Tuesday: Tax-Deductible Gifts Make Change

Deductible

International equities were under pressure today, with most finger pointing towards the ongoing concerns about Greece. U.S. markets were not immune to the risk-off sentiment especially with almost no market moving economic updates. Again, investors have little incentive to push the tape at this point of the year. The S&P 500 declined today by 0.51% to 2,080.

Cannabis stocks saw mixed action today with decent volume given the time of year. We have one trading day left for the year, not that we are counting down! MJIC Marijuana Index was unchanged and Benzinga 420 Marijuana Index declined by 2.4%.

Daily Positive: Decent volume for the holiday season. Is this an early indication of shifting sentiments for the New Year?

Daily Negative: Red flags are flying today at Medbox (OTCQB: MDBX). The company announced today that it had to amend and restate prior period financial results. It’s not surprising to see a legal investigation ensue. Interestingly, the stock rallied from a double digit decline, closing up 6.86% on the day.

This is one of the last days of 2014 where you can make donations to impact your taxes and tax write-offs for the year. We want to call special attention to the fact that while many people made money this year trading cannabis stocks, there are still a lot of people sitting in jail for egregious prison sentences for possession of marijuana. In the United States, some people are sentenced with mandatory minimums for “drug crime” (we hate that term). This means that charged persons will have to serve a sentence for at least the minimums outlined. For cannabis possession, these minimums are severe and destructive.

The dichotomy of some people making money, while others languish in prison over the same plant is unacceptable. These laws must be amended along with de-scheduling cannabis. Furthermore, these issues slow the progress of the industry, so if you’re only interested from a fiscal perspective, consider that as fact.

Donating to the following organizations is a great way to support their work to change the laws and to provide some relief in your taxes come April:

Drug Policy Alliance - DPA is trying to get to $100K in matched donations before December 31, 2014, so now is a great time to jump in for a tax-deductible gift.

Marijuana Policy Project - You can make tax-deductible or non tax-deductible donations through the MPP’s “Support Our Work” section of the site.

The moment we forget about the bigger issues surrounding this industry is the moment we fail to truly progress.

 

The discussion above is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer of, or solicitation for, any investment services or products offered by the author. The author is not making any investment recommendations and the opinions above do not constitute investment advice. Reference to above indices [and companies] is based on information provided by sources the author believes to be credible. Investing in the cannabis industry, as with other industries, presents certain risks including the risk of loss on an investment.

Morgan is a Founding Partner and Managing Director of Poseidon Asset Management. He is the Chief Investor of their Cannabis Focused Fund. Morgan previously worked for a privately owned Registered Investment Adviser and earlier was at UBS Financial Services focusing on wealth management. Morgan believes in the potential of the cannabis industry and likes having an active involvement as it develops. You can follow him on Twitter @PoseidonAsset.

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