HempTalk - Business Blogs and Press Releases

A growing number of producers are entering the CBD business in China where – as in most other hemp-growing nations – the sector grapples with the thorny issue of THC limits in hemp-based health products. Wang Yu Fu of the Institute of Bast Fiber Crops at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, will give an update on CBD and other hemp sectors in China at this year’s European Industrial Hemp Association’s annual conference in Cologne June 12-13.

According to Wang, more than 20 Chinese companies are already in the CBD sector or are moving in that direction. He is recommending that Chinese authorities relax THC restrictions particularly for medicinal hemp. Hemp research, farming and production are expanding rapidly in China, where about 50,000 hectares went under the crop in 2017.

More than 350 delegates are expected

More than 350 attendees from 40+ countries are expected to attend this year’s event at Cologne’s Maternushaus hotel.

Wang also will talk about challenges in China regarding seeds, technology and multi-cropping, and offer his views on sustainable development of the industry. His presentatiion is part of a Day 1 session that will survey hemp in different countries. Also presenting country reports will be Tony Budden, Hemporium (South Africa), who’ll talk about the South African and Malawi hemp markets, and Rick Trojan, Hemp Road Trip (USA), who’ll give an update on the United States.

CLV Frontier Brands Pty Ltd says it will begin marketing cannabis-flavored beers and tonics in Europe and Canada this summer, Creso Pharma, a partner in the three-way partnership, has announced.

The new drinks contain terpenes, which carry the aroma and flavor of cannabis without any accompanying THC or cannabinoids.

Creso, UK-based Baltic Beer Company Ltd. and Canadian TSX Venture incorporated LGC Capital are equal one-third partners in CLV.

‘Significant’ sales envisioned

“We see CLV as an exciting business partnership that we believe can add significant sales revenues to Creso Pharma over the coming years,” Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli, Co-Founder and CEO at Creso Pharma, said in a release.

Terpenes, which are derived from cannabis and other plants, have a range of applications in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Those contained in the products under development by CLV are extracted from various plant sources, all of which are food-grade, 100% natural and non-GMO, according to Creso. The terpenes are introduced to beer at the post-fermentation stage in much the same manner as hop extracts are added.

German confectionary maker Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG produced a limited edition “Schoko & Gras” (“Chocolate & Grass”) bar under its Ritter Sport brand timed for this past week’s World Cannabis Day, (“4/20 Day”).

Ritter produced the square chocolates in a “collectors’ edition” promotion, offering them for sale online and in its branded retail outlets in Berlin and Waldenbuch, where the company is headquartered.

“This is a great example of an enlightened major player who understands the potential for hemp in foods,” said Daniel Kruse, CEO at Hempro Int. GmbH & Co. KG, Dusseldorf, which provided the hulled and roasted organic hemp seeds for the “Schoko & Gras” bars.

Aside from promoting hemp seeds in the chocolates as a “superfood,” the effort intends to spark “unbiased discussion on hemp,” according to Elbkind, the Hamburg agency that executed a social media campaign in support of the promotion.

Ritter, which has an online tool through which consumers can submit ideas for new products, said it has received many submissions suggesting the incorporation of hemp seed into its treats.

HempToday has launched a Japanese-language web edition under the direction of entrepreneur Riki Hiroi, owner at Each Japan, a leading Japanese cannabis consultancy.

The Japanese edition is based mainly on translations of global reporting from hemptoday.net, with technology being managed by volunteers from the IT industry in Tokyo.

Support from stakeholders

A group of stakeholders have come together to support reporting and translation services for HempToday Japan to feed local market content back to the hemptoday.net mother site in English, Hiroi said. The stakeholders are the Cannabis Museum in Nasu, Tochigi (Japan’s top hemp producing prefecture), along with the Government Office and the Prefectural Assembly of Hokkaido – all of which are supporting Hokkaido Hemp Net, a newly developed entity that will promote the industry in Japan.

