eBay exec explains why millennials are buying so much CBD oil

By JP Mangalindan
Source: finance.yahoo.com


Overall cannabidiol sales are estimated to grow from $591 million in 2018 to $22 billion by 2022. Source: Dania Maxwell/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Many millennials may be worried over a possible lack of social security when they retire, but in the shorter-term, the younger demographic is more concerned about products that help ease their state of mind, says one eBay executive.

According to the company, millennial shoppers purchased over 217,400 diffusers — devices that disperse scented oils — off eBay this year so far, with a spike in sales over 58% during the last six months alone. And for the first time eBay has disclosed such sales, millennial shoppers also purchased 39,000 cannabidiol (CBD) oils and supplements this year and conducted 284,000 related searches, ostensibly in a bid to treat symptoms of anxiety. (Although CBD comes from the same plant as THC, CBD is better known for its potential medical benefits and does not get the user high.)

“With the ubiquity of mobile devices, millennials are taking deliberate steps to occasionally disconnect, or prioritize wellness,” eBay Vice President of Buyer Experiences Bradford Shellhammer told Yahoo Finance at the Open Mobile Summit on Tuesday in Burlingame, California.

A booming market for CBD

Ebay’s aromatherapy sales may not be all that surprising, given its long-established mood and stress-relieving benefits. However, the company’s stats around CBD-related online searches and sales not only speak to a more recent, growing movement to tackle so-called “digital wellbeing” in different ways, they also speak to the quietly growing CBD market. According to the Brightfield Group, a cannabis analytics firm, the CBD market is expected to grow from just $591 million in overall sales this year to a staggering $22 billion by 2022.

Much has already been said about the medical benefits of CBD, with advocates contending its all-natural properties can alleviate symptoms of a wide-ranging number of ailments, including anxiety, depression, pain, insomnia, schizophrenia, even cancer.

Added Shellhammer: “I think we’ll continue to see millennials strike a balance between using technology to make their lives more fulfilling and convenient and making a conscious decision to unplug in favor of real-world experiences.”

The eBay executive also noted another unique millennial shopping trend: their need for instant gratification applies to how they spend, contributing to impulsive purchases — at least in years past.  

“Millennials are the ultimate multitaskers,” explained Shellhammer. “They never have to start shopping, because they never stop shopping. It’s an ‘always on’ mentality. They are accustomed to immediate gratification, so when something is on their mind, they are quick to put it into their cart. What’s happening in the world around them plays a big role in their purchase behavior.”

Look no further perhaps than the fashion category, for instance. Sales of Christian Dior’s Saddle handbag spiked almost 20% on eBay earlier this year after the French fashion house had 100 global influencers and celebrities help re-launch the iconic bag on Instagram for the Fall/Winter 2018 season. Those increased sales, Shellhammer suggests, were spurred by millennials’ “always on” mentality coupled with Instagram’s popularity and sway with the demographic.

Bankers' pot push gets boost from blue wave, Sessions ouster

By ZACHARY WARMBRODT
Source: politico.com


One of the arguments for providing the federal OK for banks to work with marijuana-related businesses is that companies have been forced to hold large amounts of cash because they can’t put it in bank accounts, putting them at risk of theft and violence. | Jeff Chiu, file/AP Photo

‘There’s no question: Cannabis prohibition will end,’ one House Democrat said.


Banks haven’t been able to cash in on marijuana money, but there’s new momentum to change that with Democrats about to take charge of the House.

With anti-pot Attorney General Jeff Sessions gone and even more states legalizing weed, bankers who have grown increasingly frustrated by legal restrictions on the cannabis business are working with Democrats and Republicans to change laws curtailing transactions that deal with marijuana.


The new push by banks to handle financial transactions for the pot industry is the latest sign that politics of marijuana are rapidly changing in the nation's capital, as voters across the country back legalization.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Colorado Democrat who has taken the lead on legislation in the House, said there was "a real opportunity" to move a bill aligning federal and state marijuana laws for banks and credit unions.

