*By Carlo Versano*
Cannabis stocks continued their run Monday on renewed speculation that more big-name companies will add pot to their recreation portfolios.
The latest deal ー Canada's Nova Scotia Liquor inking an initial purchase order with pharmaceutical company Tilray ー sent shares of the latter up as much as 30 percent the day before its first earnings report as a public company. The stocks of Cronos and Canopy Growth, which earlier this month earned an investment from Corona-maker [Constellation Brands](https://cheddar.com/videos/corona-brewer-adds-cannabis-to-its-booze-business-in-4-billion-deal), rose too.
Sam Masucci, CEO and co-founder of ETF Managers Group, is trying to give investors a chance to capitalize on such gains.
He joined Cheddar Monday after ringing the opening bell at the NYSE to detail the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF, which launched in 2017. The fund tracks nearly 40 foreign and domestic companies that Masucci said may benefit from the production and sale of cannabis, both medicinal and recreational.
The ETF includes companies as varied as Scotts Miracle-Gro (which is developing hydroponics), Canopy Growth, and tobacco giant Phillip Morris.
Companies in Canada, where marijuana will be legalized for recreational sale in October, make up 40 percent of the basket of stocks, with 20 percent coming from the U.S.
While marijuana remains a Schedule I drug at the federal level in this U.S., legalization has gained serious momentum on a state basis.
Masucci said this fund is intended to capture some of that growing bipartisan acceptance and make a bet that medicinal marijuana will be legalized nationally.
"I think the federal government is starting to come around," he said.
A [market report](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/data-shows-medical-cannabis-could-reach-usd-19-billion-in-sales-by-2027-807442325.html) released Monday predicts medicinal marijuana sales will hit $19 billion domestically within the next decade, with worldwide legal spending on cannabis reaching $57 billion.
That's the kind of upside exposure Masucci said he wanted to deliver to investors with the creation of the first "pure play" cannabis ETF.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/legal-pot-business-booming).
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
