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The newly formed British Hemp Association (BHA) is hoping to advance the fledgling hemp industry in the UK by working with stakeholders to knock down all barriers to industry growth. The BHA has set an inaugural public meeting Nov. 15 in London.

“With political changes happening so fast with cannabis, I saw that there was a need for a UK association that nurtured, connected and protected UK hemp,” Rebekah Shaman, the group’s chairperson, said of the BHA initiative. The Association was formally created earlier this year following a meeting of stakeholders in 2017 that gathered funding and partners.

Lobbying effort needed

“With Brexit, we are no longer tied to EU regulations and law, which means the UK could become a major international player in the hemp market,” Shaman, told HempToday.

It will take strong lobbying to abolish the need for a license from the government to cultivate hemp – the biggest industry barrier, according to Shaman. Hemp can only be grown in the UK with a Home Office license, making it the jurisdiction of homeland security and not agriculture, she said. The BHA’s ultimate goal is to clear the way so that the whole hemp plant can be processed from flower to root, Shaman told HT.

Potential to thrive

“By removing all the political restrictions we have the potential to build a thriving industry while cleaning up our environmental mess,” said Shaman, who first got interested in industrial hemp for it’s potential as an environmental cleanup solution. She later formed a company, Hemp Global Solutions, focused on that application.

The hemp industry in southern Australia continues to grow steadily. Aided by recent law changes, promising research has been conducted and more farmers are interested in growing hemp in the region. Similarly, in April 2017 hemp food for humans was made legal in Australia, and this has boosted the industry across the continent.

In the state of South Australia, the Industrial Hemp Act 2017 was passed by the State Parliament in April 2017. It followed on from similar hemp legislation and regulatory frameworks being established in Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.

In July 2017 a public consultation process occurred to determine the regulations governing the cultivation and processing of hemp in the region.* Subsequently, the Industrial Hemp Regulations 2017 came into effect in November 2017.

SA trials are continuing

Members of South Australia’s new hemp industry recently met for the first time to discuss preliminary results from research trials. These had been conducted to determine how five hemp varieties performed on sandy soil and clay soil. The varieties included seed from China, Pakistan, and Europe, as well as an Australian bred variety. Aspects such as sowing rates, growing periods and other factors were evaluated. Field trips were also held for the public to learn more in February of this year.

The research was led by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) who had previously undertaken hemp trials in 1995. SARDI is due to conduct a new trial of six varieties beginning this month. Other recent hemp research from South Australia includes the assessment of grain from 20 seed varieties for food use by the University of Adelaide.

By Brian Houlihan | HempToday – Obelisk Farm in eastern Latvia is undertaking plans to add a hemp museum to its small hemp farming and education complex.

“Hemp has long been part of Latvian history and culture,” said Obelisk co-founder Debora Paulino. She and her husband Andris Visnevskis founded Obelisk Farm in 2013

“The idea is relatively new. We knew we wanted to make something in the library barn, apart from having books sitting there, but we didn’t have a specific idea,” said Paulino. “We got inspired by the Dublin Hemp Museum’s work.”

The couple say the museum will not only showcase the history of hemp in Latvia but also highlight hemp culture from other countries.

Family farm

Paulino, Visnevskis and their two children live on the 2.5-hectare farm complex, which includes an old farmhouse and several stone and wooden outbuildings. Alongside selling a number of food products, Obelisk Farm also offers educational tours and hosts a series of annual hemp workshops.

A registered 32-year-old hemp farmer in Pelendri, Cyprus was among those arrested recently on cannabis charges. Cypriot media are reporting the farmer and another suspect was charged with a number of offenses at a remand hearing after two properties used to cultivate hemp under license were raided.

It’s reported that more than 120 plants were located by the authorities following days of surveillance. According to police, the THC levels in 18 samples taken were between 2.3 percent to 5.66 percent, rendering them illegal. In court, the lawyer for the farmer argued that the arrest was void as under the law for hemp cultivation, only officials from the Department of Agriculture may collect samples and not the police.

Police also found around 100kg of cannabis plant material in three separate storage facilities on the premises. The hemp farmer claimed in court it was material from a previous defective crop which was never sold.

Worker also arrested

A second suspect, a 36-year-old worker, was also charged in relation to the case. His lawyer said his client had been working on and off at the property and had no relation to the case. Police say they are seeking a third suspect, whom they believe is an associate of the hemp farmer. The drug squad said it had reason to believe the third man was treating the plants with chemicals to increase their THC yield.

The suspects face charges including, conspiracy to commit a crime, illegal cultivation of a Class B drug, illegal possession of narcotics, and possession with intent to sell a Class B drug. The two men were remanded in custody by Limassol District Court for six days, although the police had initially sought eight days.

Vice Minister of Agriculture Yerlan Nysanbayev has added his voice to the growing list of prominent Kazakhstanian figures calling for hemp production to be embraced. Nysanbayev was recently speaking at an interdepartmental commission meeting on legislative activities as the state is currently drafting a number of laws in relation to conservation and plant protection.

“We are talking about all types of plants, tree crops, bushes – everything should be protected by the law,” he told attendees.

Of the plant world

“Hemp should be considered as one of the plants of the plant world. It cannot be considered as a negative plant. Therefore, this plant species should be preserved, because it is one of the links in the long chain of biodiversity. The loss of any plant or animal world, I think, is fraught with consequences for humans and ecosystems,” said Nysanbayev.

Kazakhstan authorities have long battled with the wild cannabis crops which grow freely in the Chui Valley, a tourist attraction for cannabis enthusiasts. However, in recent years while still seeking to eradicate the, the state has taken steps to boost hemp production.

Crops have been tested

KazHemp, perhaps the only hemp company in Kazakhstan, planted test crops in four regions of the country in 2016 to determine which soil provided the best yield. Their research concluded the optimal conditions exist in The Almaty region.

American blues & jazz artist Hazel Miller will perform during a concert in support of Haiti’s St Alphonse de Cadet, a primary school in Trou ChouChou, Haiti. Funds raised from the concert will go to build toilets from hempcrete for the school; hurricanes in 2016 devastated the previous facilities.

The concert, at the Denver Field House in Colorado, USA, starts at 6 p.m. Nov. 6, Election Day in the United States. All proceeds will go to the initiative in Trou ChouChou.

St Alphonse de Cadet was founded in 2011 after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, by Tamara Cantave, Founder, Help Hayti, and Alicia Fall, who heads the U.S.-based Her Many Voices Foundation. The school has about 185 students, ranging in age from 3-22 yrs. In addition to Help Hayti, the Foundation works in partnership with Haiti’s Wynne Farm Nature Reserve, and entrepreneur Eric McKee, Wnder LLC, also of the U.S..

Benefit headliner Hazel Miller has opened for Herbie Hancock, Bob Weir, Buddy Guy, Mel Torme, James Taylor and Julian Lennon among others. She also has performed for United States soldiers overseas and starred in The Vagina Monologues, the hit off-broadway show in the USA

The Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC) said it will host a public hearing (link) as part of an inquiry into the merits of establishing a hemp promotion and research agency.

The FPCC is expected to announce a hearing date Nov. 23. Once a date is set the Council will meet to determine if the request for a hemp research agency is valid. Their decision is based on several factors including the health of the industry, interest within the sector and the economic viability of the project. The Council will then submit its recommendations to the Canadian Agriculture Minister for consideration.

CHP, CHTA work together

The calls for the research agency were part of a proposal (link) submitted in October 2017 by the Canadian Hemp Producers, with support from the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA). The creation of the agency “is an important step forward in the development of the Canadian industrial hemp industry,” the groups said. It’s proposed the agency would be funded by levies applied to industrial hemp products marketed domestically, as well as on hemp products imported into Canada.

This idea of a research agency was first raised at the CHTA annual general meeting in 2012 after a motion was passed by the membership. In 2015 hemp producers across Canada were consulted on the idea and subsequent meetings occurred in 2016. Approximately 20% of Canada’s hemp producers attended these meetings and 95% of attendees and other relevant parties polled were in support of the establishment of an agency. All this led to submitting their proposal last year.

Exploring all applications

It’s proposed the Canadian Industrial Hemp Promotion and Research Agency (PRA) will be the focal point to lead research and promotional activities on behalf of producers, farmers, and entrepreneurs. The research will be focused primarily on food, animal feed, fibre, and natural health products, the latter includes natural health remedies, cosmetics, personal care products, extracts and supplements. It’s also suggested such a body is the best to manage the hemp industry as it grows nationally.

