Both Canada and the US have been actively engaged with legalizing Marijuana and there has been a substantial development in Cannabis related stocks as well as contentions with government taxation on its growth. Before people consider buying into Marijuana companies or agreeing with the insurmountable amount of garbage promoted on the Internet, there are a number of factors to consider. 

Health considerations:
(1)
Long-term effects of marijuana and THC is well documented. Adolescence smoking leads to accelerated OFC myelin maturation, which impedes neural development thus degenerating the user's lifetime cognitive potential. 

Active and exclusive(people who only smoke marijuana) users after an MRI data process was used with voxel-based morphology techniques (VBM), which uses the University of Oxford's Resonance Imaging of the Brain Software Library 4.0 have determined a few key findings.  It was determined that there was a general correlation with marijuana users  having a lower OFC grey matter volume(lower IQ), but a higher neural connectivity. The higher neural connectivity required a much higher glucose intake in order to maintain which makes efficiency questionable. Imagine this as a car with a smaller engine running at a higher RPM that it wasn't built for. They have determined a much smaller OFC volume if the users began at the age of 16 indicating a degree of age onset dependency. 

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdvdDZC7Ek3HiX7ZZYP5kgRVjGnpTxJGs2aDkvedvepvo/image.png)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSrMWVcVWH3bUV4idzQuxwL59RNvJAN1xybVqaqkcfErD/image.png)
(2)
The use of THC has direct links to a reduction in a cannabis users' ability to accurately identify facial emotions after a study on facial recognition.  The subtlety of the study however was that when cannadidiol(CBD) was used alone in low quantities, it improved recognition compared to the control group.  However related to THC inhalation, "research clearly shows a reduced recognition to both positive and negative emotional valence which suggests that both recognition accuracy and interpretation of ambiguous faces are important in the aetiology[cause] of the disorder[major depression]", indicating a negative effect on depression. CBD alone can block these effects to a degree, and taken alone has the possibility to improve recognition.

Active ingredients of Cannabis can be found in (3). And while there are many cannabinoids(86 identified), they are less prominent and the yield seems more like an opportunity cost. There are other properties such as anti-inflammatory uses and anti-oxidation in low doses, however it's clouded by the documented effects on neurology and those in favor of recreational use. 

Investment considerations:
Much of the major hype regarding the legalization of Marijuana in Canada has been very successful for investing late 2017 to January 2018, in some cases receiving a 5x return in the case of WEED and ACB(Toronto Exchange). The major problem I found was that the entirety of the equity movement is based more on hype than it is on results of finalizing legalization which are still under discussion and realistic return expectations. As of this moment when I looked at the technical charts for the stocks themselves, it seems that there still needs to be a price drop to normalize the sector growth.

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeRrZ5dpLETN6AouVk1fjfNEmcrF2czQfsiUk67c2GFUi/image.png)

Subtracting financial trade secrets(not provided in this image), I'm expecting a decrease in the price and market cap of Marijuana related companies up to legalization. In my belief and understanding, much of the hype regarding these companies has died off following the same degree of growth penny hype stocks have. Institutional investments will likely hold off on purchasing shares until there is a solid foundations of sales, which will also likely fall short after the initial hype factor dies off.

A much larger and in-depth analysis will be performed later on closer to the full legalization date of July 1, 2018 which will focus on the projected performance, a more detailed analysis on the effects and important medical considerations after an Oil & Gas report and Machine Learning development. Suggestions would be lovely.

References:
1. http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/111/47/16913.full.pdf
2. http://www.europeanneuropsychopharmacology.com/article/S0924-977X(14)00325-3/abstract
3. http://www.sky.org/data/grow/c2.html
4. https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/marijuana-sector-firms-get-marketing-pushback-as-legalization-looms-1.3895156
5. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/canadians-prefer-dried-cannabis-over-edibles-hashish-vape-pens/