I have $ 1,000. Should I invest in cannabis, crypto, or psychedelics?

By Andrew Ward

Portfolio diversity is always ideal, but what if you had to go all-in for exactly $ 1000 for just one?

While some advise playing it safe, others are opting for the riskier but potentially rewarding investment strategies and focusing on emerging areas like crypto, psychedelics, and cannabis. Which of these three is the most attractive for today’s market?

Photo by Mathieu Stern via Unsplash

With every market showing potential, crypto and cannabis have the edge

Each sector received its support in the unscientific surveys this author conducted. In a LinkedIn poll in October, 40% chose cannabis. Crypto got 38% of the vote while psychedelics got 22%.

It should be noted in this article that the pool of LinkedIn respondents is largely from the cannabis industry.

With the traffic coming from Benzinga, much of the readership is eager to learn more about crypto. Great interest is focused on all things related to Elon Musk, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inus. Other interesting topics since the beginning of November have been emerging assets like Floki Inu (CRYPTO: FLOKI) and prominent names like Ethereum.

As of November 2, 2021, only two of the website’s top 20 most-read articles were not about crypto. The first cannabis item to make the list came in at 27. Psychedelics didn’t make the top 50 that day.

Assistance in choosing crypto

Dr. Jeremy Britton, CFO of BostonCoin, believes cannabis and psychedelics are “fascinating solutions to many real-world problems,” but noted their similarities to pharmaceutical stocks.

Britton, a 29 year financial analyst, gave his sector the edge due to its lack of red tape, saying regulations can delay rollouts and ROIs for years.

RELATED: The IRS Comes Clean On Marijuana And Cryptocurrency Taxes – Is Legalization Next?

“It’s often the bureaucracy and regulations that hold back some of these projects for months, if not years,” said Britton. “As much as crypto can be dangerous due to its lack of regulation, the lack of bureaucracy also gives it speed.”

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

Jonathan Seif, managing partner at the disruptive, technology-oriented consulting company The ProFolio Group, also noted the rapidly evolving market of crypto. “With big financial institutions buying billions of dollars in crypto, the industry is not slowing down.”

RELATED: Why Crypto Could Go Mainstream In Cannabis

Although Seif has concerns about the other markets, Seif believes cannabis still “has a significant runway to clear before it can take off in a sustainable manner.” Psychedelics, while exciting, are a decade behind cannabis, he added.

In conversations about previous articles, sources have suggested alternative outcomes where psychedelics could catch up or even exceed cannabis regulations.

Waneta Jaikarran, Director of Brokerage Ops for E1 asset management, prefers crypto and cites ongoing policy decisions.

“Given that the government is going to keep raising the debt ceiling and making things unattractive, crypto was created to counter that,” Jaikarran said.

If possible, she would recommend diversifying funds. “My current prospect for crypto is to use it as a hedge.”

Assistance with cannabis selection

Brett Sifling, director of the Get Invested financial planning program at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, highlighted the potential of cannabis – a market that his company is heavily focused on.

Sifling believes crypto could face major setbacks while public psychedelic corporations are in their early stages.

Photo by Darren415 / Getty Images

Sifling tends to like ETFs AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF. “Instead of betting on just one cannabis company, you would have contact with almost 30 different cannabis companies from multiple industries.”

Rick Batenburg III, Chief Investment Officer at Client Capital Management Group said that every market has its own models and needs to be assessed, calling cannabis “the easiest and smartest choice” to invest in.

Citing impending federal reform and the status of adult use in many states as reasons for his investments, Batenburg says he does not see psychedelics on the path of adult use. He described crypto as “pure forex trading” that is not backed by “real diligence”.

Non-industry professionals like Kristen Bolig, Founder of the home and online security company Security nerd, chose cannabis citing digital concerns.

“As the digital threat landscape to hackers has grown over the past 18 months, investing in anything that is so closely interwoven with the World Wide Web carries many risks,” he warned.

Invest in What You Know

Overall, each sector offers potential if one person understands the space.

Shuan Heng, VP of Operations for the crypto asset tracking site CoinMarketCap, stands up for people who invest in their specialist knowledge.

Heng likes the freedom that crypto creates for people. He also advocated herbal medicines and similar substances, saying, “Many others could be motivated to invest in the mental health potential of psychedelics or the medicinal uses of cannabis.”

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.