The United States House of Representatives passed the MORE Act on April 1, 2022. This bill would end the federal prohibition on cannabis by removing it from the list of banned controlled substances. That said, the bill is still facing a stiff fight in the Senate.
Recreational cannabis use is already legal in 19 U.S. states and medical use is legal in 36 states. The legal industry has continued to deliver very strong growth in recent years. Indeed, the U.S. cannabis market is set to rise to $65 billion by 2030. The passage of the bill in the Senate would also open the door for Canadian cannabis producers to build their businesses south of the border.
In this environment, investors may want to take a second look at the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (TSX:HMMJ). This exchange-traded fund is designed to provide exposure to the performance of a basket of North American publicly listed life sciences companies with activities in the cannabis industry.
Shares of this cannabis-focused ETF have plunged 25% in 2022 as of close on April 28. It has dropped 56% in the year-over-year period. The fund has mixed up its major holdings in recent months. Some of the top holdings in this ETF now include Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Innovative Industrial Properties, as well as familiar producers like Tilray and Canopy Growth. Investors will have to pay a higher-than-average MER of 0.86% in order to snatch up this ETF in the spring of 2022.