"I don't think there's any doubt about it," said Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.), who is co-sponsoring Perlmutter's bill.

Lenders are asking Congress to enact a safe harbor for banks and credit unions to serve marijuana businesses because the drug remains illegal at the federal level. The prohibition has made bankers concerned that they'll face penalties from their federal regulators for taking money from the cannabis industry even in states where the sale of weed is legal.

"We now have, I think, close to a majority of the nation's population that lives in states where some form of access to marijuana is legal," Heck said. "The businesses that either grow it or process it or retail it are operating under this terrible cloud because banks and credit unions aren't quite sure what the federal regulators will do to them if they provide those services."

Before this month's elections, some Democrats were already drawing up plans to tackle the issue if they won back the House. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) released a memo containing a committee-by-committee breakdown and timeline outlining how to move ahead with legislation that would feed into a package of cannabis reform bills.

"There’s no question: Cannabis prohibition will end," Blumenauer wrote. "Democrats should lead the way. If we fail to act swiftly, I fear as the 2020 election approaches, Donald Trump will claim credit for our work in an effort to shore up support — especially from young voters."

While a comprehensive approach to pot might be a heavy lift, there is some hope among supporters of marijuana banking legislation that it's narrow enough to get traction in the next Congress.

Compass Point analyst Isaac Boltansky puts the odds of cannabis legalization at 25 percent but pegs the likelihood of banking-related legislation passing at 75 percent.

"I doubt we will see the green-sky scenario of federal legalization, given the divided Congress and the inherent incrementalism of this issue," he said. "But a banking fix is clearly in striking distance for the next Congress."

Banks have been gearing up for this moment. The Independent Community Bankers of America and the Credit Union National Association for the first time recently endorsed bills to ease rules for cannabis banking.

Ancient Virus Created CBD and THC, Genome Map Reveals

By Pat Beggan
Source: ganjapreneur.com


Photo by Rick Proctor

Researchers at the University of Toronto have completed the first total chromosome map for cannabis sativa, discovering that ancient viruses changed the plant’s DNA to cause the evolution of CBD and THC, according to ScienceDaily.

The map reveals the genes that control the creation of THC and CBD are surrounded by garbled DNA that is associated with long-ago viral infection. Viruses will change the DNA of a host in order to continue making copies of themselves, which is exactly what happened to the cannabis plant millions of years ago. That “junk DNA” spread into areas of the gene that were responsible for creating cannabinoids and altered which chemicals it was creating.

The mutation was beneficial, so it stuck around. Human selection of the cannabis plant further reinforced and tuned the changes.

Tim Hughes and his team at the University of Toronto, Jonathan Page of the University of British Columbia and Aurora Cannabis, and Harm van Bakel of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai collaborated to write the paper describing the chromosome map and its associated discoveries. The co-authors published their report’s first draft in 2011 but did not reach the more interesting conclusions until this year.

Other discoveries from the complete genome map include confirmation of separate genes for CBD and THC — meaning it should be possible to produce a cannabis plant that does not make any THC, though attempts so far have been unsuccessful.

The team also discovered the gene for a little-known cannabinoid called cannabichromene (CBC). There are hundreds of cannabinoids known to be produced by the cannabis plant, many of which remain unidentified and unstudied.

Researchers point to cannabis prohibition and the associated lack of research to explain the delay in completing a total genome map for cannabis.


“Mainstream science has still not done enough because of research restrictions. Legalization and looming ease of research regulation really provide for opportunities for more research to be done. And Canada is leading the way.” — Jonathan Page, co-author of the study, to ScienceDaily

The study was published in the journal Genome Research. Researchers hope the map will allow easier study of the cannabis plant now that federally-funded research is possible in Canada.

Can Artisanal Weed Compete With ‘Big Marijuana’?

By Ryan Stoa
Source: thedailybeast.com

With all the money pouring in, it’s fair to wonder how legalization will change the marijuana industry—and whether it can stay true to its hippie roots.

Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast

 

You’ve heard of Big Pharma and Big Tobacco. How about Big Marijuana?

The drug’s growing legalization is raising concerns among small-scale marijuana farmers and retailers that the corporatization of weed may be right around the corner.

For example, earlier this year NASDAQ became the first major U.S. stock exchange to list shares of a marijuana production company. And in August, Corona-maker Constellation Brands shocked Wall Street by making a US$3.8 billion investment in a Canadian marijuana producer, sparking a bull market in marijuana stocks industry-wide. Even Coca-Cola is exploring opportunities to get involved.

Corporate and Wall Street interest in weed is only going to increase now that three more states have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana use—bringing the total to 33—while Canada recently became the second country to allow recreational use of the drug.

I have studied the marijuana agriculture industry for the past several years, tracing its evolution from black market drug to legal intoxicant. It’s a story I tell in my book, Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry.

With all this money pouring in, it’s fair to wonder how legalization will change the marijuana industry itself—and whether it can stay true to its hippie roots.

Small origins

One of the unintended consequences of the federal prohibition on marijuana in the United States is that legal pot-related businesses have remained rather small.

The American marijuana farming scene, for example, has been dominated by small outdoor farmers and modest indoor warehouse growers. The alternative—large, market-share-dominating companies—would attract the attention of federal authorities.

State governments have recognized a public benefit to keeping farms small and local as well. In California, for example, most marijuana farming licenses are granted to farms limited to no more than one acre of marijuana.

The federal prohibition also prevents farmers, distributors and retailers from engaging in interstate commerce, meaning that states that legalize marijuana use must create their own local markets for homegrown small businesses to operate in.

Moneyed interests

But as the legal marijuana industry booms, well-heeled companies and investors are trying to corner the market.

According to one estimate, consumer spending on legal marijuana products in the U.S. reached $8.5 billion in 2017, up 31 percent from the previous year. Spending is projected to reach $23.4 billion by 2022.

For comparison, beer sales are actually declining. Although total sales were a robust $111 billion in 2017, that was down 1 percent from the previous year.

Such rapid growth in the marijuana market may not be surprising, given that two-thirds of the U.S. population can now use marijuana medicinallyor recreationally, up from none just over two decades ago, based on my own analysis.

As a result, retail stores are becoming bigger and bolder, with chains competing to establish themselves as the Starbucks of the marijuana industry.

One of these is Seattle-based Diego Pellicer, one of the first marijuana companies to market itself as a premium brand retail chain. For now, the company’s model rests on acquiring real estate and securing deals with marijuana retailers willing to operate their business under the Diego Pellicer name. That way, if the federal prohibition is ever lifted, Diego Pellicer will be in prime position to dominate the retail market.

The immense growth potential is also attracting private equity and other investors, some of whom are partnering with celebrities whose names are linked to pot smoking. In 2016, for example, a private equity firm partnered with the Bob Marley estate to launch the Marley Natural line of marijuana products.

Patents are seen as another way a few giant companies may come to capture the pot industry. Increasingly well-funded laboratories are developing new strains of marijuana at a rapid pace, with varying degrees of strength and hardiness as well as unique psychoactive and flavor profiles.

As the U.S. Patent and Trade Office begins to issue patents, there are reports of companies attempting to gobble them up.

Finally, many in the agricultural sector of the marijuana industry are predicting and bracing for an agribusiness takeover – though this has yet to happen.

How craft weed can thrive

Are marijuana veterans right to be concerned that their industry is moving too rapidly from the black market to the stock market?

Yes and no. My own research suggests that a local, sustainable and artisanal model of marijuana production can co-exist with Big Marijuana—much as craft beer has thrived in recent years alongside the traditional macro breweries.

One reason is that whereas the illicit drug trade forced consumers to buy marijuana of unknown sources from street dealers, the legal market allows consumers to buy a wide variety of marijuana products from legitimate retail businesses. And more and more consumers are turning to edibles and extracts produced by highly specialized manufacturers.

The staggering number of marijuana strains being developed is creating a connoisseur culture that favors small-scale, artisanal farms that can nimbly adapt to shifts in market demand. Because such farms can market themselves as small, sustainable and local, they can better reflect 21st-century food movement ideals.

