HempTalk - Business Blogs and Press Releases

Second of Two Parts
Part One: A Hemp Manifesto for Africa

Despite starting research trials on the agronomic feasibility of hemp between 1994 and 1996 when the South African government started growing cannabis to make the THC isomer Dronabinol for the United States, South Africa has yet to properly legislate for hemp cultivation and use.

A study done by Camila Coogan, “The South African hemp story: Saviour Crop or Business as Usual?” details some of the trials and tribulations that has plagued the South African hemp industry. Many of the challenges stem from legislative barriers, while others stem from bad politics, differing stakeholder priorities and lack of any clear vision or consolidated efforts for a viable hemp industry.

Challenging inertia

Advocates, activists and commercial interests are challenging the lack of progress, and uniquely, cannabis prohibition is being challenged as unconstitutional and in violation of human-rights in SA courts. Meanwhile private stakeholders continue to advocate for legalization or de-regulation of cannabis, and are working to establish a hemp industry despite the legal and political challenges. A Cannabis Development Council of South Africa formed in late 2017 aims to facilitate industry growth.

The South African experience through 20 years can provide valuable insight to other countries on pitfalls and policy approaches to avoid as they slowly wake up to the potential of the crop:

An Indian state has made history by granting a cultivation permit for industrial hemp to the Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA). The permit allows a pilot program to take off in the Pauri Garhwal district in the state of Uttarakhand. The project aims to promote hemp farming and the development of hemp industry value chains. Among farmers, hemp is being touted as a desperately needed cash crop.

There is already a large demand for hemp products on the Indian subcontinent, and it is hoped that this project will help establish domestic production, encourage entrepreneurs and investors, and stimulate local economies,  Trivendra Rawat, a state minister told the India123 news service.

Hemp gets its ‘fair due’

Hemp “is getting its fair due and coming to the forefront of a positive dialogue,” Rohit Sharma, the president of IIHA, said in a press release after the permit was issued. The Association is a consortium of stakeholders working in support of the hemp industry in India.

Uttarakhand, which is located in northern India, borders Nepal and China. State officials see hemp’s potential to revive Indian agriculture and create jobs. For starters, new supplies of hemp fiber could rapidly feed into the existing Indian textile industry to address growing global demand for hemp textiles.

But start-ups and R&D projects are popping up all over the country, as government and entrepreneurs awaken to hemp’s broader potential in India, the world’s 7th largest economy.

(First of 2 parts)

By Arne Verhoef | HempToday – Hemp could play a major role in achieving nearly every goal of the so-called “Africa 2063” manifesto, and serve in nearly every aspect of the ambitious Accelerated Industrial Development plan for Africa (AIDA), driven by the African Union and the United Nations. There is no better single crop to help modernize African agriculture and bring more industrialization to African economies than hemp, with its adaptability as a crop and its broad array of potential end products.

Hemp can empower the rural poor and address systemic poverty by including small scale producers into agronomic value chains, and through investing in the skills and resources needed to produce the crop. Its many ancillary industries can drive rapid economic advancement, creating jobs and ensuring inclusive economic participation.

Keeping Africa clean

The crop can address food security, increase climate resilience and minimise Africa’s carbon output, keeping it at the lowest in the world without halting progress. It can create carbon-sensitive infrastructure and dignified, healthy and eco-friendly housing for the millions living in shacks and shanty towns.
Because hemp is a perfect crop to address the critical challenges faced by the continent, it should be in the vanguard of efforts aimed at sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

Addressing the barriers

But in Africa, the barriers are significant. The legislative challenges are immense, and a lot of grassroots work also still needs to be done to overcome rampant stigmas about cannabis in general, and to raise hemp’s profile on the continent. The potential of the crop escapes many everyday Africans. In some regions of Zimbabwe, for example, it’s believed that the plant’s seeds are poisonous. This in a country where malnutrition is relatively common due to protein-deficient diets, and where at least one native hemp variety produces an astounding amount of seed – potentially well-suited as seed crop. The general population needs to be convinced of the plant’s benefits, not just know its religious or recreational use.

A first-ever Asian Hemp Summit set for Kathmandu, Nepal next year will explore the vast possibilities for industrial hemp across the continent. Nepal-based Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures (SHIV), HempToday and Hempoint, Czech Republic, are organizers of the inaugural event, which is scheduled for Feb. 1-2, 2019 at the Gokarna Forest Resort in Kathmandu.

Signups started this month for the conference, which will primarily focus on the markets of China, India, Nepal, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia and Japan. Organizers encourage stakeholders from all Asian countries to attend, including regulators, politicians, development agencies, private hemp enthusiasts, environmental groups, retailers & consumers.

