Mexico is moving ahead on medical marijuana regulation — and all hemp and marijuana companies that envision doing business there in the future should start preparing now, lawyers say. The Mexican government has begun setting a regulatory structure for medical cannabis in the country, making it possible for companies to start applying for research licenses
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In the two years since hemp became a legal commercial crop in the United States, producers’ challenges in sourcing a consistent supply of predictable, reliable genetics haven’t subsided, as the industry establishes itself and plant-breeding efforts continue. Growers looking to source reliable hemp genetics may consider looking at seed from varieties that have been produced
(A version of this story originally appeared at Marijuana Business Daily and will be updated.) An Irish pharmaceutical firm, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, has agreed to purchase United Kingdom-based GW Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest medical cannabinoid companies in the world, for $7.2 billion, the drug companies said Wednesday. The proposed cash-and-stock deal would be the largest
The hemp industry has high hopes for thriving under President Joe Biden, with operators seeing opportunities in the president’s climate plan and feeling optimistic that congressional action on high-THC cannabis will open more opportunities for hemp entrepreneurs. But the industry is still waiting for answers on some of its most pressing concerns, especially the legality
Want to know the best time to plant hemp in the Midwest? Or what cultivar consistently produces a crop below 0.3% THC? Researchers in the Midwest have successfully pooled that information despite the pandemic, creating a database designed to give farmers an idea of what to expect from their hemp cultivars in 2021 and beyond.
(Editor’s note: This comes from Hemp Industry Daily‘s free updated USDA Final Hemp Rule report, available for download here.) The mishmash of U.S. hemp rules is on its way out. More than two years after Congress made hemp a legal agricultural commodity, farmers finally have one national set of rules for growing it – instead of a confusing,
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a recurring series of commentaries from professionals connected to the hemp industry. Larry and Jackie Berg are co-founders of CBD Marketing Hub, a digital-to-door agency focused on CBD and cannabis marketing.) Seismic advancements have dominated the CBD market over the past decade with some of the industry’s largest brands seeing
Hemp businesses walk a fine line when describing the health benefits of their products: Make a claim without evidence or wording that misleads consumers, and soon the legal fees will pile up. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has guidelines for acceptable claims to make on labels for dietary supplements – the closest fit for
The hemp industry may be young, but the niche crop still contributed at least $4 billion to the U.S. economy last year and could contribute nearly $16 billion by 2025. That’s the projection from the new 2021 Hemp & CBD Factbook, an exclusive overview of the hemp market that includes key metrics businesses need to
If the CBD market is any indication of how other sectors will be affected by the United Kingdom’s divorce from the European Union, buckle your seatbelts. Supply-chain slowdowns and lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic have already made doing business in the UK a challenge. Now, with the confusion surrounding the final Brexit trade deal,
(This is the second part of a two-part story from Hemp Industry Daily examining the developing hemp markets on tribal lands in the United States. Read the first installment here. For more detail about tribes growing hemp, check out Hemp Industry Daily’s Hemp & CBD Factbook, available for purchase here.) Hemp and CBD companies have been working with
(This is the first in a series of stories from Hemp Industry Daily examining the developing hemp markets on tribal lands in the United States. For more detail about tribes growing hemp, check out Hemp Industry Daily’s Hemp & CBD Factbook, available for purchase here.) It’s been more than two years since nationwide hemp legalization offered
Joseph Ramahi (Editor’s note: This story is part of a recurring series of commentaries from professionals connected to the hemp industry. Joseph Ramahi, PhD, is chief science officer for Cultivaris Hemp, a young-plant producer in Encinitas, California. ) Over and over again I meet hemp growers who are not yet aware of a widespread disease
Companies selling vaping products online, including those with CBD cartridges, will be forced to find an alternative to the U.S. Postal Service to ship their products and will face additional regulations come this summer. That’s because in late December, when Congress approved another appropriations bill to keep the government running, lawmakers also passed the “Preventing
Federal agriculture rulemakers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture released final hemp production rules on Friday, in the final days of the Trump Administration. Changes to the final rule were based on public comments from farmers and industry members about interim hemp rules released in 2019 and are set to take effect on March 22.
