Cannabis companies have slashed over 1,000 jobs in recent weeks as the industry contends with a 'toxic' landscape. We're keeping track of all the cuts here.

The once red-hot cannabis industry is coming back down to earth.

Over the past few weeks, cannabis companies - including venture-backed startups like Pax and giants like MedMen - have announced a series of job cuts, amounting to over 1000 laid-off workers in the sector as a whole.

There are unique reasons for the job cuts at each company, but industry analysts and experts say the operating environment for cannabis companies has entered a uniquely challenging phase. Headwinds include illnesses linked to vaping, lower-than-expected retail revenues in Canada and states like California, and legislative and regulatory hurdles that make accessing capital much more expensive than in other industries.

It has also become much more difficult for companies to raise money, thanks to cratering share prices for public companies and a shortage of investors for private firms.

The Marijuana Index, a composite of cannabis and cannabis-related stocks in the US and Canada, has lost over 50% of its value since its high in January 2018. CannTrust has seen its value crater close to 90% since its high in March after the company was found to be illegally growing cannabis following an investigation by Health Canada, the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing legal cannabis.

The decline in valuations has also made big cannabis megamergers harder to close, with companies like the dispensary operator MedMen pulling out of deals altogether. MedMen laid off 190 employees in November and divested stakes in a number of brands it invested in as part of its push to become cash-flow positive.

An analyst at the investment bank Stifel summed it all up as a "toxic" operating environment.