Investment opportunities

“Opportunities abound for global players – investment is needed all throughout Asia in every hemp sector and sub-sector,” said Dhiraj K. Shah, a consultant who founded SHIV with his wife Nivedita in 2014. “And there’s a lot that can happen cross-border on the continent because of the strong trading traditions and established import-export arrangements among Asian nations.”

World class speakers

Speakers already tentatively confirmed for the Asian Hemp Summit are:

Anar Artur, CEO, HempMongolia
Riki Hiroi, Each Japan
Nivedita & Dhiraj Shah, SHIV, Nepal
Steve Allin, International Hemp Building Association
Paul Benhaim, Elixinol Group Ltd, Australia
Daniel Kruse, HempConsult GmbH, Germany
Hana Gabrielova, Hempoint, Czech Republic
Haile Selassie Tefari, Hemp Service Intl., France
Arne Verhoef, HempHub, South Africa
Morris Beegle, WAFBA & NoCo Hemp Expo, USA
Rick Trojan, Hemp Road Trip, USA.

EUROPEAN HEMP
(Last of 4 parts)
Part 1: Europe’s tough row to hoe: Lack of clarity on CBD, THC
Part 2: Europe’s Great THC Debate: Get moving or fall behind
Part 3: Europe’s futile efforts to slow marijuana use

Investors and startups are clamoring for information and guidance on how to get into the CBD business amid an upsurge in what’s clearly proving to be the pace-setting sector in the overall hemp industry, according to Daniel Kruse, CEO at European advisory HempConsult GmbH.

“We’ve had a huge increase in the number of queries about CBD in the past 12 months. Companies want to know about the legal issues, how the value chain works and what the market looks like overall,” Kruse said.

Leading global consultancy

HempConsult is well positioned to deliver that valuable advice, having 23 years of experience in everything from farming and organic certification to legal and tax issues across all hemp sectors.

Recent approval of GW Pharmaceutical’s cannabidiol-based drug Epidiolex in the United States not only will soon give patients needed relief, but can spur further research into cannabinoids as well as expansion of the CBD sector overall. That could set off a cycle that would result in a greater number of treatment options for patients, GW has said.

GW made cannabis history June 25, 2018 when it earned approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for Epidiolex, a drug crafted as a treatment for two forms of childhood epilepsy. It is the first cannabis-derived prescription drug to gain federal approval in the United States.

The publicly traded, UK-based company has said it is “blazing a trail for any other CBD prescription medications that may follow,” and has consistently refuted accusations it is working to monopolize the cannabinoid-based medicines market, as some critics have alleged, meanwhile muddying the waters for non-prescription CBD products.

Unfounded fears

Critics have pointed to GW’s wide gallery of patents, and the protection orphan drug status provides the company in their theories about GW’s intentions.

Furthermore, some makers of non-medicinal grade CBD products have been fearful that casting CBD in a prescription framework could negatively impact sales in the fast-growing non-prescription CBD food supplements sub-sector. That’s a fear long-time cannabis veteran and consultant Richard Rose says is unfounded.

EUROPEAN HEMP
(Third of 4 parts)

Part 1: Europe’s tough row to hoe: Lack of clarity on CBD, THC
Part 2: Europe’s Great THC Debate: Get moving or fall behind
Upcoming:
Part 4: Thursday, July 5: Demand strong for advice on CBD, startups, technology

As the European Union has sought to ensure that hemp growers don’t sneak marijuana into their fields, officials have all along operated on flimsy premises.

Experienced hemp food processors around the world know that harvesting technology and the process of cleaning the seeds are the key factors to reach low THC levels in food end-products. Over the last decade, thriving markets in North America and imports from Canada prove that hemp food products can be completely safe for the consumer.

No correlation

In Canada, the industry operates on the 0.3% THC limit on plants measured in the field. But while China is now installing the 0.3% in-the-field standard, it has for years operated under no THC limitations at all. In other words, both countries have shown their ability to produce food that meets food safety standards despite higher in-the-field levels of THC in the source crops. There can be no better demonstration of the fact that there is no direct correlation between THC in hemp flowers and leaves, and THC contamination on the seed shells.

CW Hemp's parent company plans to go public in Canada. Little has been shared publicly about Stanley Brothers operations and financials - until now.

Charlotte’s Web’s secrets revealed as parent company plans to go public in Canada is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The FDA signs off on a cannabis-derived drug to treat epilepsy, an Arizona court says marijuana extracts are illegal in the state, and a bill that would deschedule MJ is introduced in Congress. Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in the cannabis industry over the past week. CBD’s ‘immutable support’ Marijuana advocates have […]

Week in Review: FDA approves CBD drug, Arizona court bans marijuana extracts & federal cannabis reform is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

American Lawmakers and industrial hemp advocates cheered yesterday’s passage of the U.S. Farm Bill by the country’s Senate on an 86-11 vote. Signing of the law by President Donald Trump would legalize growing, processing and sale of hemp, let farmers get insurance for the crop and leave states to frame more specific programs for the industry.

Under the measure, hemp will be treated as a commodity crop, but will still be controlled and monitored by each state’s Department of Agriculture. It would also let farmers compete for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants to expand hemp research.

Ending decades of bad policy

“Legalizing hemp nationwide ends decades of bad policymaking and opens up untold economic opportunity for farmers in Oregon and across the country,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon. “Today marks a long-overdue, huge step forward for American-grown hemp.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and leader of the Senate, had earlier introduced a Hemp Farming Act, stand-alone legislation to legalize hemp, provisions of which are in the larger Farm Bill. The stand-alone act gathered 17 Democrats, nine Republicans and two independents as co-sponsors. The Act would remove industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances list and set guidelines through which states can submit their programs for approval to the USDA.

Both parties support measure

The overwhelming support for hemp in the U.S. Congress marks it as one of very few bi-partisan issues in the fractured American political scene.

EUROPEAN HEMP
(Second of 4 parts)
Part 1: Europe’s tough row to hoe: Lack of clarity on CBD, THC
Upcoming:
Part 3:Monday, July 2: Europe’s futile efforts to slow marijuana use
Part 4:Thursday, July 5: Demand strong for advice on CBD, startups, technology

If Europe doesn’t move fast to make reasonable rules for THC levels in industrial hemp, we’ll be missing an historic opportunity to maintain our rightful place as the leader of the crop’s revival in the 20th and 21st centuries.

While most European countries follow an EU directive that sets THC limits for hemp at 0.2%, leading hemp nations around the world operate on a generally accepted global standard of 0.3%. And some, increasingly, much higher.

The negative effects of the situation in Europe are evident up and down the value chain – particularly in the food and medicinal hemp sectors.

It begins, appropriately, with the seed. The 0.2% THC “in the field” limit mandated by the EU means European scientists and researchers haven’t been incentivized to develop the high-yield seed varieties and high-CBD strains that are now in great demand. Such strains are absent any significant THC, but can still exceed the 0.2% limit. At the same time, several high-yielding hemp seed varieties, especially from Eastern Europe, are not viable for production under the 0.2% THC constraint.Time, value and money already have been lost.

FIRST OF FOUR PARTS
Upcoming:
Thursday, June 28: Europe’s Great THC Debate: Get moving or fall behind
Monday, July 2: Europe’s futile efforts to slow marijuana use
Thursday, July 5: Demand strong for advice on CBD, startups, technology

A riddle set in motion by European Union authorities earlier this year has hemp food producers on the continent scratching their heads this summer. Changes in how CBD is considered under the EU’s Novel Foods Directive, never announced but eventually noticed by some producers, is sure to cause more confusion in an already confusing sector.

While a previous statement on CBD in the Novel Foods Catalog took a purely descriptive, and somewhat vague, approach, stakeholders recently noticed the definition had been re-written to state that any products which have more CBD than the plants from which they are derived are now considered novel foods. This affects particularly what’s generically referred to as “hemp flower oils,” industrial hemp green matter rendered in concentrated or extract forms. The change has the potential to throw yet another wrench into the European hemp food sector.

What’s novel food?

Novel food is defined as food that was not consumed to a considerable degree by citizens of the EU prior to 1997, when the first regulation on novel food came into force. Novel food can be newly developed, innovative food, food produced using new technologies and production processes, and food traditionally eaten outside the EU. The regulation requires such foods be safe and be properly labeled so as not to mislead consumers, among other requirements. The upshot for producers is a more burdensome marketplace as novel foods undergo stringent and costly authorization requirements.

Stakeholders noticed the definition had been changed, perhaps as far back as November 2017.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a CBD drug - a landmark decision that will trigger the health agency to seek rescheduling from the DEA.

FDA approves cannabis-derived medicine; DEA must weigh in is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Berlin-based MH medical hemp GmbH (MH) has applied for licenses to import and sell medical cannabis in German pharmacies, with approval expected this summer. MH is in the process of obtaining Wholesale Trading Authorization for human medicinal products as well as a Narcotic Drug License as outlined in the German Narcotic Drug Act.

Next evolutionary step for MH

“This is the next step in the evolution of the company. It’s a natural space for us to be in,” said Joscha Krauss, MH’s CEO. “The demand for medical cannabis in Germany is by far higher than its supply – especially when high quality standards lead to tight bottlenecks.”

