Mexico’s legalization of hemp, marijuana could be ‘quite significant’ for US markets

By Ivan Moreno
Source: hempindustrydaily.com

Mexico is poised to become the world’s most-populous country with legal marijuana and hemp next month – and, unlike its northern neighbor, Mexico is setting nationwide regulations to cover all forms of cannabis, no matter the THC content, instead of having a patchwork of laws for the two plants.

That could potentially open more business opportunities in the cannabis industry, with the potential for Mexico to export and import from places worldwide where the plants are legal. Mexico does not currently allow hemp cultivation.

“The impact would be quite significant,” said Lisa Pittman, a longtime cannabis attorney at the Texas-based Coats Rose law firm.

“The other countries that have already legalized cannabis – Canada and Uruguay – have populations much smaller than Mexico, and Mexico already has quite a history of using cannabis and shipping cannabis across our borders.”

She added that the United States’ federal prohibition on marijuana – and, until recently, hemp – has presented “obstacles to banking and capital-raising and taxation.”

It could take years for Mexico to set up regulations for how hemp and marijuana business can grow and sell cannabis products. But some of Mexico’s biggest retail chains already are interested in carrying CBD beverages and topicals, hemp manufacturers in the U.S. say.

“We’re getting calls from retailers, wholesalers, distributors and so on that are interested and know that there’s going to be a big demand in Mexico,” said Christian Patiño Webb, executive vice president of Day One, a Los Angeles company that makes CBD-infused sparkling water.

He declined to specify exact retailers, citing ongoing negotiations.

As in the U.S., some independent retailers in Mexico already sell CBD products, even though it’s not a completely government-regulated market in either country.

Indeed, hemp businesses and entrepreneurs are losing patience with regulators and have started to blame the federal government’s delays for layoffs at their companies.

“The United States market is going to be further hindered as it is surrounded on both sides by countries that can produce legal cannabis on a large-scale basis and can export that cannabis to other countries that have also legalized it, too,” Pittman said.

Mexico’s population is 130 million, compared with Canada’s 37.6 million and Uruguay’s 3.5 million. Legalization in Mexico is expected to happen by April 30 – the deadline the country’s Supreme Court set for lawmakers to act.

“So this bill will basically legalize all uses (and) grants or classifies the types of licenses that will be available, which are five,” said Luis Armendáriz, an attorney in Chihuahua, Mexico, who is affiliated with Denver’s Hoban Law Group.

“One for import and export of products; a second for transformation; the third for sale or commercialization; the fourth for cultivation and the last one for research.”

Although Mexico currently does not allow hemp cultivation, it can be imported as raw material for construction or textile, Armendáriz said.

A cannabis agency would be created to regulate commercial opportunities and issue licenses for each activity. The agency would regulate all forms of cannabis.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 2018 said it was unconstitutional to ban the use of cannabis for personal use, “under the theory of free development of personality, which sounds a lot like (the United States’) Bill of Rights, the right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness,” Pittman said.

The bill making its way through Mexico’s Congress establishes hemp as a “nonpsychoactive” form of cannabis, putting a 1% THC limit on the plant. Adults would be able to possess up to 28 grams and grow four plants personally, with a limit of six plants per household.

The proposed legislation also envisions dispensaries and, potentially, cannabis clubs.

And, for the first five years of the proposed program, 40% of the cultivation licenses would go to people who can show they were somehow harmed by the prohibition on cannabis.

 

Hemp Company Files For Bankruptcy As 'Confounding Regulatory Guidelines' Hamper Growth

By David E. Carpenter
Source: forbes.com

Hemp farmers face shifting regulations.

CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Another in a series of hemp companies has filed for bankruptcy protection, as the relatively nascent hemp industry strives to find a secure footing since 2018 when federal legalization of the plant commenced in the U.S. Part of the sector’s stagnation can be laid at the feet of government regulators and an inability to create clear and nonrestrictive policies around hemp.

