More than 20 states have designated the cannabis industry to be essential, allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, and in some cases recreational facilities, to stay open during shelter-in-place orders, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. This has been a boon for owners of cannabis real estate.
Dig Deeper: Innovative Industrial Properties, the only publicly listed landlord in the U.S. focused on cannabis facilities, has purchased five sites totaling around $176 million since March. It owns 49 medical cannabis cultivation facilities and seven dispensaries in 15 states. Shares of the San Diego-based real-estate investment trust have significantly outperformed the broader REIT market since the onset of the pandemic. [WSJ]