Kristen Nichols This column appeared in the January edition of Marijuana Business Magazine. You made it! Through 2020, that is. But for many in the hemp and CBD business, it’s hard to celebrate. As the United States opens this year hoping for a reprieve from a merciless pandemic, hemp entrepreneurs have even more crises to confront—plummeting wholesale prices, dwindling... Read more
Want to know the best time to plant hemp in the Midwest? Or what cultivar consistently produces a crop below 0.3% THC? Researchers in the Midwest have successfully pooled that information despite the pandemic, creating a database designed to give farmers an idea of what to expect from their... Read more
Pennsylvania awarded $1.3 million in agricultural research grants, including funding for projects looking at hemp use in construction materials and animal medicine. The state’s agriculture secretary, Russell Redding, said the projects being funded can spur innovation in medicine, clean water, healthier soil and a safer food supply. “Meeting the... Read more
Hemp farmers getting federal pandemic assistance will see those payments frozen because of the changed administration. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that payments under the latest round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are on hold “until further notice” — though interested farmers can continue applying through Feb.... Read more
The Senate Agriculture Committee talks to an experienced hemp regulator Tuesday when it considers the confirmation of Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack, an Iowan, is President Joe Biden’s nominee and served in the same role for all eight years of the Obama administration. He oversaw the USDA... Read more
by Jimmy Young, founder of Pro Cannabis Media Thanks to Democracy and the grassroots efforts of cannabis advocates from coast to coast, there are now 15 holes in the cannabis prohibition wall (legal states), and 36 cracks (medicinal programs). So when will that wall come down and how fast?... Read more
A top official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture praised the agency’s work on hemp this week, putting into doubt any plans to make additional changes. Sonia Jimenez, deputy administrator for the Specialty Crops Program in the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, talked up the rules in a newsletter the... Read more
Thailand’s public health minister has approved regulations legalizing hemp production beginning Friday. The new rules allows hemp cultivation for commercial, medicinal, and research purposes, the Bangkok Post reported. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul approved the rules Thursday. The regulations will allow both exports and imports and the plant can... Read more
Federal regulators that go after companies for false advertising recently weighed on sanctions against CBD companies, with one urging the agency to focus on opioid manufacturers and another warning against a chilling effect on legitimate cannabis research. Rohit Chopra and Christine S. Wilson, two of five members on the... Read more
(Editor’s note: This comes from Hemp Industry Daily‘s free updated USDA Final Hemp Rule report, available for download here.) The mishmash of U.S. hemp rules is on its way out. More than two years after Congress made hemp a legal agricultural commodity, farmers finally have one national set of rules for growing... Read more
