Canadian health food association pushes back on CBD limits
Canada should allow hemp-derived CBD sales without a cannabis license, according to Canada’s largest trade association dedicated to natural health and organic products. The Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) said natural-foods stores and other retailers shouldn’t need permission from Health Canada, the agency that regulates marijuana. The notice Monday came in... Read more
CBD producer sues Oregon hemp seed company for $44 million over ruined crop
A Kentucky-based CBD company filed a $44 million lawsuit against an Oregon hemp seed company, claiming the hempseeds it supplied were bogus and contributed to ruining the company’s 2019 crop. Lexington-based Elemental Processing estimated it lost at least $44 million in profits after HP Farms of Troutdale, Oregon, allegedly... Read more
Hemp in California: Counties, cities remain divided on production
(Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series on California’s hemp industry.) California’s county-by-county regulatory landscape for hemp production is as varied as its actual scenery. In some of its counties, California is one of the last strongholds against hemp production, while in others, efforts to grow the... Read more
Early snow threatens Western hemp, sends farmers scrambling
(This story has been updated with details from Oregon.)  Hemp farmers in the Western states were frantically harvesting their crops ahead of an early-season storm threatening cold temperatures and severe wind chill, potentially dumping as much as 50 inches of snow on their fields. Jamie Fitterer, the owner of... Read more
DEA added to list of agencies ordered to adapt to hemp legalization
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is the latest agency being ordered to accommodate hemp legalization using a budget maneuver. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, announced Thursday he is championing a requirement that the DEA “identify or develop on-the-spot field testing technologies” to distinguish hemp from marijuana. The need... Read more
Report: CBD tops turmeric as top-selling dietary supplement, charting up 333% in natural channels
CBD rocketed to the best-selling herbal dietary supplement in natural sales channels last year, ousting turmeric as the No. 1 seller, according to a new report from the American Botanical Council. Sales of CBD products jumped 333% in 2018 in natural- and health-foods sales channels, notching $52.7 million in... Read more
The outlook for Uruguayan hemp: Q&A with Sergio Vazquez of Uruguay’s agriculture ministry
(Editor’s note: Sergio Vazquez will appear at the MJBizDaily Latin American Cannabis Symposium, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, in Bogota, Colombia.) While Latin American countries generally have yet to see the formation of anything close to a real hemp market, some areas will begin to see an export stream next year. Even... Read more
UK farmers group endorses hemp products to reduce global warming
Hemp-derived construction components could help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and should be promoted by the government, according to a new report from an English farmers association. The National Farming Union, a group of about 50,000 farmers in England and Wales, touted hemp construction in a plan detailing ways to get... Read more
‘It is not an overnight process’: Q&A with David Gordon of Colombian hemp producer PharmaCielo
(Editor’s note: David Gordon will appear at the MJBizDaily Latin American Cannabis Symposium, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, in Bogota, Colombia.) Cannabis companies are investing heavily in Latin American markets, where low-THC varieties known as hemp in the U.S. play a large role in nascent medical marijuana regulations. The companies that entered... Read more
Hemp-banking protections pass US House as part of landmark cannabis bill
House lawmakers passed a historic cannabis banking bill Wednesday that also provides a safe harbor for financial institutions serving hemp and hemp-derived CBD businesses. Proponents believed that such provisions were necessary despite the fact that hemp became legal nationwide with the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill. The hemp... Read more
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