Welcome to my latest video presentation. The article below is a condensed transcript; the video provides additional details as well as several charts.

For decades, the establishment waged a relentless propaganda war against marijuana. Consider this 1905 Washington Post article, in which an anthropology professor describes his experimental smoking of marijuana and the symptoms that he claims to have experienced:

“Everything seems to move around the smoker, this whirl becoming faster and faster, until all sense of his surroundings is lost…

The next step of his intoxication is full of terrors. Troops of ferocious wild animals march before the vision of the smoker. Lions, tigers, panthers, and other wild beasts occupy his vision. The wild animals are then attacked by hosts of devils and monsters of unheard of shapes. The smoker becomes brave and possessed of superhuman strength. It is at this stage of the debauch that murders are committed by the smoker.”

Mmmkay! Fast forward to 2022, and marijuana is increasingly legal, as well as lucrative and socially accepted. Based on New Frontier Data’s latest analysis of state legalization campaigns, U.S. legal sales of recreational and medical pot (combined) are on track to exceed $72 billion on an annual basis in 2030. Let’s look at the latest news in the mainstreaming of what used to be called the “devil’s weed.”

Marijuana and Federal Law. Several major cannabis companies, lobbyists, and investors are joining forces to sue the federal government over what they decry as unconstitutional policies harming their operations. They’ve retained a prominent law firm led by attorneys who have been involved in several highly publicized federal cases.

The marijuana companies, many of them large multi-state operators (MSOs), have retained the high-powered law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. David Boies, the firm’s chairman, boasts a long list of famous and powerful clients, including Al Gore and Jeff Bezos.

One of the goals of the coalition is repeal of a tax provision called 280E that prevents the marijuana industry from taking tax deductions that are available to any other non-marijuana company.

Among members of the coalition is The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH). The plan is to file lawsuits in federal district court sometime this summer.

Massachusetts. Adult-use marijuana sales in the Bay State have officially surpassed $3 billion (as of May 14), since the market launched in 2018, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission reported last week.

Massachusetts marijuana tax revenue is now exceeding that being generated from alcohol sales. That’s a welcome development for marijuana advocates who have long argued that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and should be viewed as a favorable substitute.

Michigan. In a minor setback for the movement to legalize psychedelics, the East Lansing, Michigan City Council last week rejected a resolution to decriminalize psychedelics in the jurisdiction. The mayor’s office, city attorney, and local lawmakers expressed concerns about legal blowback of the reform proposal.

But the vote in Michigan represents a mere speed bump for the fast-growing psychedelics industry. A slew of jurisdictions across the nation have decriminalized psychedelics, laying the groundwork for a new industry. In coming years, the psychedelics industry could capture a major slice of the $28.6 billion global antidepressant market.

New Jersey. One month into the implementation of legal marijuana in the Garden State, consumers have bought $24 million in recreational marijuana, state regulators reported last week. Jeff Brown, executive director of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission, stated: “It’s really only a beginning, and I think it shows that there’s a lot of growth left in this market.”

Rhode Island. The governor of Rhode Island signed a bill last week to legalize marijuana, making it the 19th state to end prohibition. Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed the measure just one day after the legislature sent it to his desk. Adults 21 and older can now legally possess up to one ounce of cannabis in the Ocean State and grow up to six plants for personal use, only three of which can be mature.

Consumer Behavior. A recent study shows that younger generations are purposely choosing cannabis over alcohol. The study, conducted by New Frontier Data, underscores the argument of pro-marijuana advocates that pot is better for public safety and health than alcohol. Indeed, physicians increasingly make the claim that weed is far healthier than booze.

Read This Story: Marijuana and Money: An Insider Interview

Worried about inflation, recession, and rising interest rates? The trends I’ve just described are resistant to short-term ups-and-downs. The mainstreaming of marijuana is making investors rich, in good times or bad.

Your portfolio needs exposure to marijuana stocks, but selectivity is key. That’s why I urge you to read my new book: The Wide World of Weed and Psychedelics. It’s your definitive guide for making money in the thriving cannabis and psychedelics industries. Click here to get your free copy.

John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

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