Besides efforts at the state level to limit the size of farms, another regulatory approach is the use of appellations to encourage an artisanal pot culture. I have argued that the marijuana industry is well-suited to adopt an appellation system, like you find with wine and cheeses.

Just like a Bordeaux wine comes exclusively from that region of France or Parmigiano-Reggiano is named after the areas of Italy where it originates, Humboldt marijuana may become a prestigious and legally protected designation of origin for marijuana products grown or produced in Humboldt County, California.

It is probably inevitable that Big Marijuana will take hold in some form, but that doesn’t mean the market can’t support the small businesses that have enabled marijuana to become a uniquely local and artisanal industry.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here.

Workshop explores industrial hemp value chain

By Carolyn Lange
Source: wctrib.com

Carolyn Lange / Tribune file photo Hemp fiber is used for many textile and clothing items, such as this hat.

WILLMAR — In an effort to diversify their farming operation, the Hultgren family planted 40 acres of organic industrial hemp this year on their land in northern Kandiyohi County.

After making adjustments on the combine to prevent the rope-like stems from wrapping around the equipment, the hemp seeds were harvested and cleaned in September.

"I thought it went OK," said Noah Hultgren, who farms with his brother, Nate, and parents Duane and Nancy Hultgren.

With a history of planting corn, soybeans and sugar beets, Hultgren said it's difficult for the first-time hemp growers to gauge whether or not the hemp harvest was above or below average. But he said based on what they've been told from the company that supplied the seeds, the yield was "decent."

When it's time to sell the crop, Hultgren said they will haul the seeds all the way to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

"That's definitely far enough," he said.

That could change in the future, however, if there's enough interest and research-backed evidence to support development of an industrial hemp processing facility here.

The Ag and Renewable Energy Committee, which is part of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Committee, is hosting a workshop at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 15 at the Kandiyohi Power Cooperative community room to present information about the industrial hemp value chain.

Having farmers grow industrial hemp — and having a facility to process hemp seeds — is a "chicken and egg situation," said Connie Schmoll, business development specialist with the EDC.

The committee has set aside money to research potential value chain facilities in the county.

This workshop will launch the process of exploring the potential for industrial hemp to determine if there's an actual market before further investments are made, Schmoll said.

Harold Stanislawski, project development director with the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute who's in charge of the industrial hemp initiative in Minnesota, will discuss aspects of growing, processing and marketing hemp.

AURI is currently in the midst of researching the feasibility of hemp production and processing to determine if it's a venture that can be pursued without undue risk to participants.

"It's never too fun to be serial number one because that's where the mistakes are made," Stanislawski said.

He said AURI researchers are examining what works and what doesn't work with hemp as food, fiber, pharmaceuticals and livestock feed. "It's going to be a very innovative time," he said.

 

Part of the exploration process will depend on what action Congress takes in the farm bill regarding hemp.

Currently, industrial hemp is listed as a controlled substance and can only be grown in states that have approved pilot hemp projects, as Minnesota has.

There are proposals to legalize industrial hemp so it can be grown anywhere in the United States, without restrictions, as an agricultural crop.

Industrial hemp is a distant cousin to marijuana, but with extremely low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol — the chemical compound that produces a "high."

Doing research now will help farmers and investors be ready with plans if the new farm bill does include an industrial hemp provision, Stanislawski said.

Charles Levine, owner of Hemp Acres LLC in Waconia, will also speak at the forum. Levin operates the first state-approved processing facility where he produces food-grade protein and oil-extraction.

Hultgren said having a processing facility in Kandiyohi County could make a difference in whether their family farm continues to grow industrial hemp.

Reservations to attend the workshop are required by Tuesday by contacting the EDC at edc@kandiyohi.com. The $10 cost includes breakfast.

If you go

What: Industrial hemp value chain workshop

When: 7:30 a.m. Nov. 15

Where: Kandiyohi Power Cooperative Community Room, 8605 47th Street Northeast, Spicer

Info: RSVP by Tuesday, Nov. 13, via email to edc@kandiyohi.com. A $10 fee includes a meal.

