6 Weed Stocks That Aren't Penny Stocks

This year on April 20, the U.S. legalized marijuana movement can celebrate some major progress in the past year. Unfortunately, the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level means that the business of marijuana remains stigmatized.

As a result, many marijuana companies operating in the states that have legalized the drug are dealing with a number of hurdles that other industries avoid.

Last year, Michael Swartz, an analyst for Viridian Capital & Research said the U.S. marijuana industry suffers from a lack of “seasoned” executives and board members. Almost all of the public U.S. marijuana companies have stocks that do not trade on major exchanges.

The lone marijuana representative that trades on the NASDAQ, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH is up 16.6 percent so far in 2016.

“This is a tough place to find legitimacy. Fraud has run rampant,” says Hilary Bricken, a Seattle attorney and Canna Law Blog contributor.

“GW may be the only one that’s viable. The rest of these companies live life from press release to press release.”

Related Link: 15 Marijuana Stocks To Watch In 2015: Where Are They Now?

Although investing in stocks that trade off of the major exchanges is always a risky proposition, here are six marijuana stocks that at least (for now) have avoided “penny stock” status by maintaining share prices above $1.

1. GW Pharmaceuticals
2. Zoned Properties Inc ZDPY
3. AeroGrow International, Inc. AERO
4. Cannabis Sativa Inc CBDS
5. CANOPY GROWTH CORP COM NPV TWMJF
6. General Cannabis Corp CANN

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.