Ontario, the most populous out of Canada's 10 provinces, could potentially be the one most populated with marijuana dispensaries. According to data provided to Marijuana Business Daily by the province's Alcohol and Gaming Commission, it has received almost 900 applications for retail operator licenses (ROLs) since Jan. 6.

That was the date when the province abandoned its former lottery system of license granting for a completely open application process, in which any business could apply.

If you think oil and gas stocks have had a rough go of things in recent weeks, take a gander at marijuana stocks since March 31, 2019. Over the past year and change, most cannabis stocks have lost at least half of their value, with the losses being especially noticeable for Canadian pot stocks.

Aurora Cannabis, the most popular stock on millennial-focused online investing app Robinhood, is down approximately 91% since hitting its 2019 closing high in mid-March 2019. Meanwhile, Quebec-based HEXO (NYSE:HEXO) has retraced its steps 93% since it hit its closing high in April 2019.

Cannabis retailers in Ottawa are breathing a sigh of relief after the provincial government reversed a decision that would have forced private pot shops to completely shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 3, Premier Doug Ford expanded the province's list of non-essential business to include cannabis stores.

Four days later, the province issued an emergency order allowing those stores to both deliver and offer curbside pickup from Monday to Sunday, between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The order is in place for 14 days. 

The coronavirus has caused quite a big stir amongst marijuana stocks. In only a few short weeks, we have watched billions in market value go down the drain. During that time, however, we have also seen demand for cannabis shoot up. This could be attributed to the large portion of individuals staying at home with nothing to do, but it undoubtedly is a good sign. It appears as though the current losses are helping to show that there may be value in some beaten-down pot stocks. This means that we could see more bulls begin to enter the cannabis industry within the next few weeks.

The cannabis companies that survive 2020 will be hardened, battled tested and able to thrive for years to come.

But make no mistake, the pandemic-related market collapse is shortening the runway for debt-riddled weed firms and the number of bankruptcies will start increasing in the coming months.

That’s according to Ranjeev Dhillon, partner at McCarthy Tetrault and co-leader of their cannabis division, who handles mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies for some Canada’s largest weed companies.

For the past year, there hasn't been a more disappointing industry for investors than cannabis. Following a blazing-hot first quarter in 2019 that saw more than a dozen pot stocks return at least 70%, virtually all marijuana stocks have retraced anywhere from 50% to 95% over the past year.

What's particularly interesting is that the country given the first crack at becoming a global cannabis leader -- Canada -- has completely flopped at the task. Now, with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreading globally, things for the Canadian pot industry have gone from bad to worse.

Cannabis retailers in Ontario were allowed to reopen for curbside pickup and deliver on Tuesday under an emergency order issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). The move reverses an order issued by the province last week that deemed recreational marijuana shops nonessential businesses and directed them to close to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Cannabis retailers in Manitoba are not taking their "essential service" status for granted during the virus-induced crisis and are redesigning their services to maximize social distancing.

It has likely encouraged the industry to roll out some e-commerce technology earlier than might otherwise have been the case.

Some offer home delivery and most cannabis retailers in Manitoba are now providing a "click and collect" service, allowing customers to order online and then pick up and pay at the store.

Winnipeg-based Delta 9, which has four stores in the province, now offers a touchless service, where payment is made online and staff deliver the product to the customer’s car.

The cannabis industry has seen quite a lot of ups and downs in the past two months. Prior to the coronavirus, we saw a lot of internal issues within the marijuana market. Much of this was in the process of being dealt with, but the coronavirus has put a lot of market growth on hold. In the past two weeks alone, we have witnessed some of the largest pot stocks in the industry, lose billions in market value. This is simply the result of short term volatility and trading off of fear.

As a venture capital investor, I'll confess we’ve seen our fair share of unexpected triggers that cause a company to turn into a sales rocket ship. But the past few weeks have been unprecedented. In a bizarre turn of events across the country, as lockdowns and uncertainty spread alongside COVID-19, as businesses shuttered and stock markets panicked, one industry is booming—cannabis.