HempTalk - Business Blogs and Press Releases

The post Chinese govt may limit licenses in response to stock jumps was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

The Chinese government has tightened control on industrial hemp licenses after recent sharp fluctuations in share prices of publicly traded companies. China’s National Anti-Drug Committee...

The post Chinese govt may limit licenses in response to stock jumps was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

Provincial wholesalers and medical patients in Canada report a shortfall of CBD products for the nonmedical and medical markets, and new data released to Marijuana Business Daily suggests imports aren’t enough to fill the gap. Cannabidiol in Canada can be sold to adults only via a provincially or territorially authorized cannabis retailer or directly by […]

Canadian cannabis wholesalers report CBD shortage, while imports lag far behind is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The post Hemp food processor in Germany is fully solar powered was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

An overview of Hemp Factory a fully solar-powered food processing facility in northwestern Germany, has been added to the program for the Hemp Machines &...

The post Hemp food processor in Germany is fully solar powered was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

Here are some notable stories and events to watch for in the coming days: ASCENT LICENSE HEARING: Representatives of Canadian cannabis company Ascent Industries Corp. are scheduled to appear Wednesday before the Clark County Department of Business License to argue why its permits in Nevada should not be permanently suspended, revoked or non-renewed. Sweet Cannabis, […]

Marijuana Business This Week: Nevada license hearing, hemp lending guidance, SC mulls medical cannabis & more is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Cresco inks landmark acquisition and more of the week’s top marijuana news (SLIDESHOW) is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The post Efforts to boost THC in EU hemp could bring results by 2021 was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

The European Union could soon change the allowed legal THC level in approved hemp varieties from 0.2% to 0.3% after the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development recently approved a batch of proposals for post-2020 reforms to the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

CAP implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programs supporting member nations. Introduced in 1962, the program has undergone constant reform and now also embraces rural development.

Increasing allowable THC levels in hemp varieties grown in the EU from 0.2% to 0.3% would return the EU to the limit that was valid up until 1999. While some had called for an increase to a full 1% THC, perhaps a smaller incremental increase was always more likely to be favored.

Rules could take effect in 2021

The changes still need to be approved by the EU Parliament and EU Council, but if all goes well, the change could be in force beginning January 2021.

The post Florida conference will explore U.S. state’s hemp potential was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

A long growing season could prove to be a strength for stakeholders in the U.S. state of Florida as research is underway to find hemp varieties that will flourish in the state’s soil and climate.

Florida, where hemp research was legalized in 2017, is among 41 U.S. states that have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production.

State setting framework

Meanwhile three bills were recently filed as the Florida Department of Agriculture works to set a hemp industry framework that meets federal requirements. The requirements are under the 2018 Farm Bill, newly enacted legislation that essentially made hemp a normal agricultural crop.

Opportunities in Florida’s nascent hemp industry will be explored at the Florida Industrial Hemp Conference and Exhibition set for Orlando Nov. 3-5, 2019. Speaker applications are still being accepted for the conference, organizers said.

Los Angeles-based Vertical Companies – a vertically integrated multistate cannabis firm – closed a $58 million Series A funding to build out the company’s footprint and bring its brands to market. The company originally targeted a $20 million funding but boosted that to $35 million in late 2018 because of investor demand. The $35 million […]

Multistate cannabis operator Vertical closes $58 million Series A funding round is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The post FDA warns 3 U.S. CBD sellers over ‘egregious’ cancer claims was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

The U.S Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission jointly issued warning letters to three American companies for unsubstantiated claims regarding CBD. The claims are carried in online platforms operated by the companies as well as social media, FDA said.

The companies warned are: Advanced Spine and Pain LLC (d/b/a Relievus), Nutra Pure LLC and PotNetwork Holdings Inc., FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced in an update on FDA activities related to cannabis.

‘Egregious claims’

“The companies used these online platforms to make unfounded, egregious claims about their products’ ability to limit, treat or cure cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, autoimmune diseases, opioid use disorder, and other serious diseases, without sufficient evidence and the legally required FDA approval,” the FDA said in the statement.

The false claims ranged from “CBD successfully stopped cancer cells in multiple different cervical cancer varieties” to “CBD may be used to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms,” among others, according to the FDA

The post Many twists and turns ahead for hemp industry in USA was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

As the euphoria brought on by passage of the U.S. Farm Bill begins to fade, American hemp stakeholders face the challenges of crafting and living with federal and state standards for cultivation and finished products. Some in the industry are eager to work with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to develop standards for hemp-based consumer products. Others threaten lawsuits.

Meanwhile, exponential growth, driven primarily by soaring demand for CBD, means many twists and turns ahead for hemp in the USA.

“In four years, we went from zero acres to almost 80,000 acres in hemp cultivation, said Robert Hoban, managing partner of Colorado-based Hoban Law Group. “That’s pretty impressive for agriculture. The CBD industry is growing dramatically. I don’t expect to see it slow down. I don’t see the government putting the brakes on the industry at the federal level. But there are many challenges ahead…many.”

The 2018 Farm Bill essentially legalized hemp by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act and out of the purview of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), expanding the definition of industrial hemp, and categorizing hemp as an agricultural product. Moving forward, the USDA plans to have federal cultivation standards for hemp in time for the 2020 growing season.

The post U.S. firms join to develop line of medicinal CBD products was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

Two Colorado, USA companies say they will jointly develop a premium line of medicinal CBD-based products. C-Beyond-Health, based in Golden, and Denver-based Next Frontier Biosciences plan to release a line of topical salves and under-the-tongue sprays in the second quarter of 2019.

The venture combines C-Beyond-Health’s “patient-focused” approach to R&D, and the company’s marketing and distribution platform with proprietary pharmaceutical-grade CBD formulations from Next Frontier.

