These Are The 10 Biggest Companies In The Marijuana Business (With Market Caps In The Billions)

Now that recreational marijuana is being legalized all across our great nation the ‘Big Business’ of weed is playing catch up. And by ‘playing catchup’ I mean ‘these companies are already worth ungodly sums of money’. If, like me, you were once a huge fan of the show Better Off Ted then you might have trouble believing that ‘Viridian’ is a real company, but rest assured it is.

Viridian Capital Investors is an investment group specializing in the marijuana sector, and they’ve released an annual report (PDF here) detailing the 2014 market, the 2015 market outlook, as well as the biggest players in the weed game right now. Here are the 10 largest companies in the marijuana sector right now (via 247 Wall Street):

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes therapeutics using a proprietary cannabinoid product platform. The company is included in the Nasdaq biotechnology index and has a market cap of $2.25 billion. Shares closed at $114.11 on Friday, and the stock’s 52-week range is $58.16 to $126.78.

Medbox Inc. is consulting services firm specializing in dispensary and licensing applications. The reported market cap for the company is $242.3 million. Medbox trades over the counter on the OTCQB under the ticker symbol MDBX.

Medical Marijuana Inc. is an investment and mergers and acquisition firm that trades over the counter on the OTCPink board. One of its portfolio companies, KannaLife Sciences, is developing a target drug candidate for treat concussions. The company’s reported market cap is $134 million.

PharmaCyte Biotech Inc. is a clinical stage biotech firm developing and commercializing cancer and diabetes treatments based on live-cell encapsulation technology, including a treatment using cannabinoids. The company’s reported market cap is $133.1 million and it trades over the counter under the symbol PMCB.

Cannabis Sativa Inc. has a reported market cap of $120.1 million and trades over the counter under the symbol CBDS. The company develops, manufactures, distributes and sells herbal-based skin products. Former two-term Libertarian governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson, is the company’s president and CEO.

CannaVEST Corp. develops, produces and markets hemp-based cannabidiol products to the nutraceutical industry. The company’s reported market cap $88.2 million. The stock trades over the counter under the symbol CANV.

CannaGrow Holdings is a lessor, liaison and consultant to licensed marijuana growers in the state of Colorado. Because growing marijuana is strictly controlled and must meet strict site requirements, there are several companies that specialize in real estate issues. CannaGrow’s market cap is reported at $83.7 million, and it trades over the counter under the symbol CGRW.

Chuma Holdings Inc. is a consulting service that provides turnkey financing and support solutions to the legal cannabis industry in California. The company’s reported market cap is $60.1 million. Chuma trades over the counter on the OTCQB under the symbol CHUM.

Cannabis Science Inc. specializes in cannabis formulation-based drug development and related consulting. The company’s reported market cap is $58.6 million. The stock trades over the counter on the OTCQB under the symbol CBIS.

CannLabs Inc. has a reported market cap of $56.9 million. The company provides consulting services and cannabis testing technologies and methodologies. The company’s stock trades over the counter under the symbol CANL.

Major takeaway: the market for weed/marijuana/cannabis right now is MASSIVE. All of these companies currently have market caps within the tens of millions, and are only continuing to grow. Weed is BIG BUSINESS now.

For more on the Viridian report you can click on over to 247 Wall Street and/or click over to Viridian’s website.