Cannabis equities are getting a real bid again, and the money trail points to one catalyst: a DEA administrative hearing scheduled for June 29 that could reshape how the federal government treats marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) has climbed to its highest levels of 2026, with a 103.7% one-year NAV return that dwarfs the North American Marijuana Index's 36.9% gain and the S&P 500's 29.8% return. That kind of divergence doesn't happen without a specific trigger, and here it's regulatory, not seasonal.
Trulieve Cannabis, the ETF's largest position at roughly 30% of assets, began trading on the NYSE this week under the ticker TRLV - a move CEO Kim Rivers described as a milestone tied directly to the reclassification of medical marijuana to Schedule III. Uplisting to a senior exchange has long been the industry's white whale, largely blocked by federal illegality and the accounting headaches that come with it. As state markets mature and back-office infrastructure keeps improving - the kind of platform work reflected in tools like cannabis sales software delaware operators use to manage compliance logs, POS terminals, and inventory across dispensary networks - the operational case for institutional capital gets stronger even while the federal picture stays unsettled. cannabis sales software delaware
The mechanics here matter for anyone running a multi-state operation. Schedule III doesn't legalize adult-use cannabis nationally, but it does pull licensed medical operators out from under 280E, the tax code section that has forced cannabis companies to pay taxes on gross revenue rather than net income because they can't deduct ordinary business expenses like payroll, rent, and marketing. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's April action applied that relief to state-licensed medical products and opened the docket for broader rescheduling - the question the June hearing will actually adjudicate.
What The Hearing Could Change For Operators
The administrative proceeding, expected to run no later than July 15, will examine whether adult-use cannabis products should also move to Schedule III. For dispensary operators and MSOs, the stakes go beyond stock price. A favorable outcome would extend 280E relief across recreational-use business lines, freeing up cash that currently gets absorbed by outsized federal tax bills. It would also, in theory, widen access to banking services and institutional capital that most cannabis retailers have had to do without, relying instead on cash-heavy operations, cashless ATM workarounds, and regional credit unions willing to take on compliance risk.
Cresco Labs' $50 million revolving credit facility from Needham Bank, announced this week, is an early data point on what that access might look like. CEO Charlie Bachtell framed it as a non-dilutive tool for acquisitions and a step toward a future senior-exchange listing - language that echoes what Trulieve just executed. Tilray, not an MSOS holding but a bellwether nonetheless, has signaled it may use proceeds from its at-the-market program to pursue expansion ahead of reform. None of this guarantees the hearing resolves in the industry's favor; DEA administrative proceedings can stretch, stall, or produce narrower outcomes than markets are pricing in.
Reading The Upside Numbers With Caution
Among MSOS holdings, Verano carries the steepest analyst upside at 195%, followed by Jushi Holdings at 183% and Cresco Labs near 99%, according to Koyfin data cited by market watchers. Green Thumb Industries, at 70% upside, outpaces both Trulieve and Curaleaf despite smaller portfolio weighting. Retail sentiment on platforms like Stocktwits has turned "extremely bullish" on MSOS, Trulieve, and Green Thumb, with high message volume accompanying the price action.
Here's the catch, though: price targets and social sentiment are not regulatory outcomes. Wholesale pricing pressure, state-level license caps, and inventory shrinkage remain everyday operational realities for these companies regardless of what happens in Washington. Investors chasing the next uplisting candidate should weigh that a Schedule III determination changes tax treatment and capital access - it does not by itself resolve interstate commerce restrictions, product safety and lab-testing standards, or the patchwork of state compliance regimes that still govern how cannabis is grown, packaged, and sold at the dispensary counter.