“We recognize the shortcomings in the industry. This partnership demonstrates a commitment to add a much-needed level of sophistication to how medicinal cannabis products are developed, packaged, and delivered to patients,” said Mike Segal, President of Partnerships at C-Beyond Health.

Patient dosage critical

That includes the critical matter of accuracy in patient dosage, Segal noted. Precise dosing with high bioavailability represents the most common problem with medicinal cannabis.

The Walgreens pharmacy chain will sell CBD-infused creams, sprays and transdermal patches in 1,500 stores across nine states, but the company declined to identify the brands it plans to carry, CNBC reported. The move comes hot on the heels of an announcement last week that rival pharmacy chain CVS had kicked off sales in eight […]

Walgreens joins CVS in sales of CBD topical products is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The post Who changed EU novel food rules? Those who profit from the sick was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

As European hemp food stakeholders have taken up the battle to reverse recent changes to EU rules on hemp extracts, the whole furor begs a question: How did regulations that producers earlier described as “workable,” transform into an added headache that the industry doesn’t need?

In a nutshell, the updated rules now require producers of hemp extracts used in food – including, importantly, CBD – to undergo stringent and costly registration requirements; the rules guide the EU’s Novel Food Catalogue, a listing of foods that were not commonly eaten in the member states before 1997. The Catalogue is essentially a food safety mechanism, intended and invented to control new, genetically or synthetically designed food products before market entry – not to hinder products that have been consumed for ages.

Some stakeholders realized last year that changes in the Food Catalog (which officially took effect Jan. 20, 2019) were coming, and began filing registration paperwork.

That started what we might call a “cycle of compliance” in which producers who filed for Novel Food status were confirming their products should be thus categorized.

The post UK trade group assigns law firm to challenge EU extract ruling was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

The UK’s Cannabis Trades Association (CTA) says it has hired London law firm Mackrell Turner Garrett to file a legal challenge against the European Union over the EU’s recent designation of hemp extracts as “novel foods.”

The updated rules require EU producers of hemp extracts – including CBD – to undergo a stringent and costly registration process; the rules guide the EU’s Novel Food Catalogue, a listing of foods that were not commonly eaten in the member states before 1997. The Catalogue is essentially a food safety mechanism.

Novel food can be newly developed, innovative food, food produced using new technologies and production processes, and food traditionally eaten outside the EU.

“Only food products that are enriched with isolated CBD should be considered novel,” CTA chairman Mike Harlington said. “Hemp extracts are not novel and this is the position we have presented for almost two years now. Our position remains unchanged. Our members’ products remain legal, and will not be removed from sale.”

The post U.S. firm plans $5.8 million factory to produce ‘HempWood’ was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

A Maryland, USA company says it will invest $5.8 million in a factory in Kentucky to produce HempWood, an “eco-friendly timber” that uses hemp fiber to create a wood-like material.

The company, Fibonacci LLC, said it has secured a lease on an 11,000 sq. ft. facility in western Kentucky and plans to begin production this summer. Fibonacci owner Greg Wilson said he has contracted for delivery of more than 800 tons of hemp stalks from Kentucky growers to get operations up and running.

‘Mimicking’ oak

The processing is based on an algorithm that mimics the growth cycle and attributes of an oak tree, according to Wilson, and determines hardness, density and stability.

Advantages of hemp over wood include a much quicker growing time and greater density in the material which can be used for a wide range of applications which usually are based on wood, such as furniture and flooring.

Here are some of the notable stories and events in the cannabis industry to watch for in the coming days.

Marijuana Business This Week: A look at upcoming stories and events in the cannabis industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The post Japanese officials approve Epidiolex for clinical trials was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

Japanese officials have a approved the medical CBD brand Epidiolex for clinical trials, marking the first time such products have been approved by the Japanese government.

The trials, to be tightly controlled in a hospital environment, are exempted from Japan’s Cannabis Control Act, which bans cannabis compounds generally.

Epidiolex, manufactured by UK-based GW Pharmaceutical, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year.

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare officials recently announced the trials during a meeting of the Okinawa-Northern Task Force, a research and development agency.

BlackRock, one of the world’s largest money managers, disclosed in regulatory filings that its funds have an $11 million stake in Curaleaf Holdings, a Massachusetts-based medical cannabis company. While the investment is tiny for BlackRock, which has nearly $6 trillion of assets under management, the stake is one of the first publicly disclosed investments by a […]

BlackRock discloses $11M investment in medical marijuana firm Curaleaf is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The post Greenfield Tech sells $1.5 million decorticator to U.S. firm was originally published on HempToday. Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our events and follow us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

Engineering firm Canadian Greenfield Technologies (CGT) has sold a $1.5 million hemp decortication line to Wyndrige Farm, a private company based in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA.

The technology, called HempTrain, is to be installed in an 80,000-sq-ft facility, Steve Groff, Wyndrige Farm’s owner, told the York Daily Record.

The specialized equipment is based on high-speed kinematic technology that turns out intact structural bast fiber while capturing a clean microfiber stream and other hemp derivatives, including flowers for CBD.

Technological advancement

The technology is an advancement over earlier generations of decorticators that employ a hammer mill, which damages bast fiber and causes attrition of hurd fiber, CGT said.

When President Donald Trump penned hemp legalization into law late last year via the Farm Bill, hemp companies obviously cheered. But marijuana entrepreneurs also took careful note, because that landmark decision could offer fresh business opportunities to diversify into a plant now legal under federal law. A growing number of marijuana businesses – and hemp-only […]

Despite risks, marijuana firms that make or distribute CBD products use e-commerce to build multistate brands is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs