munKNEE.com's pure-play Pot Stock Index is down 15% YTD but the American Multi-State Operators (MSOs) sector within the index is UP 11.9% compared to the Canadian Licensed Producers (LPs) sector which is DOWN 38.1%. This article identifies these hidden gems and how well they have done since the beginning of 2020.

Of the approximately 300 pot stocks that actively trade 25 are *pure plays deriving 100% of their revenue from the sale of cannabis or cannabis-related products (that's just 8% of the total) and, as such, they are included in munKNEE.com's Pot Stock Index.

The 12 best performers since the beginning of 2020 by  and specific constituents are as follows:

Licensed Producers

1. Rubicon (ROMJF) +57.2%
2. Neptune (NEPT) +6.9%

Multi-State Operators

1. TerrAscend (TRSSF) +68.9%
2. cbdMD (YCBD) +62.4%
3. Trulieve (TCNNF) +59.0%
4. Green Thumb (GTBIF) +47.2%
5. Curaleaf (CURLF) +36.6%
6. Planet 13 (PLNHF) +36.2%
7. Jushi (JUSHF) +35.5%
8. Columbia (CCHWF) +31.3%
9. AYR (AYRSF) +1.3%

Consumption Devices Category

1. Greenlane (GNLN) +18.4%

Further details regarding the equal-weighted pure-play munKNEE.com Pot Stock Index are as follows:

1. *The 25 pure-play constituents in the PSI are just that - pure - deriving 100% of their revenue from the sale of cannabis or cannabis-related products. As such, unlike every marijuana ETF (see this TalkMarkets article) and every other cannabis tracking index (see this TalkMarkets article), the PSI  excludes  "wanna-be" companies that generate little, if any, of their total revenue from the cannabis industry so as to reflect the true health of the marijuana industry in the U.S. and Canada. Such companies include GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH), Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), Abbvie, (ABBV), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), Innovative Industrial Properties REIT (IIPR), New Age Beverages (NBEV) and Alcanna (LQSIF).
2. The official definition of a "penny" stock is one that trades below US$5/share but, when it comes to pot stocks, that is where 92% of the total universe trades, so the more literal definition of stocks that trade for less than US$1/share is used.
3. The market capitalization of the 25 constituents in the PSI is US$962.8M, on average.

The fact that the stocks mentioned above are up YTD suggests that the companies are well managed, well-financed, and executing their respective business plans in such a manner as to have the confidence of serious marijuana stock investors. As such, they deserve your attention...