While hemp has a tradition in Japan going back centuries, the country has remained strictly aligned with outdated international norms that conflate hemp with marijuana. HempToday Japan aims to help knock down that barrier, Hiroi said.

A CBD treatment for epilepsy is closer to becoming the first cannabis medicine approved for the U.S. market. A panel of government health advisers gave a unanimous recommendation Thursday to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve Epidiolex, a CBD medicine for rare epilepsy conditions that don’t respond to other drugs. The panel voted […]

FDA advisory panel gives thumbs-up to CBD epilepsy treatment is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

It’s shaping up to be a watershed summer for the cannabis industry with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration poised to approve the first drug made from the plant.

The agency's impending decision on Epidiolex, an epilepsy treatment made of CBD extracted from cannabis flower, could upend decades of government insistence that the plant has no medicinal value.

Here’s how the FDA’s review of epilepsy drug could affect CBD companies is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Polish CBD maker HemPoland said its CannabiGold brand will go into distribution in Germany beginning May 1. The company worked with Pharma-Zentrale, a German pharma group, to get the product officially registered. CannabiGold will go on sale in May under an agreement with online retailer mein-cbd.de.

The companies announced the German launch during the recently held International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin.

CannabiGold products are produced via CO2 extraction from 100% natural raw materials in a fully managed seed-to-shelf production process. The company operates an on-site laboratory where it does constant analysis to ensure highest standards and quality.

HemPoland already has distribution in the UK through reseller Quintessential Tips, and in Holland through Smart & Zo.

The post Polish CBD maker entering German market May 1 appeared first on HempToday.

The new U.S. 2018 Farm Bill that would free states to guide hemp programs – allowing them to expand – is reportedly “fast tracked,” but proponents still can’t say if the measure will get consideration by the USA’s upper congressional body any time soon.

The office of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who recently introduced the bill, said this week it was unclear when – or even if – the Senate would vote on the measure.

While the Act bypassed the Senate’s committee process via a procedural move and is “on the Senate calendar,” it’s still not guaranteed to get a hearing, McConnell’s office noted.

Technically, the bill would allow hemp to be sold as an agricultural commodity, removing it from the federal drug list. U.S. states currently administer hemp cultivation under the thumb of federal authorities. The new Act would turn the programs fully over to the states.

Meanwhile U.S. President Donald Trump has said his administration will lift a crackdown on states that have legalized marijuana – enveloping hemp as well. Trump made that announcement following talks with hemp-state advocates, undercutting a January policy announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that had eased federal enforcement of marijuana laws and giving federal prosecutors wide latitude to pursue criminal charges.

Hemp nutrition and the benefits of CBD are among a wide range of hemp-related topics on the schedule for this year’s Expocáñamo, which marks its fourth edition Friday-Sunday, May 11-13, 2018 in Seville. A special Industrial Hemp Forum set for Sunday has been expanded this year.

Spanish stakeholders will turn their attention to the role of women in the cannabis sector on the opening day. Attorney and cannabis industry consultant Raquel Galiano will address that topic during a Friday session.

Also on Friday, Patricia Amiguet of Red Estatal de Mujeres Antiprohibicionistas (REMA) (the State Network of Women Anti-Prohibitionists) will moderate a panel featuring leading cannabis activist Fernanda de la Figuera; Libertad Peñalosa of Comisión de Estudio para la Regulación del Cannabis en Andalucía (CERCA) (The Study Commission for the Regulation of Cannabis in Andalusia); and Elisabeth Céspedes of the Sevillian company Mariadelajuana. Discussion will trace the women’s experiences in the industry and how the sector has evolved in terms of integration and equality.

Looking for fair regulations

Opening Saturday’s program, Bernardo Soriano, of the Responsible Regulation platform will moderate a session among authorities from different Spanish political parties and explore costs linked to the prohibition of cannabis as well as strategies being undertaken by civil society to create fair regulations for both consumers and society as a whole.

