Canopy Growth Corp  (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC) is going through some tough times. After reaching a peak closing price of $69.90 in April, the stock embarked on a major bear trend, which saw it fall to $52.87 on Monday.

The sell-off correlated with two developments: a May selloff that affected almost all markets worldwide, and a Q4 report that showed a loss of over $300 million. Given that Canopy kept falling after stocks rebounded in May, it’s likely that the Q4 loss was the main factor behind its tanking share price.

Cannabis has been demonized for decades, labelled as a gateway drug that leads to harder drug abuse and associated with violence, crime and antisocial behaviour. In a surprise move, Canada, the only developed country to do so, legalized the recreational consumption of marijuana, becoming only the second country globally to do so after Uruguay. This sparked a rash of initial public offerings (IPOs) among cannabis cultivators as they sought to cash on what is believed to be a multi-billion global industry.

What happened

Shares of Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) popped more than 20% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after it reached a deal to extend a lock-up period with its largest shareholder.

So what

The Canadian marijuana company signed a nonbinding letter of intent with private equity firm Privateer Holdings, which will extend the lock-up period for up to two years on the 75 million Tilray shares it owns.

Cannabis stocks are down significantly in the past two months and investors are trying to decide if the pullback presents a good opportunity to buy marijuana stocks in their portfolios.

Growing pains

Every new industry goes through periods of volatility, and the rapid rise of the cannabis sector from penny-stock outliers to mainstream media darlings with billion dollar market caps is one for the record books.

The story continues to unfold and there will likely be a handful of big winners and many more losers once the dust settles and the industry begins to mature.

Cannabis stocks are hot again. After a dismal performance in the latter part of 2018 for most cannabis stocks, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction during the first half of this year.

The big Canadian cannabis producers haven't been the biggest winners, though. Which cannabis stocks delivered the most impressive year-to-date gains? Here are the five best cannabis stocks of 2019 so far -- and which ones appear likely to keep the momentum going.

The marijuana industry is evolving before our eyes. What had once been a taboo industry that was dominated by the black market and dried cannabis flower will soon be no more.

Following the recreational legalization of cannabis in Canada last October, and the ongoing push to give the green light to medical and recreational weed at the state level, acceptance of marijuana into legal channels is growing.

Marijuana stocks have undergone a striking change so far in 2019. In the first quarter, it was game on for investors, with 14 cannabis stocks gaining more than 70%, and the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF galloping forward by about 50%. The prospect of rapid sales growth and the impending launch of derivative pot products in Canada (e.g., edibles, infused beverages, vapes, topicals, and concentrates) sent anything cannabis related soaring.

It must surely be occurring to marijuana investors en masse that the projected demand estimated by Statistics Canada pre-legalization may now seem a little optimistic.

The next big thing will likely be ancillary products, such as vaping products, cannabis-infused drinks, and edibles.

However, there’s a chance that this market will take even longer to settle into profitability, let alone predictability.

Thus far, 2019 has been a tale of two halves for the marijuana industry. In the first quarter, cannabis stocks were practically unstoppable, with the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, a basket of more than four dozen pot stocks of various weightings, rising by roughly 50% and 14 well-known weed stocks surging by no less than 70% in a three-month span.

The share price of Canopy Growth Corp. plunged by just under five per cent in early morning trading as investors absorbed the news that Bruce Linton, the company’s co-chief executive officer was abruptly ousted from the company.

Linton, an early pioneer in the Canadian cannabis industry who went on to build the biggest cannabis company in the world by market value, was removed as co-chief executive officer and board member of Canopy Growth Corp. effective immediately, according to a press release put out by the company early Wednesday morning.

In an interview with CNBC, Linton confirmed that he had been “terminated”.