HempTalk - Business Blogs and Press Releases

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

A growing number of hemp companies are launching products aimed at the tattoo industry, from CBD patches marketed as pain relief to balms and creams designed to speed recovery, to expand their retail opportunities. “A tattoo, it’s basically just an open wound,” said Ali Munk, spokeswoman for Infinite CBD, a Denver company that makes hemp-derived […]

Hot ink: CBD makers hoping tattoo-care products will open new $1.6 billion market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Drug charges against 19 business owners selling CBD products in the Nashville suburbs have been dismissed in what hemp advocates are calling a huge win for the state’s new cannabidiol industry. The business owners were accused of selling illegal drugs, and 23 shops were padlocked on Feb. 12. But according to Murfreesboro’s Daily News Journal, […]

Charges dropped in Tennessee CBD raids, but store owners still angry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Massachusetts defers recreational marijuana delivery and onsite consumption, Arkansas approves five medical cannabis cultivators, and Washington state grants its floundering hemp program a reprieve. Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in the marijuana industry over the past week. An ‘elegant’ solution The decision by Massachusetts regulators to delay licensing for stand-alone marijuana delivery […]

Week in Review: Massachusetts recreational marijuana delay, Arkansas’ MMJ growers & hemp victory is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Kentucky checks all the boxes for nourishing a hemp revival.

Climate suited to the plant? Check. Friendly regulations from a state willing to experiment and invest in hemp? Check.
Lots of cheap land and a processing infrastructure that includes in-state decortication and CBD extractors? Check and check.
So why do some agronomists fear that Kentucky has reached its hemp zenith?

Hemp State Highlight: Kentucky invests in hemp but wonders if peak has passed is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

A North Carolina company is making the cannabis industry’s first play for consumers of color with a line of beauty products aimed at ethnic minorities. The Hemp Excellence line of body lotions, lip balms and CBD capsules went on sale this month at two beauty shops that cater to women of color in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. […]

Hemp company launches first cannabis line aimed at minorities is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Budget writers in Washington state’s House and Senate have restored money to oversee hemp, potentially ending uncertainty after the governor proposed cutting funding for the state’s hemp production program. The hemp lifeline, first reported by Capital Press, comes after the Washington Department of Agriculture stopped issuing hemp licenses because of a budget shortfall and threatened to […]

Washington state’s fledgling hemp program gets lifeline from legislators is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Response to Pennsylvania’s plan to expand hemp production has been lower than state officials anticipated. The state set an ambitious goal for increasing hemp production this year by offering more licenses and increasing the acreage farmers can use to develop hemp from 5 acres to 100 acres. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said when he announced […]

Pennsylvania misses hemp target, but expansion still coming is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

As the hemp industry grows in the United States and around the globe, so too does Marijuana Business Daily’s coverage of it. We’ve launched a new website, Hemp Industry Daily, to provide objective and market-driven coverage of where the hemp sector  is headed and what business leaders and investors need to know to be successful. […]

MJBizDaily launches website dedicated to hemp coverage is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The co-founder of marijuana vape manufacturer Organa Brands is leaving to start a new company focused on hemp-derived wellness products. Ralph Morgan said he is still exploring a name and headquarters location for his new company, which will produce cannabidiol concentrates marketed to a medical audience, not recreational marijuana consumers. Morgan told Marijuana Business Daily […]

Organa Brands co-founder Ralph Morgan departs for new CBD venture is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs