To say that last year was a challenging one for cannabis stocks is an understatement. The cannabis industry had a tough time in 2019, with many companies trying to survive by relying on mergers and acquisitions.

What Happened With Tilray

A well-known name in the industry, Tilray Inc TLRY, has seen its shares fall 86.87% since September of 2018.

Nonetheless, CEO Brendan Kennedy is optimistic about its future as well as the future of the cannabis industry in general. In a Jan. 24 interview with Bloomberg, Kennedy shared his perspective.

"When I look at the industry, I think that markets tend to massively overestimate short-term opportunities and massively underestimate the long term opportunities," Kennedy said. 

More Countries Will Join

Tilray's CEO said that on the global level, the cannabis industry is still in "day one" because adult-use recreational cannabis is only legalized in two countries, Uruguay and Canada, meaning that only 1% of the countries in the world have done so. Kennedy expects to see at least three to four countries in the next 12 to 18 months to follow up.

He added that the hype the market experienced a year ago came from outsized expectations.

"While expectations were lofty a year ago. I think that expectations today have settled down and I think valuations today are much more realistic compared to where they were a year ago," he said.

Kennedy also sees a long-term strategic opportunity in Europe in the following years.

On the subject of federal legalization in the U.S., Kennedy thinks both political parties are going to be good for the industry. He noted that in November, there will be 10 to 12 Republican senators representing a district or a state that has legalized medical cannabis and/or adult-use cannabis.