Other speakers set for Saturday, May 12 include:

Victory Hemp Foods, a Kentucky, USA hemp food maker is expanding into the American northeast through the purchase of a former canola and sunflower processing plant in the state of Vermont.

The added facilities will expand production to 8,000 gallons of hemp seed oil each month, Chad Rosen, Victory Hemp’s founder, recently told SevenSaysVt.com. Byproduct after extraction yields 50,000 pounds of hemp protein powder that Victory uses in other products. The company has distribution in major retail chains such as Kroger and Whole Foods Markets in Kentucky. Rosen said Victory hopes to set up distribution of its products in Vermont this year.

Victory, based in Campbellsburg, Kentucky, bought the processing factory from the Full Sun Company, which went out of business last year. The company has hired Chris Bailey, founder and former CEO at Vermont Smoke & Cure, a producer of a line of meat products, to serve as the company’s COO.

Rosen said Victory looks to contract with Vermont hemp farmers, and has plans to buy raw materials from producers in New York and Maine.

The post Kentucky food maker expands in U.S. northeast appeared first on HempToday.

Two Florida doctors are seeking a total $4.4 million from a Colorado-based firm they say defrauded them in a CBD scam, the Denver Post reported.

Dr. Josse Anthony Mazo and his wife, Dr. Maritza Riascos have sued John Michael Merritt Jr., owner of Full Spectrum Nutrition, in Denver’s U.S. District Court. They’re seeking return of their original investment of $1.1 million plus three times that amount in damages, according to their attorney, Craig Brand, who filed the lawsuit.

The claimants accuse Merritt as owner of Full Spectrum, presumably based in Colorado Springs, of using their money to support a Costa Rican wildlife refuge

“It’s all done as a sham,” Brand told the Post, calling Merritt a “classic con artist” who preys on unwitting victims looking to make it rich in the cannabis business. Mazo and Riascos claim in their lawsuit that Merritt, who also has homes in Florida, Costa Rica and Louisiana, based his pitch on a deal he’d obtained to source CBD products at steep discounts from Folium Biosciences, a Colorado Springs-based hemp-products wholesaler.

The post Doctors seek $4.4 million in suit over CBD investment appeared first on HempToday.

With sales of hemp food and cosmetics expanding all over the world, legacy hemp firms are facing up to the challenges in the fast-paced sectors and experiencing rapid growth. Leading global hemp veterans will share their analysis of the current state of the markets during HempToday’s Hemp Food, Health & Beauty Summit May 25-26, 2018 in Poland.

Daniel Kruse, Hempro Int. GmbH & Co., Germany, and Hana Gabrielova, CEO at Hempoint, Czech Republic, will share insights into current market trends and reflect on their journey through the industry over the past two decades during the event set for HempToday Center.

Innovative applicants get 15-minute slots

Attendance is limited to 25 delegates, with applications now being accepted. Submissions reflecting innovative hemp initiatives or products can earn participants a 15-minute presentation and feedback from the leading practitioners in attendance.

With demand for hemp seeds in Europe currently double what growers on the continent can supply, the value chain continues to be inefficient, requiring imports from Canada and China to meet the needs of the food, health & beauty sectors on the continent. That gap signals enticing investment opportunities in an industry that has already developed a basic regional infrastructure and is rich with entrepreneurs developing the plant into a wide range of innovative products.

Up close with leading international players

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate today would open up industrial hemp farming and make federal funding available for research of the plant’s uses and give farmers the chance to get insure their crops.

The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would remove hemp from Schedule 1 of the U.S. Controlled Substance Act and let states create their own regulatory regimes under guidance of the federal Department of Agriculture. Hemp is currently under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which treats it as the equivalent of marijuana — and therefore illegal.

More than 30 states have hemp programs

The Senate bill is a successor to one Congress authorized in 2014. Since then, more than 30 states have created pilot hemp programs: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, who introduced the Senate Bill, said two weeks ago he will be talking about hemp issues with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime cannabis law reform opponent.

