As of March, the value of Canada’s six largest cannabis companies totalled almost $43 billion—that’s a lot of cash (or kush).

But not all the buzz is reserved for the biggest firms.

Take these four B.C.-based companies, all of which have the potential to play in the pot space for the foreseeable future.

BURB

CATEGORY: Cannabis products, accessories and clothing

LOCATION: Its first, flagship store just opened in Port Coquitlam…on 4/20

ACTIVE SINCE: 2019

Cannabis stocks were flat as a pancake on Wednesday on the back of a lacklustre week for cannabis stocks across North American markets.

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, inched down 0.1% to close at 282.4 points. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was up 0.2% at C$20.59. 

Buds

ICC International Cannabis Corp (CSE:WRLD.U) (OTCMKTS:WLDCF) shares soared earlier on Wednesday after it announced that it has entered into an agreement with Organic Flower Investment Groups Inc to access distribution in the European market.

Just when you think it couldn't get any better for marijuana stock investors, the industry just keeps proving skeptics wrong. Following an abysmal fourth quarter that saw some pot stocks lose half of their value, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, the first tradable cannabis exchange-traded fund, is up more than 50% year to date, with many well-known marijuana stocks at or near all-time highs.

Canadian cannabis firm Aphria’s (TSX:APHA)(NYSE:APHA) stock has taken a severe beating to trade 32% lower after the company released its fiscal Q3 2019 results on April 15, and the share price has never recovered since, even after the overly positive news of a key tender win in budding Germany. Should investors consider buying the current valuation lows?

The company is an intriguing marijuana play right now, not only as a result of negative publicity recently but on an operating efficiency and worrying growth trend basis, too.

Health Canada is changing its process for issuing cannabis licences, in a bid to reduce wait times, after a review found a "significant amount" of its resources was used to approve numerous applications for facilities that have yet to materialize years later.

Effective immediately, new applicants for licences to cultivate, process or sell cannabis — for either medical or recreational purposes — must now have a fully built site that meets the regulations when they submit their application, the government agency said.

Prior to this, cannabis licence applicants could submit an application with their plans and get approval before building.

Believe it or not, marijuana stocks proved fallible in April, with the first tradable cannabis exchange-traded fund, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, falling by 1.6% during the month. Of course, there's no need to cry a river, with the ETF tripling the performance of the S&P 500 on a year-to-date basis.

However, a budding cannabis market doesn't mean you can simply throw a dart and select a winner.

If anything, investors should be more critical of pot stocks now, with the industry still nascent and contending with numerous supply chain-based growing pains. As I look at the more than 50 marijuana stocks I regularly follow, I see three that should be avoided like the plague in May.

U.S.-China trade worries are back in a big way this week, with TSX futures down on the possibility of increased tariffs that threaten to inflame the Sino-American trade war.

Risky assets have been taking a battering as a result, with Canadian marijuana taking a hit. Indeed, the wobble in the markets couldn’t have come at a worse time for the burgeoning cannabis sector, with Statistics Canada reporting that Canadian marijuana retail sales fell by a whopping 7% in February compared to the data for January.

Green Growth links up with Abercrombie & Fitch to sell CBD-infused products 

MJardin Group, Inc. ("MJardin" or "the Company") (CSE:MJAR) (OTCQX:MJARF), a leader in premium cannabis production, today announced its financial and operating results for the year ending December 31, 2018. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

The marijuana industry has come blazing out of the gates in 2019, with the first-ever tradable cannabis ETF, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, up 51% through the end of April. That not-too-shabby performance, which essentially triples the return of the S&P 500, signals how excited investors are about the long-term prospects for legal weed.

Then again, April was arguably the "worst" month of the year for pot stocks, with the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF declining by 1.6%. Of the 52 marijuana stocks I regularly track, nearly half of them (25) ended April lower.