Germany’s medical marijuana law, which went into effect in spring 2017, makes it easy for patients to access cannabis for medicinal purposes, removing a complicated system in which special authorization was required to obtain cannabis remedies in the past. Patients are only required to have a doctor’s prescription, and can collect reimbursement via their health insurance program.

“The fact that health insurance companies will cover the cost of medical cannabis gives Germany a leading role on a global level,” Krauss added, and empowers both patients and doctors in their efforts to manage patient needs.

(This is an abridged version of a package that appears in the May-June issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.) North American marijuana entrepreneurs who believe it’s too early to look at international opportunities should reconsider their position. Federally licensed cultivation companies in Canada – Canopy Growth, Tilray, Aurora Cannabis and Cronos Group, to name a few – already are […]

Time is right for marijuana entrepreneurs to enter the global market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canada’s proposed licensing structure for recreational marijuana will create significant opportunities for additional players, and “hundreds” of businesses are positioning themselves to capitalize on the market - even before the final regulations have been released.

New licenses open doors for Canadian marijuana entrepreneurs is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Leading global stakeholders will gather at HempToday Center in Poland Aug. 24-25, 2018 to survey the burgeoning medical hemp sector amid exploding demand worldwide for CBD.

European blue-chip CBD brand CannabiGold is the host sponsor for “The Future of Medical Hemp,” an exclusive gathering limited to 25 persons total. Twenty accreditations are still available for the Summit at €900 each. Signups before the end of June receive an early-bird rate of €700.

Attendees will get an in-depth look at a wide range of industry topics including investment, product development & innovation, global medical hemp hot spots, the regulatory environment, biochemistry of cannabinoids, and cannabinoid production.

Featured presenters are:

Boaz Wachtel, Chairman & co-founder, CresoPharma, a nutraceuticals company traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) since autumn 2016. Wachtel was co-founder and former managing director of MMJ Phytotech, Australia’s first publicly traded medical cannabis company. He is also the co-founder of the International Medical Cannabis Patient Coalition (IMCPC).

The much anticipated 2018 Farm Bill that would remove hemp from federal narcotics lists in the USA goes before a Senate Agriculture Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, June 13.

The removal would be through the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, included in the overall farming legislation, which also defines hemp as an agricultural commodity and would give individual states the opportunity to become the primary regulators of hemp production, allow hemp researchers to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and make hemp farmers eligible for crop insurance.

Rare bipartisanship

Following the amendment process, which could last several days, the full committee will vote to send the legislation to the Senate floor, possibly by the end of this month. The measure would become law only if it is eventually signed by the unpredictable Donald Trump, Idiot President.

The committee released the current version of the 2018 Farm Bill earlier this month.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, introduced the bipartisan Hemp Farming Act in April along with fellow Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, and with Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. Twenty-four other Senators from the two main political parties in the USA also are supporting the measure in a rare example of bipartisanship in the sharply polarized political scene in the USA.

Australia-based Elixinol Group has put up the first-ever advertising for a CBD product in Japan with installation of a billboard in Tokyo’s Omotesando train station.

“Japan has the third largest consumer economy in the world, and the audience is both sophisticated and health conscious,” said Elixinol CEO Paul Benhaim after the billboard went up earlier this month.

CBD is legal in Japan, but CBD producers were heretofore not able to advertise them.

Breakthrough with Japanese authorities

“Elixinol has been supplying hemp oil products to Japan for over three years, however up until now we have not been able to actively market the product range,” said Makoto Matsumaru, CEO of Elixinol Japan. The approval came after months working with authorities in Japan, which has a very strong historical connection to hemp dating back to ancient times, Matsumaru added.

“Approval to commercially advertise our Hemp Oil Drops is a major win for the hemp industry,” Matsumaru said.

Cannabis stakeholders and activists are drawing positive energy from four days of hearings during which doctors, patients, and researchers presented analysis and outlined the benefits of cannabis before the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO convened a special 40th meeting of its Expert Committee entirely dedicated to cannabis for the first time. The meeting was held in Geneva.

“In the year of its 70th birthday, the World Health Organization is finally taking steps to repair an injustice that it co-created: the affirmation that cannabis had no medical value, based on biased scientific processes,” the Foundation for Alternative Approaches to Addiction (FAAAT), said in a statement.

FAAAT is a transnational non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organization working on the issue of addiction, controlled drugs, and plant or substances liable to produce addiction. From Barcelona, Geneva, New-York, Paris Vienna, FAAAT & do tankcentralizes the collaboration of a global network of experts.

FAAAT has been pressuring the United Nations system to strengthen scientific methodology and comprehensiveness of data regarding medical cannabis and its derivatives since 2009.