Yesterday I learned about a rally that was to be held outside the proceedings of a UN meeting on the war on drugs.

While I’m never one to shy away from taking full advantage of the First Amendment, I find that most rallies of this sort serve as more of a distraction than a positive instigator of change.

Covered in the WeedBlog, I found this:

The activists will stage performance art pieces, including slam poetry readings. Visual art depicting the harms of drug prohibition, from as far away as Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, will be displayed.

Because, yes, poetry readings and performance art seem like the perfect tools to stop psychotic world leaders from continuing a very profitable war.

Law enforcement unions, private prison companies, politicians on the take — there’s a lot of loot to go around, and you better believe that a white kid with dreadlocks reading a poem about fascism and his need for a “safe place” isn’t going to end a nearly century-old drug war.

There’s Nothing Better

As an adversary of cannabis prohibition and a socially responsible investor, I find few causes more exciting to invest in than legal cannabis.

You see, the success of legal cannabis companies today makes it increasingly more difficult for the state to continue its violent war on drugs, which, by the way, you and I continue to pay for with our tax dollars.

Secondly, the legal cannabis industry is insanely profitable.

Helping to end the drug war — and make money in the process? You can’t get better than that.

Of course, not all legal cannabis stocks are going to be winners. In fact, I would argue that 95% of them are garbage. But it’s that special 5% that I’ve been using to make a ridiculous amount of money over the past couple of years.

Canada Pays Off

Most of the legal cannabis stocks that have been paying off for me lately are Canadian.

This is because Canada is on the cusp of legalization across the entire country.

Companies like Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX-V: CGC), OrganiGram (TSX-V: OGI), and Aphria (TSX-V: APH) have actually been crushing it. Check it out:

Legal cannabis stocks in the U.S. aren’t quite as exciting right now as those in Canada. However, it won’t take much more than some positive news out of Washington to move the needle.

For instance, the DEA recently announced that it’s evaluating whether or not to downgrade the classification of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

That decision is expected to come this summer. If the DEA does decide to downgrade the marijuana classification, we should see a nice pop of adrenaline shoot through the industry — and plenty of U.S. cannabis companies will benefit.

Stocks like Golden Leaf Holdings (CSE: GLH) and Kaya Holdings (OTCBB: KAYS) — two legal cannabis penny stocks — could easily see 20% to 30% gains almost immediately.

Of course, nothing is set in stone. And pinning your hopes and dreams on a decision from the government isn’t really a solid investment strategy. But if you are looking for a high-risk/high-reward scenario, both Golden Leaf and Kaya Holdings are worth looking at.