Farm Bill update: What the new Congress means for hemp entrepreneurs

Source: hempindustrydaily.com

The hemp industry has been waiting for months for Congress to take action on a new Farm Bill, one that could make legal barriers for hemp production disappear.

Now that Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives, hemp entrepreneurs wonder what that means for the 2018 Farm Bill. Could a lame-duck Congress steer it to the president before the end of the year, or will the hemp industry have to wait until 2019?

It’s hard to say, according to lobbyists and activists working on hemp expansion.

But they believe the Democratic takeover, combined with a strengthened Republican majority in the next Senate, bodes well for hemp.

“I view the election as a real big victory,” said Jonathan Miller, lawyer for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, which is lobbying Congress to take hemp out of the Controlled Substances Act and put the plant under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We think this is going to be one of the very few issues where (incoming Democratic) Speaker Nancy Pelosi and (Republican Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell work closely together.”

Farm Bill options

Congress has a few options for dealing with the Farm Bill:

• Pass a compromise bill out of a joint conference committee.

Both the House and Senate have passed versions of the Farm Bill, but they contain critical differences that need to be overcome.

Hemp is not one of them, even though the House version doesn’t mention the plant.

That omission is commonly considered to be an attempt by Republican leaders to avoid losing votes for the larger measure.

But now that the Republican party will lose control of the house anyway, does getting every “yes” vote still matter?

It’s an open question, according to hemp activists who started scrambling hours after the election Tuesday to find out what the Democratic takeover would mean for the legislation.

“The biggest question is whether they try, in a lame-duck Congress, to move the Farm Bill,” said Geoff Whaling of the National Hemp Association.

• Introduce a new bill after the new Congress is sworn in.

If the current Congress can’t agree on a single version before January, the measure has to start from scratch when a new Congress takes over.

But that isn’t necessarily a disaster for hemp, Whaling said.

“If we have to wait, we have a lot of champions in the House,” he said.

One of those is Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

Peterson, who is expected to take charge of the next House Agriculture Committee, supports the Senate version of the 2018 Farm Bill, Politico reported Wednesday.  That version expands hemp production and removes any requirement that it be grown as part of a state pilot project.

• Do nothing and let the Farm Bill expire.

“The fear factor now is that both sides won’t be able to accomplish anything at all,” said Chad Rosen, CEO of Victory Hemp Foods in New Castle, Kentucky.

While doing nothing is always an option for Congress, it’s not a likely outcome, according to industry insiders. Funding of several key programs, including crop subsidies, is tied to the passage of a new bill.

What’s more likely is that Congress would pass a continuing resolution that allows the existing law to remain in force for a set period of time.

Opportunity for change

Morris Beegle, president of the Colorado Hemp Co. and longtime hemp activist, said the party change could provide an opening to peel out one Farm Bill element opposed by hemp activists: a lifetime hemp-farming ban for former drug felons.

“I hope that we can come to a resolution on the Farm Bill and that … the felony part comes out of it,” he said.

Miller, whose group opposes the felon ban but doesn’t want to see it hold up the overall bill, said he believes hemp’s future is bright but that Farm Bill delays are hurting the hemp industry.

“We’d rather have it sooner rather than later,” Miller said. “There are so many bankers and investors sitting on the sidelines until this happens.”

Hilary Morse – co-founder of The H. Hemp Company, a CBD manufacturer based in Topanga Canyon, California, and Boulder, Colorado – believes the hemp industry is poised to benefit from Democratic takeover of the House.

But her company isn’t counting on hasty Farm Bill action.

“The newly elected Democrats are apparently pro-hemp, so it should be a good thing for the hopes of the Farm Bill,” Morse wrote in an email to Hemp Industry Daily. “But predicting what Congress is going to do is impossible.”

Rosen pointed out that the hemp industry is flourishing even with the Farm Bill on ice.

“I look around and I see a lot of my colleagues in the hemp industry doing tremendously well,” he said.