By Brian Houlihan | HempToday — Declan Darcy has been working with hemp for years but only took his first entrepreneurial steps 12 months ago with the establishment of the Hemp Kitchen.

The kitchen is located below The Hemp Company (THC) on Capel Street in Ireland’s capital city of Dublin. THC is a family-owned business established by industry veteran James (Jim) McDonald in 1999 and Darcy and McDonald are partners on this latest venture. Co-located with the Hemp Kitchen is the Dublin Hemp Museum, which McDonald opened over 5 years ago.

Interest in hemp building

Before opening the kitchen, Darcy worked as a carpenter for a number of years and his early experiences in the Irish hemp industry were working as a hemp builder.

“In 2013 Jim asked me to build an extension out of hempcrete for his house in Thurles Co. Tipperary,” Darcy said. At the time, Darcy knew little about building with hemp but was keen to be part of the project. This led him to engage in widespread research on the topic during which he read the landmark book “Building with Hemp” by legendary natural builder Steve Allin of the International Hemp Building Association (IHBA).

Leading global industry players HempConsult GmbH and Hempro International GmbH & Co. KG, both of Germany, have signed on as sponsors of the inaugural Asian Hemp Summit set next Feb. 1-2 in Kathmandu, Nepal. HempToday, Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures (SHIV) and Hempoint, Czech Republic, are organizers of the Summit.

“We’re happy to see this initiative and keen to support it,” said Daniel Kruse, CEO, whose companies have been active on the Asian continent for more than 15 years. “There’s never been a more exciting moment than now in Asia, as the pieces come together that can shape the region into the world’s leading hemp producer,” said Kruse, who will address the Summit.

Speaker slots still available

The Summit, to be held at Gokarna Forest Resort in Kathmandu, already has a roster of 14 international presenters. Applications are still being taken to fill the few remaining places on the schedule, organizers said.

“These sponsor partnerships reflect a continuing commitment to hemp across the continent on the part of Hempro Int. and HempConsult,” said Dhiraj K. Shah, CEO at Kathmandu-based SHIV. In addition to their long-term involvement in Asia, the two German companies recently supported SHIV’s work creating shelter for displaced, disadvantaged Nepalese who lost their homes after the 2014 earthquake in the country. Hempro Int. and HempConsult purchased a house for a family that was constructed by SHIV of hempcrete.

The Founder of the Her Many Voices Foundation (HMVF), Alicia Fall is a TEDx Talk presenter (The Art of Igniting Action), educator, performing artist and public speaker on humanitarian issues for more than 30 years. Fall’s Foundation spearheads a pioneering hemp project that is developing a sustainable crop and building product for Haiti’s besieged yet resilient population.

HempToday: How would you describe things in Haiti at the moment, post the hurricanes of 2016 and the 2010 quake?
Alicia Fall: I get updates almost daily from our Projects Coordinator in Haiti. What I can say is the people continue to have an indomitable spirit of hope in the face of natural and unnatural disasters. That’s the positive. The reality is that since the quake and post 2016’s three hurricanes, there’s an unrest in the streets. People are frustrated and rightfully so. They’re sick of lip service given to them on promises of life improvements: Promises of work, promises of food security, medical attention and education for their children.

University students are tired of repeatedly having doors locked because of violent protests in the streets. They’ve been promised a lot, yet in 8 years little has changed for the majority of Haitians. One disaster after another and like in most countries, political divisiveness, have taken their toll on a very strong and resilient people.

What we have personally experienced is more tension in the air, more violence in the streets, more gang activity. When people become desperate the climate changes. And desperate actions are taken when the feeling is no action is taken by authorities to improve their circumstance. At the end of the day women still need to feed their children, men still need work and people still need more than hope. They need practical responses. That’s where Her Many Voices Foundation comes in. We provide practical education for women, children and men in Haiti in the belief that it will improve, at least, their individual worlds. Then they can pass that knowledge on to the next. It takes a collective effort to make big change. We are excited to be leading the way to a more sustainable future through our hemp project.

HT: What’s the role of hemp in meeting the goals of the Her Many Voices Foundation?
AF: HMVF is founded on a profound respect for importance of Mother Earth. Like most mothers she gives us everything we need and asks little in return. Our mission is to move our passions to purpose for the betterment of women, children and our Mother Earth.

