10 ways marijuana company executives can adapt to surging CBD sales
(This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the October issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.) CBD and THC coexist in the cannabis plant. But can they coexist in the cannabis market? Executives at some THC-focused cannabis companies are growing concerned they will lose profits and market share... Read more
Ottawa hemp company to buy natural-products manufacturer for CA$20M to boost product research
A Canadian hemp company is buying a natural-products manufacturer for $20 million Canadian dollars ($15.4 million) in a bid to accelerate development of CBD consumer goods. Ottawa-based LiveWell Canada agreed to acquire Acenzia, which manufactures neutraceuticals, including powders and sports drinks, in a 36,000-square-foot facility in Tecumseh, Ontario. The acquisition... Read more
Colorado cannabis biotech snags $10M for expansion
A Colorado-based cannabis biotech firm announced Thursday that it has secured $10 million in private funding to accelerate production in California and Canada. Front Range Biosciences of Lafayette said it plans to invest some of the money in investigating new strains of cannabis. The company uses tissue-culture technology to... Read more
Connecticut lawsuit seeks to open state for hemp farming
A Connecticut landowner who wants to grow hemp is suing to force the state to adopt a hemp pilot program. If he succeeds, Aaron Romano would make Connecticut the first state to be ordered by a court to regulate private hemp production. According to the Hartford Courant, Connecticut adopted a law... Read more
Capitalizing on CBD: Seniors primed for nonintoxicating cannabis, but marketing needs to shift
Photo by Kristen Nichols (This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the September issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.) Talking about CBD in a nursing home? You’d better bring extra chairs and slices of cake for the overflow crowd. Your audience will be all ears. That was... Read more
GW Pharmaceuticals poised to raise $300 million in stock offering
Cannabis biopharmaceutical company  GW Pharmaceuticals is setting out to sell $300 million worth of U.S. depository shares. The London-based company’s announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s move to take some cannabidiol products off the most restrictive class of controlled substances. That change will allow Epidiolex – a... Read more
FDA: CBD shouldn’t be a controlled substance, but treaties require it
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration noted that cannabidiol shouldn’t be a controlled substance, but international treaties require the United States to treat it as one. That revelation from the federal agency said in a 27-page memo written after it approved the first drug made with CBD earlier this year. “CBD has negligible... Read more
What Farm Bill? Hemp industry shrugs off law’s expiration
The law that ushered in the modern hemp industry in the United States has expired, but hemp growers, processors and retailers are counting on legal assurances that the nation’s experiment in allowing limited hemp production won’t immediately end. The 2014 Farm Bill, which authorized hemp production under state research... Read more
Australian CBD maker raises $29 million, ups investment in Japan
Australian CBD company Elixinol Global raised $40 million Australian dollars ($29 million) in a new share placement to ramp up sales and marketing efforts in the United States and Europe. The capital raise comes less than a week after the company announced its wholly owned subsidiary, EXL International Holdings, increased its... Read more
DEA takes CBD off Schedule 1 – with FDA’s approval
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has taken some cannabidiol off the most restrictive class of controlled substances, a move that allows the sale of the first nonsynthetic, cannabis-derived medicine to win federal approval. The agency announced Thursday that drugs including “finished dosage formulations” of CBD with THC below 0.1%... Read more
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