With the total return of AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF falling by 27% during the last 12 months, badly underperforming the wider market's growth of 22%, cannabis stocks are still hurting, continuing their years-long losing streak. With lingering issues with operational efficiency, a brutal bear market for stocks in 2022, and historical turbulence in the market for marijuana, investors in the industry are probably somewhere between losing what's left of their patience and pleading for salvation.

Will shareholders get much-needed relief in 2024, marking the comeback of the marijuana industry as a whole, or is there more pain in store? The future is uncertain, but having a game plan for how to invest will make it easier to navigate whatever happens next.

To make money, vertically integrated cannabis companies need to cultivate marijuana, harvest it, process or manufacture it into the desired retail forms, distribute those products to outlets, and then draw consumers in via advertising. If consumers want more of those products, prices rise. But if there is a large volume of products and an insufficient number of buyers, prices fall, typically taking out the profit margins of producers in the process. And that's exactly what has plagued the North American cannabis industry over the last few years.

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Source Fool.com