While hemp and marijuana may be close relatives, most hemp-derived CBD retailers don’t sell the products alongside medical cannabis. But as state laws around cannabidiol continue to change, stand-alone CBD stores may become a relic of the past. According to estimates from Hemp Industry Daily in the 2018 Hemp & CBD Industry Factbook, CBD sales in the U.S. […]

Chart: The days of CBD-only stores may be numbered is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian Industrial Hemp Corporation (CIHC) has been awarded a CA$100,000 (US$ 77,000) grant from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) to advance development and commercialization of a system that will predict the engineering properties of custom bio-pellet formulations.

The artificial intelligence (AI) system is designed to allow thermoplastic producers to easily identify bio-pellet formulations which are structurally and aesthetically suitable to replace their existing 100% polymer feedstock, said CIHC Founder & CEO Robert Ziner.

CAP and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) work with provincial and territorial governments in establishing policy and program priorities for the development of Canada’s farming value chain.

Potential boon for farmers

“We are grateful for this opportunity to advance the utilization of hemp fiber and encourage the growth of more hemp across Canada,” Ziner said of the grant. “With our innovative business model in place, growing hemp will prove to be one of the most attractive economic crop opportunities for farmers across North America.”

Toronto-based CIHC is looking to raise CA$46 million (US$ 35 million) in the USA to build a fully operational AI driven, advanced hemp stalk processing and optimization system.

The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, is considering selling CBD products in Canada, a development that comes just days before the country’s recreational marijuana markets open. But Walmart says it isn’t ready to start selling cannabidiol just yet. “As we would for any new industry, Walmart Canada has done some preliminary fact-finding on this issue,” company […]

Walmart explores selling CBD in Canada is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Weekly Deal Watch: Cannabis investor demand shifts from Canada to US is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Poland’s government-owned petroleum firm Grupa Lotos said it has entered an agreement with the state-owned Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNiRZ) to produce bio-ethanol from hemp.

“We have the opportunity to produce second generation fuels from Polish waste plants,” said Małgorzata Zimniewska of the Institute. “The development of bioethanol, higher-generation biofuels from cannabis biomass is in the interest of both the Institute and Poland,” she said. But above all it is in the interest of Polish farmers, who are quickly taking to hemp farming as fields rapidly expand, she added.

The parties said the effort, in part, is a response to European Union directives regarding renewable energy sources.

The Lotos-IWNiRZ agreement comes after Robert Sobków, who served as director of IWNiRZ for the past year, recently moved over to become vice-president for financial affairs at Lotos, one of the ten largest fuel companies in Central Europe by sales value.

The post Poland’s Grupa Lotos in pact to develop hemp-based bio-fuels appeared first on HempToday.

Moroccan cooperative Adrar Nouh is among a group of four organizations whose joint hemp-based project aimed at safeguarding the environment and culture of the Moroccan High Rif was selected to participate in the Solar Decathlon Africa 2019 competition.

Adrar Nouh worked with a team of Moroccan architectural students and international partners in the design of a prototype hemp house of 90 sq. meters.

The project, named SUMINPLANT, incorporates a variety of ancestral hemp from the Rif, transforming it into new aggregates via a process developed by Adrar Nouh co-founder Monika Brümmer through her doctoral thesis at the University of Granada.

Brümmer, owner of Granada-based Cannabric, a maker of load-bearing hemp-clay blocks and bricks, will talk about the project during this year’s International Hemp Building Symposium in Belgium Oct. 16-17 in Brussels.

The IHBA Symposium, which is hosted in a different part of the world each year, is led by veteran hemp builder Steve Allin, the Association’s Director. This year’s host and co-organizer is Wolf Jordan & Co, which is based in Brussels and Kalmthout, Belgium.

By Brian Houlihan | HempToday
The Irish hemp industry continues to grow steadily, with 230 hectares (570 acres) of hemp sown this year in comparison to about 77 hectares (190 acres) in 2017. That’s an increase of 200% in 12 months. Likewise, there’s been almost a 50% increase in the number of licenses issued to grow hemp in Ireland in the last year.

Accordingly more Irish hemp and CBD companies have emerged offering a wider variety of products.

