Mention legal cannabis, and many people think of the weed stores that have sprung up in Boston, Denver, Seattle, and other major U.S. cities. Inside, infused brownies and vape pens are sold next to branded joints and neatly packaged bags of marijuana presented in a way that wouldn’t be out of place in any American mall.

Cannabis stocks were flat as a pancake on Thursday across North American markets.

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, was down 0.3% to 221.7 points on Thursday. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was down 1.7% to C$16.95. The OTCQX Cannabis Index was up 0.7% at 723.7 points.

In 2016, Australia legalised cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes under the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Act 2016. The amendment provided relief to the cannabis sector and enabled the prospective producers to apply for the necessary licenses to grow the crop legally. In January 2018, the government made another breakthrough by uplifting the barriers to export cannabis in the overseas markets.

The cannabis space is growing like a weed, thanks largely to Canada's legalization of recreational marijuana last October along with an increasing number of U.S. states giving the green light to the drug for medical use. Moreover, the industry is widely projected to be one of the fastest growing over at least the next decade as more countries -- including the United States -- are expected to eventually fully legalize marijuana. So it makes good sense for risk-tolerant investors to want exposure to the cannabis realm.

Summer may be here, but the sun is not shining on marijuana shareholders. After a series of quarterly reports that missed analyst expectations, the sector as a whole began tumbling, with Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Science ETF sliding 29% since March. While the marijuana sector is growing faster than ever, expenses are beginning to spiral out of control, with no clear path to profitability. Granted, it’s normal for young companies to post losses, but the fact that marijuana losses are growing ever larger as a percentage of revenue is not a good sign.

Since the beginning of the cannabis craze, Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC) has remained at the top of the heap. The stock has the highest market capitalization, the highest revenue, and the largest producer of pot in the Canadian cannabis industry.

But lately, the stock has been facing some issues. First off, there’s the issue of supply. The company is buying up production properties, but still hasn’t managed to produce enough pot to meet demand. Then there is demand itself.

Some argue that Canopy is focused too much on the United States expansion, and isn’t looking to meet Canadian needs first, even though marijuana isn’t even legal through the U.S.

Canadian pot producer Aurora Cannabis Inc said on Thursday it had secured a two-year contract to supply medical cannabis to the Italian government.

The company will supply a minimum of 400 kg of medical cannabis to the country, one of the most strictly regulated medical cannabis markets in the world.

Aurora said it will supply cannabis from its Canadian EU GMP certified facilities and imported into Italy through Aurora Deutschland, its wholly-owned European unit.

The supply contract is expected to be signed in September, it added.

Edmonton, Alberta-based Aurora, which had won the first tender in Italy in January 2018, said it will continue to supply medical cannabis to the country according to the contract.

The cannabis industry is going topsy turvy again. It seems we’re back to square one. I’ve made some fine=tuning to come up with the ranking of the top three cannabis companies.

Third best

I view Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA)(NYSE:APHA) as the third best. The current price is $8.12 and is down by 39.5% from early April when the stock zoomed to $13.43. However, I see every retreat as a buying opportunity and good entry point into the cannabis world.

A few months back, the company said the goal is to hit $1 billion sales. I thought the boast was too ambitious. But today that figure is possible in the coming years. Also, Aphria was plagued by negative publicity during those times.

The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. (TSX: FIRE) is readying itself for Canada's "legalization 2.0" by entering into a definitive agreement with the private company Truverra Inc.

The deal is expected to be valued at around CA$20 million ($15.3 million). 

Why It Matters

The acquisition of Truverra gives Supreme further access to the Canadian and international markets through Truverra's Canadian Clinical Cannabinoids Inc. (CCC) subsidiary, the company said in a Wednesday press release. 

This includes CCC's 5,000-square-foot Scarborough, Ontario facility, where Supreme said it plans to produce its extracts, including products like concentrates that will be legal for sale later in the year.

As marijuana becomes more common and less taboo, veteran and novice users alike are becoming more aware of the way human bodies react to the plant.

For those who experience seasonal, plant, or food allergies, the question of “Could I be allergic to cannabis?” may arise.

And if a cannabis allergy exists, what types of signs and symptoms should they look out for?