stock safe, but it does make it one of the few cannabis-related names that pays investors meaningfully while they wait.
The risk is that high yields in stressed sectors are rarely free.
A cannabis REIT still depends on tenant health, rent collection, and a market segment that has been under real financial pressure. But if investors want the more defensive angle on the theme, this is where the story starts.
The Other Yield Name to Watch
Company: NewLake Capital Partners (SYM: NLCP)
Cannabis real estate and financing player with a smaller profile and a still-large yield.
NewLake is the other real-estate-based way to play the theme.
Like IIPR, it gives investors cannabis exposure through the property and capital side of the industry rather than through direct product sales. That can make the model easier to underwrite if federal reform stays partial instead of going all the way.
The yield is still substantial.
Recent dividend trackers show NLCP remains a double-digit yielder, which keeps it on the radar for investors who want sector exposure plus income. The trade-off, of course, is that smaller cannabis-linked REITs can carry more liquidity risk and less market depth than the larger names.
The ETF Route for Investors Who Want Diversification
If the point is to play a policy shift and not pretend you know which one operator wins, ETFs still make the most sense.
ETF: AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (SYM: MSOS)
Actively managed ETF focused on U.S. cannabis operators.
MSOS remains one of the cleaner direct plays on the U.S. cannabis operator theme. It gives investors exposure to the multi-state operator side of the industry without forcing them to choose one name.
ETF: ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (SYM: MJ)
Broader global cannabis ecosystem ETF.
MJ is the more global basket and still one of the easiest “just give me the theme” vehicles for investors who want diversified exposure to the broader cannabis ecosystem.
ETF: Roundhill Cannabis ETF (SYM: WEED)
Targeted cannabis ETF with exposure to leading U.S. MSOs.
WEED offers another way to spread risk across the operator base, which matters in a sector where policy headlines can move everything at once.
Bottom line:
Cannabis is still a policy trade first.
But for the first time in a while, the policy is actually moving.
TLRY is the liquid headline stock.
IIPR is the higher-yield landlord route.
NLCP is the smaller yield play.
MSOS, MJ, and WEED are the diversification route.
That is the real takeaway.
This sector does not need full legalization tomorrow to rally. It just needs Washington to stop treating reform like a rumor and start treating it like policy.
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Written by Ian Cooper