Two Irish hemp entrepreneurs eyeing the global market for their products are Kate Mullaney and Marcus McCabe. The couple has worked in the hemp industry since the early 2000’s. Around 18 years ago they built their office using hemp and since then have assisted on numerous home renovations with based on the material. Initially, they focused on hemp building materials but in recent years have expanded into the food and drinks sector.

Many trials

Mullaney and McCabe initially grew hundreds of acres for their first hemp business which unfortunately failed.

The United Nations has adopted a declaration that binds countries to “respect and protect rural needs,” aiming to “incentivize rural policies that include cannabis in their development strategies.”

The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas is intended to shift cannabis-related discussions out of a “counter-narcotics approach and mindset,” according to a statement by FAAAT (For Alternative Approaches to Addiction), a think tank. It aims to assist countries in making decisions that will advance development of innovative policies and new market perspectives, FAAAT said.

Legacy cannabis producers

The declaration is particularly intended to guide policymaking in developing countries with a rich history of cannabis cultivation, in places like Morocco, South Africa and India where rural producers have been the main cannabis cultivators and have suffered disproportionately from global cannabis prohibition; even the UN Development Program has admitted that vulnerable groups such as peasant farmers have suffered most.

“The right to cultivate cannabis plants in the areas where its cultivation is ancestral, is recognized and protected by the different international texts protecting indigenous peoples’ traditions,” FAAAT noted.

Policy conference set

The declaration comes in advance of the International Cannabis Policy Conference, Dec. 8-9 in Vienna. The conference is the final global meeting before the UN session on drug policy next March during which new Cannabis Treaty scheduling and a 2019-2029 plan of action will be voted by the respective countries.

A rescheduling that makes CBD-based drug Epidiolex legal has been applauded as a win for cannabinoid-based therapies, but critics say the ruling is another case of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) overstepping its bounds.

Epidiolex, which recently won U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval, is in a classification of CBD-derived “finished dosage formulations.” It has been moved from Schedule 1, the most restricted class of drugs, to schedule 5, the least restrictive. Schedule 5 substances are considered those with “a proven medical use and low potential for abuse.”

DEA ‘overreaches’ again

“In rescheduling Epidiolex, (the) DEA also makes several over-reaching statements beyond simply the scheduling of Epidiolex,” Colorado-based cannabis attorneys Hoban Law Group said in a release. The firm pointed specifically to DEA assertions that “all cannabinoids from cannabis (versus when derived from “marihuana” as defined in the Controlled Substances Act) are controlled substances, seemingly contrary to acts of Congress, judicial decisions and DEA’s own statements.”

The rescheduling sets up an apparent conflict in that the current U.S. Farm Bill makes all products derived from hemp, including CBD, exempt from the DEA’s authority, the Hoban firm noted. The Farm Bill of 2014, which awaits updating to a 2018 version, allows the cultivation, transport, processing and sale of all parts of the plant.

Earlier FDA approval

“While DEA’s handling of Epidiolex was expected, the agency’s penchant for disregarding the law, court orders and its own admissions and directive regarding the lawfulness of hemp continues unabated,” the Hoban statement noted.

The American hemp lobby and other farm groups have been left waiting as the U.S. Congress failed to pass a new Farm Bill under a deadline that ended Sept. 30.

House and Senate Farm Bill conference committee leaders acknowledged last week that they failed to agree on final language for the bill, and indicated they’ll now look to pass a conference report after U.S. midterm elections in November, industry group Vote Hemp noted in a release.

Eager anticipation

Hemp industry stakeholders in the USA are eagerly awaiting renewal of the U.S. Farm Bill, expected to include language that will categorize hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the Drug Enforcement Agency’s list of schedule 1 drugs. Passage is expected to significantly boost CBD sales and advance other hemp sub-sectors

The missed deadline also means a range of farming programs managed under the present Farm Bill do not have any new funding until a new bill is passed or an extension to the current bill is granted. Several thorny political issues still burden the bill.

‘Constituents not happy’

“Farm Bill negotiations can be unpredictable but we do still expect the Hemp Farming Act language to be included in the final bill and are still hopeful that the bill will be signed into law before the end of this year,” Vote Hemp said in the statement. “There is pressure to get a Farm Bill done and members will hear from constituents who are not happy about the failure to make a deal.”