A strain on cash and operations is not a bad thing

CEO Nick Kovacevich has acknowledged that with the sudden growth in sales has added to the company's supply struggles. "While we are confident in the Company's upward trajectory, we acknowledge the impact that our dramatic growth has had on our gross margins, in particular, the utilization of air freight and additional cost incurring quality-control measures at our receiving warehouse to meet demand," he said.

With large markets opening in California and Canada, the company's operations are a bit strained and at the end of November 2018, the company had just $3 million in cash and equivalents on its books, down from the $13.5 million it had in August. But having these kinds of problems isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Cannapharmarx, Inc. has completed its acquisition of Alternative Medical Solutions, Inc. (AMS)—an Ontario-based, late-stage marijuana licensed producer applicant—as part of its efforts to re-enter the cannabis space.

Hanover CPMD Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cannapharmarx, Inc., has acquired all issued and outstanding securities of AMS for total consideration of about $12.7 million, consisting of cash, common stock and a promissory note.

The legal marijuana industry is big business. According to investment firm Cowen & Co., the cannabis industry is expected to generate $75 billion in sales by 2030. That's up from a previous forecast of $50 billion by 2026. That's a lot of dollars, and presumably some companies have to come out a winner.

The global marijuana market is growing, and investors are eager to invest in marijuana stocks likely to benefit from legalization.

The opening of Canada's recreational marijuana marketplace in October and the passage of propot laws in three more U.S. states mean the industry made big progress last year, but not every marijuana stock is worth owning.

While there are plenty of investment options for investors, here's why I think Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), Aurora Cannabis(NYSE:ACB), and KushCo Holdings (NASDAQOTH:KSHB)are top marijuana stocks to buy in 2019.

The price of pot has risen more than 17 per cent since it became legal for recreational use, according to Statistics Canada.

With more folks lighting up, and thorny supply issues in some provinces, the price has jumped to $8.02 per gram from $6.83.

Using an updated version of its crowdsourcing app, Statistics Canada collected price information prior to legalization Oct. 17, and compared it to the average price between that day and the end of 2018.

Of the 385 price quotes it used from that period, half of those purchases were from legal suppliers. 

Legal pot costs more. The average price for dried cannabis from a legal supplier was $9.70 per gram, compared to $6.51 from illegal suppliers.

Watching the share prices of legal Canadian marijuana has become something of a pastime in its own right, with every new development in the weed stock space making waves that are interesting to watch – interesting if you’re not invested, that is. If you are, it’s downright nerve-wracking. Shareholders still sticking their necks out for upside have been riding a pretty wild train these last few months, to say the least.

2018 was a wild year for the cannabis industry. Between legalization, short attacks, lawsuits, and the epic Canopy Growth Corp acquisition by Constellation Brands, it was an incredible time to behold. But believe it or not, 2019 could be even bigger–at least for investors. Because while 2018 witnessed the biggest political event in the history of Canadian cannabis, 2019 will witness the biggest financial event: the publishing of quarterly reports that include three months of post-legalization earnings.

It's not easy being green — especially at CES, the world's largest consumer electronics convention. Marijuana tech companies are grumbling about how difficult it is to participate in CES 2019because organizers will not allow them to exhibit.

"We’re not allowed on the showroom floor, and it’s apparently because [organizers] say they haven’t created a category for cannabis vaporizers yet," says Jeff Brown, vice president of public policy and communications at PAX Labs, an electronic vaporizer company. 

The marijuana industry certainly lived up to the hype in 2018. After years of promises that recreational cannabis would be legalized from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada made his vision a reality. As the first industrialized country to give the green light to adult-use pot, Canada opens its doors to what could be billions of dollars in added annual sales within the next two or three years.

Canada's biggest banks are jumping into the marijuana business.

The Bank of Montreal and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce provided an $80 million loan this week to PharmHouse Inc, a joint venture owned in part by Canopy Rivers, the venture investment arm of publicly traded Canadian marijuana cultivator Canopy Growth.

The deal marks the largest debt financing provided by top banks to a private marijuana company.

"Having secured what we believe to be the largest bank debt to a private company in the cannabis industry, one that is supported by a syndicate of three Schedule I banks, PharmHouse has gained substantial momentum," said Canopy CEO Bruce Linton in a press release.