Hemp Industry News

A piece of emergency legislation in Maine has passed into law, aligning the state’s definition of industrial hemp with language in the federal farm bill.

New legislation in Florida would establish rules for farmers and other businesses to cultivate, manufacture, and sell industrial hemp products.

Some 40 percent of U.S. adults who are 21 or older say they are interested in experimenting with CBD products.

A hemp bill has passed unanimously from the Idaho state House of Representatives to the Senate; lawmakers are anxious for a change in the face of hemp’s recent federal legalization.

Louisiana enforcement officials are planning a crackdown on CBD products sourced from out-of-state hemp farms, despite hemp’s recent legalization via the 2018 farm bill.

The CVS pharmacy chain is reportedly adding CBD topical products — but not edibles or food additives — to store shelves in eight states.

Grassroots Cannabis in Illinois completed its first capital raise of $90 million; the company is now set to expand facilities in Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Kentucky hemp sales more than tripled over the course of 2018.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who just announced plans to create federal CBD regulations, now says he will retire next month.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently said, unprompted, that he expects grocery stores — presumably including Whole Foods — to begin retailing cannabis products once legalization occurs.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gotliebb is planning a meeting for public comment and testimony in April about creating a regulatory framework for CBD.

Maine lawmakers have introduced and passed through committee legislation to lift the ban on CBD products in the state.

Tilray has acquired hemp company Manitoba Harvest in a bid to enter the U.S. market with CBD-only products.

A New York City crackdown on CBD-infused food and drinks has left some entrepreneurs worried and confused about the state of CBD regulations in the Big Apple.

The idea of a privately-funded border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has garnered quite a few donations — but whether it will be built, and what building materials might be used, remains to be seen.

Despite 11 separate test results confirming the statements of truck drivers transporting the hemp, two still remain in jail and officials in Oklahoma are now demanding the entire contents of the truck — more than 17,000 pounds of hemp — be tested for THC content.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has ordered that all orally-consumed products containing CBD must only be sold in dispensaries.

Pennsylvania is going back on a decision made last year that the state wouldn’t open its industrial hemp program in 2019 because of federal prohibition, now that hemp has been legalized nationwide.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the agency has started creating a regulatory framework for CBD products, which were legalized via the 2018 Farm Bill.

The repeal of hemp prohibition is expected to open new opportunities in agriculture, medicine, fibers/textiles, and biofuel.