Hemp producers will have more breathing room under newly released rules on the federally mandated THC levels before they are declared criminally negligent, with the margin of error increasing from a total of 0.5% to 1% THC. Hemp farmers and testing agents will also have more time to harvest plants after testing, with the harvest
Hemp plants in Groveland, Illinois. Photo courtesy Simple Livin’ Farms. The number of hemp processors in Illinois doubled over the last year as the new industry tries to establish itself in a state that’s already an agricultural powerhouse. Row crops are nothing new to growers in Illinois – one of the top corn-producing states in
Jonathan Havens (Editor’s note: This story is part of a recurring series of commentaries from professionals connected to the hemp industry. Havens co-chairs the Cannabis Law and Food, Beverage and Agribusiness Practices at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr law firm in Washington DC.) The hemp industry has been waiting with bated breath for the release
For all the growth that the hemp and CBD industry has seen as a nascent industry in recent years, last year farmers took a step back and devoted fewer resources to the crop – the enthusiasm of previous years tempered by oversupply, supply-chain issues and a lack of infrastructure. Licensed hemp acreage decreased in 2020
Daniel Fernandez is hoping for a hemp renaissance in Spain this year with the launch of a new Spanish industry association. But first, the Galicia native says federal authorities need to be educated on the economic possibilities of the crop so that Spain can tap underlying potential for collaboration on hemp projects with Portugal, Eastern
Federal food and drug officials said Friday that they plan to fill in current CBD research gaps with “real world data” — but industry advocates are frustrated that regulators haven’t done enough to clear up the rules, which has caused supply-chain bottlenecks while leaving consumers to navigate an increasing field of unregulated products. An update
California lawmakers will be faced again with the long-debated question of whether to allow hemp extracts in food and beverages in the state when the legislative session opens Monday, but this time the proposal comes with a twist: The measure would also ban smokable hemp flower – an increasingly popular and unregulated segment of the industry.
Wildfire smoke makes the sky eerily orange near East Fork Cultivars in Takilma, Oregon on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 (Photo courtesy Nathan Howard) A version of this story first appeared at Marijuana Business Daily. Preliminary data out of Oregon suggests that industrial hemp crops may have been spared major damage from the West Coast wildfires
California’s new warning label as it appears on a La Vida Verde cannabis product. (Photo courtesy of La Vida Verde) A version of this story first appeared at Marijuana Business Daily. California’s hemp-derived CBD manufacturers are at risk of legal “whiplash,” one industry attorney says, after a new mandate requiring health warning labels for all
This story appears in the January issue of Marijuana Business Magazine. Acquisitions remain a key strategy for companies looking to enter or expand their reach within the cannabis industry, but sellers must be ready to seize such opportunities. Owners who would like to exit the hemp space or join larger conglomerates should be ready to: Decide whether to engage a broker. Ensure their financial information is ready for close
Hemp entrepreneurs are starting the new year looking to play a role in global efforts to reduce plastic pollution. Canada has rolled out a list of single-use plastics that will be banned in the country by the end of 2021. Restrictions on single-use plastics include straws, coffee stirrers, drink rings, plastic cutlery, take-out food containers
Could hemp baby greens be the next must-have superfood heading for consumers’ salad bowls? Researchers around the country are studying the viability of another potential revenue stream for producers, beyond the grain, fiber and flower crops for which the hemp plant has become most closely associated. Hemp baby greens are being grown and taste-tested as
(Click on the orange arrows to advance the slideshow.) Who could have predicted what 2020 would bring to the hemp industry? No one of course. But now thought leaders in the industry are looking forward with the hopes that 2021 is a bit more predictable. That’s why we asked 21 hemp insiders to share their