Investing in the Wal-Mart of Weed

Some call it the Wal-Mart of Weed

Others have called it the Coca-Cola of Cannabis.

But I just call it one of the best investments I ever made.

It was in 2015 that I decided to throw a few bucks behind a little-known cannabis company operating out of Smiths Falls, Canada.

There was nothing particularly exciting about it at the time, and there were a handful of others that I also invested in.

But it was this one that delivered one of the biggest gains of my career. And I've had some big ones, including a 380% gain on Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), a 412% gain on First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), and a 648% gain on Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM). The latter, by the way, was ultimately acquired by Amazon for more than $13 billion.

But this one...

This company that generated revenue by growing and selling cannabis will always go down as one of the smartest investments I ever made.

How to Pull a 1,257% Gain on a Cannabis Stock

The date was September 30, 2015, when I pulled the trigger.

I ponied up for a piece of this Canadian cannabis stock, paying $1.60 a share.

Last month, the stock hit $21.72 a share.

That's a gain of 1,257%.

Now, it's not that I've never landed a quadruple-digit gain before. But there's something special about this one.

You see, when I first started investing in the cannabis space, a lot of folks told me I was crazy.

They told me I was taking on too much risk.

They told me I was being irresponsible.

But there was never anything particularly risky or irresponsible about that investment I made.

Look, I'm not saying I'm the sharpest tool in the shed. But I know a good deal when I see one. And back in 2015, you would've had to be blinder than Stevie Wonder to miss the signals.

Become an Expert

Creating wealth is not nearly as hard as some folks would lead you to believe.

All you need to do is become an expert in the sector you choose to invest in.

So, for instance, if you want to profit from the energy sector, you read and study everything you can about energy.

What are the trends?

What are the latest technologies?

Where's the lion's share of investment dollars going?

If you want to invest in the mining sector, you figure out which metals and materials will be most in demand over the next five years. Figure out where the demand will be before the rest of the herd, and sell into the excitement. I made a fortune in lithium and rare earths doing this very thing.

And if you want to invest in the cannabis sector, you identify which markets are the closest to legalization, which companies have a first-mover advantage, and which have the connections it takes to get their product to a market that's still heavily burdened with prohibition.

Bottom line: Becoming "an expert" is really nothing more than doing a lot of reading, a lot of interviewing, and a lot of networking.

That's what I've been doing in the cannabis space for a very long time, and the results have been extraordinary.

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Just Getting Warmed Up

Now, the stock I was telling you about earlier is Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED).

Today, Canopy is the biggest cannabis player in the world.

You see, Canopy isn't just a Canadian cannabis company anymore. Today, Canopy has operations all across the globe. It boasts a market cap of $3.5 billion, and as we head into 2018, it's still leading the pack.

Of course, the big money has already been made on Canopy.

While I do expect to see continued growth in 2018, you're just not going to get the biggest bang for you buck with this one - assuming you're not already in.

There are, however, a number of up-and-coming cannabis stocks that could deliver the same gains we've seen with Canopy Growth Corporation - and in a shorter amount of time.

Make no mistake: The legal cannabis market is just getting warmed up.

$5.2 Billion Up for Grabs

Next year, cannabis will become completely legal in Canada.

That's right, the entire country is set to end prohibition on July 1, 2018.

And while that does sound impressive, it's peanuts compared to California, which will fully legalize cannabis on January 1, 2018.

California is the sixth-largest economy in the world, boasting a GDP of more than $2.4 trillion. That's trillion with a "T."

Think about that for a moment.

The sixth-largest economy in the world is about to legalize cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes. This is a game changer of epic proportions.

In its first year of legalization, the Golden State is expected to do $5.2 billion in cannabis sales. That's more than the entire GDP of 42 different countries!

I don't mean to sound brash, but if you have any sense about you, you'll get yourself some exposure to the cannabis companies that are getting a piece of this action right now.

Some of these companies are listed in my "Beginner's Guide to Investing in Cannabis" e-book, which you can get access to by clicking here.

You can also get a quick tutorial on legal cannabis investing in my "Introduction to Cannabis Investing" video that I put together for those who are new to investing in cannabis. You can watch that here.

Although the past few years have been absolutely amazing for cannabis investors, 2018 is going to be even better. And I strongly suggest getting in the game now, before the start of the year. Because, mark my words, once legalization kicks off in California, it's going to be an absolute thrill ride. And we're going to be making an absolute fortune.

Click here now to get started.

To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth...

Jeff Siegel@JeffSiegel on Twitter

Jeff is the founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks, a private investment community that capitalizes on opportunities in alternative energy, organic food markets, legal cannabis, and socially responsible investing. He has been a featured guest on Fox, CNBC, and Bloomberg Asia, and is the author of the best-selling book, Investing in Renewable Energy: Making Money on Green Chip Stocks. For more on Jeff, go to his editor's page.