Weed is the new blockchain (Source Yahoo)

There’s a new craze in the stock market — cannabis.

Over the last few weeks, shares of Tilray, a Canadian cannabis company, have become a fascination among investors as the stock has gained more than 700% since being priced at $17 during its July IPO.

In early trading on Wednesday, Tilray shares were up over 40% after the company’s CEO Brendan Kennedy said on CNBC’s Mad Money that cannabis is a “hedge” for pharmaceutical companies and investors because it can replace prescription opioids and other painkillers. The stock has now more than doubled in the last week.

Kennedy also argued that all alcohol companies should be in the cannabis space to hedge their business as well. On Tuesday, shares of Tilray rose 29% after the company received DEA approval to import cannabis to the U.S. for medical research. With the latest move, Tilray’s market cap is now in excess of $18 billion, giving the company a valuation which exceeds that of Molson Coors, Conagra, and J. M. Smucker. These kinds of stock moves also confirm that when it comes to rampant speculation among investors rabid to find the next big thing, cannabis is the new blockchain.

Citron Research, run by short-seller Andrew Left, said Wednesday that, “The move in Tilray is beyond comprehension. No one needs a market pundit to explain that. This is just the dynamic of trading low float stocks.” Citron added that it is short Tilray and will maintain a “manageable position until rationality sets in.” Earlier this month, Citron had said Tilray’s post-IPO spike showed retail investors going mad and that the firm wanted to short shares. Since then, Tilray shares have roughly tripled.