The post New bill would fully legalize hemp in USA appeared first on HempToday.

The most disruptive product to hit the newly legal hemp industry might be one that will never be sold directly to consumers. GW Pharmaceuticals, a London-based biotech company, is awaiting a final decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce the first cannabis-derived treatment to win approval as legal medicine. The decision on […]

Impending ruling on epilepsy drug has CBD industry on alert is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

As the cannabis plant awaits a high-stakes review from international health authorities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking the public to weigh in on whether cannabis, CBD and other cannabis extracts should be declassified as a controlled substance.

The United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO) made a preliminary announcement in December that CBD has a low potential for abuse and shouldn't be scheduled as a controlled substance.

FDA seeks public input on whether cannabis, CBD should be descheduled is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hemp activist Ras Chikomeni Chirwa says he may join Malawi’s presidential race next year as an independent candidate. While Chirwa, an elder in the Nyabinghi Rastafarian order, is given scant chance of taking the presidency, his participation could help to raise awareness of hemp in the tiny country of 18 million in southeastern Africa. No Rastafarian has ever run for president in Malawi.

The lingering conflation of hemp and marijuana may hold back broader development as Malawi, like other African governments, relies heavily on international aid from funders such as the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development. Malawi officials fear those funds would be withheld if the country goes full-on for development of a hemp industry. Malawi has traditionally lumped industrial hemp with marijuana

Hemp advocates in Malawi say getting an industry going could help the country’s sagging economy which has been hit by the effects of drought and a decline in tobacco production.

The post Hemp advocate in Malawi hints at presidential bid appeared first on HempToday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking for public comments to guide the United States’ position on the legal status of cannabis before it puts forward a formal position to the United Nations (UN).

The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) is currently in review of the global status of cannabidiol, marijuana, THC, and other compounds derived from plants in the cannabis family. Public comments to the FDA are due by April 23.

CBD has advanced

A WHO pre-review released last December recommended CBD undergo further study, noting the substance, which is not currently listed under international schedules but is locked into Schedule I in the U.S., “has been demonstrated as an effective treatment of epilepsy in several clinical trials” and “is generally well tolerated with a good safety profile.”

Under current U.S. law and international agreements, hemp’s cousin marijuana is placed in the most restrictive category of Schedule I. That means marijuana cannot be legally prescribed and is under heavy restrictions regarding research. Nations which are party to drug treaties are not free to legalize marijuana in their local markets. Marijuana specifically has never been formally reviewed since being placed in Schedule I of the international agreement in 1961.

June meeting critical

WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence will meet in June to discuss classifications for both and will then make pre-review recommendations to the UN secretary-general about conducting a more in-depth analysis.

Nevada CBD manufacturer Leafceuticals is expanding into topicals and edibles with the $2.2 million acquisition of California’s Irie CBD products. The acquisition gives Leafceuticals a processing plant in Oakland, California, for expanding its CBD line. The agreement calls for Leafceuticals – a subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Freedom Leaf – to pay $400,000 cash and $1.8 […]

Nevada CBD company buys California firm for $2.2M to expand into topicals, edibles is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

North Carolina’s top hemp regulator is sick of interference from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a speech at the Southern Farm Show in Raleigh last week that the federal drug agency is not supposed to use any resources to intervene in the growing and processing of hemp, Southeast FarmPress […]

North Carolina agriculture chief blasts DEA over hemp confusion is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Two state legislatures scrapped legislation to expand CBD access and allow hemp production. Idaho and Indiana lawmakers said “no thanks” to bills that initially appeared headed toward approval, both at the apparent urging of Republican governors. Republicans also dominate the two state legislatures. In Idaho, where lawmakers passed a CBD bill in 2015 only to […]

Hemp, CBD bills quashed in Idaho, Indiana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs