Money is flowing back into cannabis stocks at a pace the sector hasn't seen in years. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) closed out May with a 103.7% one-year net asset value return, dwarfing the North American Marijuana Index's 36.9% gain and comfortably beating the S&P 500's 29.8%. As of June 5, the fund held $1.13 billion in assets, and the rally has accelerated further in recent weeks: MSOS gained 28% over three months while the broader marijuana benchmark actually slipped about 1%.
What's driving the divergence isn't mystery - it's regulatory anticipation colliding with a landmark corporate move. Trulieve Cannabis, the ETF's largest holding at roughly 30% of assets, began trading on the NYSE under the ticker TRLV this week, a milestone CEO Kim Rivers called historic. The company restructured to separate its medical cannabis operations from its adult-use business specifically to qualify for a senior exchange listing, a maneuver that matters well beyond Trulieve's own cap table. For multi-state operators still stuck trading on over-the-counter markets or Canadian exchanges, this is a template. And for operators managing day-to-day retail infrastructure - think seed-to-sale tracking, compliant packaging, and the back-office systems that keep a dispensary audit-ready - the capital markets story eventually filters down to store-level investment, including point-of-sale upgrades like the cannabis dispensary pos nevada operators have adopted to manage compliance logs and inventory across state lines. cannabis dispensary pos nevada
Why the June 29 Hearing Carries So Much Weight
The administrative hearing set for June 29, expected to run no later than July 15, will examine whether cannabis broadly - not just state-licensed medical products - should move to Schedule III. That distinction matters enormously to anyone running a licensed cannabis business. Back in April, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche moved medical marijuana products into Schedule III, a change that eliminated 280E tax penalties for licensed medical operators. Under 280E, cannabis companies have long been barred from deducting ordinary business expenses - payroll, rent, interest - because the substance remains federally scheduled. Removing that restriction, even partially, changes the math on profitability for operators who've spent years absorbing an effective tax rate that made no sense compared to any other retail category. Trump's formal nomination of Blanche to serve as permanent attorney general has only added to the sense that this policy direction has staying power.
Uplisting Momentum Builds Beyond Trulieve
Cresco Labs' new $50 million revolving credit facility from Needham Bank, secured this week, is a concrete example of what rescheduling optimism looks like in practice. CEO Charlie Bachtell described it as a non-dilutive tool to fund acquisitions while positioning the company for eventual access to U.S. capital markets. That's the pattern worth watching: operators aren't waiting for final rescheduling to start repositioning their balance sheets. Tilray Brands, not an MSOS holding but clearly reading the same signals, has said it may deploy proceeds from a recent at-the-market program toward acquisitions. Roth Capital called the broader rescheduling order "extremely favorable," citing improved access to capital, banking services, and institutional investors - the kind of infrastructure normalization that dispensary operators have needed for years just to process transactions without relying entirely on cash.
Where the Upside Actually Sits
Trulieve gets the headlines, but it isn't where analysts see the biggest potential gains. According to Koyfin data, Verano carries the highest upside among MSOS holdings at roughly 195%, followed by Jushi Holdings near 183% and Cresco Labs close to 99%. Among the fund's largest positions, Green Thumb Industries stands out with about 70% upside - notably higher than both Trulieve and Curaleaf, the world's largest cannabis company by revenue. Retail sentiment on platforms like Stocktwits reflects the enthusiasm, with extremely bullish readings on MSOS, Trulieve, and Green Thumb amid heavy message volume.
None of this changes the underlying retail reality, though. Dispensary economics still hinge on wholesale pricing pressure, inventory shrinkage control, and compliant operations under state-level rules that vary widely. A friendlier federal tax posture helps the balance sheet; it doesn't replace the operational discipline - lab testing, COA verification, age-gated sales - that keeps a licensed cannabis business defensible with regulators and safe for consumers.