Cannabis stocks have struggled in recent months, and July was no exception. The firing of Bruce Linton and the CannTrust scandal definitely shook up the industry.

Although CannTrust was hit the hardest, losing more than 56% of its value during the course of the month, many other marijuana stocks were hit hard as well.

Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis both saw their share prices fall by more than 20% in July.

Cronos Group (TSX:CRON)(NASDAQ:CRON) announced second-quarter earnings results on Thursday before the market open. This quarter’s earnings are quite the event for the cannabis industry given all the profit-boosting regulatory changes this year.

The company nearly tripled earnings during the first six months of 2019 versus the same period last year. However, very few investors showed up for Cronos’s earnings afterparty on the TSX. Despite announcing net revenue of almost $16 million, Cronos shares declined by around 3% on market open. Here’s what happened.

Cannabis N.B. is reporting a $2.2 million loss for the first quarter of 2019 and the provincial cannabis retailer has pointed its finger squarely at the culprit: the illicit market.

The loss comes on the heels of a previous loss of $11.7 million during the first six months of legalization, CTV News Atlantic reports.

A Cannabis N.B. spokesperson noted in a recent statement that unlicensed dispensaries in the province were monopolizing the cannabis retail trade.

Ex-CannTrust CEO warned on governance 

The former chief executive of CannTrust Holdings expressed concern over the pot producer’s corporate governance practices in December, according to a letter obtained by BNN Bloomberg. Peter Aceto warned then-chairman Eric Paul that the issues needed to be resolved, and said that he “feared” his performance as CEO would suffer as a result of them.

Despite a cool, wet start to the growing season, the pot plants were already chest high by mid-July at WeedMD Inc.’s (WMD.TO) farm in southwestern Ontario, a region better known for producing fruit and corn than cannabis.

WeedMD is one of 13 Canadian pot companies that have been granted outdoor cultivation licenses in an industry that predominantly grows in greenhouses or warehouses. It has planted 21,000 plants on 27 acres that formerly grew asparagus, and expects to harvest more than 25,000 kilograms (55,000 pounds) of dried pot from its outdoor operations this year, more than half its total production.

Millennial investors are showing some clear trends in the equities they choose to hold.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger investors want to buy stocks in innovative, current, industries, with technology and Canada’s burgeoning cannabis sector among their favoured investments.

The inaugural Apex Millennial 100 Report from wealth management tech firm Apex Clearing analyzed more than 658,000 investment accounts of those with an average age of 30 years and 10 months, to gain greater understanding of the ‘modern investor’.

Recent developments at leading Colombian legal cannabis cultivator PharmaCielo (TSXV:PCOLO) indicate that the company is ramping up its operations and preparing for commercial production.

The company, which embarked on the acquisition of Australian stock exchange listed Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) for $110 million, has achieved several key milestones in recent months that bode well for its outlook.

The marijuana market has created an appealing opportunity for risk-tolerant investors who are willing to wait out the near-term turbulence. However, while deciding to invest in the cannabis boom might seem like a no-brainer, choosing a winner in the space takes a bit more analysis. Recently, Canadian marijuana firm Hexo Corp (NYSE: HEXO ) has gained a lot of attention and made many traders' short list.

Here's a look at the case for and against Hexo stock.

Scandals and controversy have dented investor confidence in the marijuana sector this year. Top producers have lost billions in value and well-known leaders have resigned as misdeeds and missed expectations were uncovered by the public market. 

Now that the sentiment has swung negative, I believe that savvy, contrarian investors finally have a chance to find value and add some great marijuana stocks to their portfolio. Legal cannabis still presents a massive economic opportunity. 

According to estimates by market specialist Grand View Research, the global legal marijuana industry was worth US$13.8 billion in 2018.

By 2025, the firm forecasts the market to expand to over US$66.3 billion, implying a five-fold return for investors willing to take a long-term bet. 

It's not by accident that the biggest cannabis stocks belong to companies based in Canada. After all, Canada was the first major economic power to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis after already building a thriving medical cannabis market.

But it's also no secret that the U.S. is by far the biggest cannabis market in the world. For Canadian cannabis companies to achieve the growth that they and investors want, they must enter the U.S. market sooner or later.

Several top Canadian cannabis producers have already revealed their strategies for competing in the U.S. market. Here are the three Canadian cannabis stocks that appear to be in the best position to win in the U.S.