Stuck in quarantine for weeks on end and hoarding necessities, consumers have made their Covid-19 buying preferences extremely clear: toilet paper, frozen pizza, jigsaw puzzles and hand sanitizer.

The coronavirus pandemic has no doubt thrown a massive wrench into business-as-usual for the cannabis industry. While the overall cannabis economy remains relatively strong, some cultivators are struggling far more than others to stay afloat during this crisis. And it’s becoming clear that those faring best have one thing in common: automation. 

COVID-19 and Cannabis Cultivation: The New Reality

Automation’s metamorphosis from a luxury to a necessity is happening all across the economy.

Workers won’t begin planting nearly 20,000 marijuana plants outside WeedMD’s Strathroy greenhouse until early next month, but preparations already are underway for the company’s second outdoor cannabis crop.

WeedMD, a London-headquartered firm – with operations in Strathroy, Aylmer and Bowmanville, east of Oshawa – was one of the first pot producers to grow cannabis outside last year after the government lifted its ban on outdoor cultivation.

Now, head of cultivation Curtis Wallace is taking the lessons learned last year to ensure this season’s crop is the best.

Only seven strains of cannabis are being planted on the 11-hectare farm – formerly an organic asparagus farm – down from 38 varieties last year, Wallace said.

Let me first acknowledge that I don't know for sure which marijuana stocks, if any, will actually double your money over the next five years. I don't know with absolute certainty which stocks, regardless of industry, will double your money over the next 20 years. But neither does anyone else.

Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX-V: RIV) is making a sizable bet that Canada’s appetite for cannabis-infused edibles isn’t being satisfied.

Marijuana stocks have had a tough year so far in 2020. Even moving from last year, we continued to see a large amount of turbulence in the cannabis industry. This turbulence is characterized by massive swings in prices for pot stocks both up and down, and a complete misdirection of the industry as a whole.

Canopy Growth Corp. announced sweeping changes Thursday across its global operations aimed at cutting costs that will result in a charge of up to $800 million and a headcount reduction of 85 full-time positions.

Canopy said it will exit Africa, cease cultivation in Colombia, shut down its Saskatchewan production facility, and halt hemp cultivation in New York due to an oversupply of the product from last year's growing season. 

"When I arrived at Canopy Growth in January, I committed to conducting a strategic review in order to lower our cost structure and reduce our cash burn," said David Klein, Canopy’s chief executive officer, in a statement. 

Canopy Rivers Inc. says it has made a $2-million investment in Dynaleo Inc., an Edmonton-based company focused on edible cannabis gummies.

Dynaleo has built a manufacturing facility and submitted the supporting documentation for a standard processing licence to Health Canada.

The company plans white-label production of CBD and THC edibles for the Canadian market that can be customized to meet customer's needs and regulatory requirements.

Canopy Rivers, which operates as a cannabis venture capital firm, says its investment in Dynaleo is structured as an unsecured convertible debenture with additional warrant coverage.

The debenture is convertible at the company's option into common shares of Dynaleo.

For years, marijuana stocks were virtually unstoppable. The prospect of $50 billion or more in annual worldwide sales by 2030 sent North American cannabis stock valuations into the stratosphere. But over the past 13 months, most pot stocks have seen their valuations retrace anywhere from 50% to 95%. It's been ugly, with a capital "U."

For the past year, the marijuana industry has been nothing short of a train wreck. Although we're talking about a group of stocks that proved virtually unstoppable during the first quarter of 2019, most pot stocks have seen anywhere from 50% to 95% of their value wiped away over the past 13 months.