When it comes to real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the cannabis industry, Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR) is the first among equals. IIP holds 76 marijuana-cultivation properties, and I like to joke that it's the industry's landlord. It's also one of my highest-conviction stocks.
The prospect of marijuana legalization has profound impacts for every player in the business, and IIP is no exception. I've spoken with a few of the stock's skeptics, and their refrain is always the same: Things are great right now, but legalization will wipe it out, so don't touch it. As a shareholder, I don't believe that this argument is true -- but let's break the issue down into bite-sized pieces to analyze it.