Marijuana Stocks Not Very High On 4/20

Back in January, Benzinga published a list of 15 marijuana stocks to watch in 2015. The S&P 500 is up more than 2.1 percent so far this year, but how are marijuana investors enjoying 2015?

As the debate over marijuana legalization rages on in the United States, April 20 (4/20) seemed an appropriate time to provide an update on the year-to-date (YTD) performances of these 15 marijuana names.

Here’s a breakdown of the full list:

• American Cannabis Company Inc AMMJ: down 32.2 percent
• Blue Line Protection Group Inc BLPG: down 8.9 percent
• Cannabs Inc CANL: up 33.6 percent
• CanaVEST Corp CANV: up 2.5 percent
• American Green Inc ERBB: down 44.6 percent
• Creative Edge Nutrition Inc FITX: down 54.5 percent
• GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH: up 65.9 percent
• Hemp Inc HEMP: down 31.9 percent
• mCIG Inc MCIG: down 45.7 percent
• Medbox Inc MDBX: down 80.0 percent
• Medical Marijuana Inc MJNA: down 21.9 percent
• PharmaCyte Biotech PMCB: down 3.8 percent
• Surna Inc SRNA: down 59.6 percent
• Terra Tech Corp TRTC: down 24.1 percent
• Vape Holdings VAPE: down 47.2 percent

Tough Start To The Year

Despite the overall gains in the S&P 500 this year, the marijuana stocks on the aforementioned watch list have severely lagged so far in 2015. In fact, the average YTD performance of the bunch is -23.5 percent.

Only three of the 15 stocks are up YTD, but investors in Cannabis Inc (+33.6 percent) and GW Pharmaceuticals (+65.9 percent) are up big.

Medbox investors are the big losers so far on the year, as the stock is down a staggering 80.0 percent.

Looking Forward

At the moment, the future of the marijuana industry remains firmly in the hands of Congress and the U.S. government. The outcome of the next elections and the future direction of marijuana legislation will likely decide the long-term fate of many of these companies.