A key player in the emerging industrial hemp sector since 2014, Atalo Holdings’ predicament is a telling sign regarding the precarious status of hemp in America. One of the early movers in the resurgence of Kentucky hemp production, Atalo was one of the initial hemp processing companies in the state to receive clearance several years before legalization to grow hemp as part of a government pilot program. The company’s partners boast a history of research and advocacy for hemp reaching back 25 years – well into the dark days of the War on Drugs, when hemp was lumped in with marijuana as a Schedule 1 illegal substance. A laughable idea, considering it is non-psychoactive, but one that hampered the industry’s growth for decades.

Providing an alternative to declining tobacco and corn crops in large swathes of the U.S., farmers across the country have been cautiously optimistic about this vital crop option to complement their growing rotations. American consumers, too, have appeared poised to embrace hemp as a sustainable alternative to more environmentally destructive materials like cotton, plastic and fossil fuels. Known to be one of the most versatile and durable natural fibers available on the planet, hemp has been used globally for centuries and is currently utilized in the manufacture of clothing, food products, rope, hempcrete and auto parts. Add to that the stratospheric popularity of CBD over the past several years – an ingredient that can be derived from hemp and available in everything from sleep remedies to beauty supplies – and the idea of farming hemp looks to be a no-brainer for many American farmers.

But there have been significant hurdles placed in the way of those looking to benefit from growing hemp, exacerbated by government regulations. Impediments include the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) restrictive and floating policies around hemp; as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) failure to release formal regulations with respect to CBD. Atalo’s CEO Bill Hilliard cites those perplexing ambiguities as one of the major reasons why the emerging industry is hamstrung by the event.

“Hemp processors, along with our farmers and other partners, have essentially created an entirely new agricultural industry,” says Hilliard. “The path to success has been impeded by confounding guidance from regulatory agencies, unforeseen market forces and other challenges.”

Three other hemp companies have experienced similar financial difficulties this year, including both Sunstrand and GenCanna in Kentucky, and Commonwealth Alternative Medicinal Options in Pennsylvania.

Hilliard shares that Atalo was also impacted by a failed capital commitment, which left the company unable to pay creditors. Looking to continue operations while the bankruptcy proceeds, Atalo Chair Andy Graves describes how the inability to pay their creditors or deliver a return to shareholders is “disappointing to say the least,” he says. Touting the hemp company’s steadfast agronomic experience over 25 years – combined with its compliant plant genetics and on-going product partners – Graves believes the company “is an attractive opportunity for a timely new investor seeking revenue-producing assets.”

While the industrial hemp industry certainly faces some challenging headwinds, there is a silver lining. The march towards a more functional regulatory system seems to be slowly transpiring, as federal government regulators listen to feedback from states. Just last month, the USDA announced that it had reviewed concerns from farmers and agreed to temporarily lift two provisions that the industry viewed as troublesome. Those policies regard testing and disposal requirements. The hope is that regulators continue to see the need for less restrictive rules around the valuable crop.
 

Malawi Just Legalized Medical Marijuana and Another May Be on the Way

By David Jagielski
Source: fool.com

Marijuana legalization has made significant progress over the years, and Malawi is the latest country to permit its use. The African country of about 19 million people will now allow cannabis to be used in medicine and in the creation of hemp fibers. While it doesn't permit the recreational use of marijuana, it's another significant step forward for Africa, where Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and South Africa have all loosened their laws relating to cannabis.

With North American cannabis companies struggling over the past year, this is a welcome sign for investors, as it means there will be more options to invest in other parts of the world. For companies, it also creates the opportunity to import pot from other regions where it's cheaper and easier to grow year-round. And the good news is that there's another country that may soon be about to legalize pot.

Lebanon looks to legalize medical marijuana

The Middle East is a potential hotbed for cannabis cultivation, and Lebanon has a history of it that goes back more than 100 years. With a population of 6 million, the country isn't as big as Malawi, but there's significant potential for marijuana production there.

Lawmakers drafted a bill that permits cannabis where the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels are below 1%. It's not enough for users to get high, but there can be many medical applications for it. In 2018, the U.S. legalized hemp, which is cannabis characterized by very low levels of THC -- 0.3% or less.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

In Lebanon, the draft legislation is awaiting a final vote. No date is set as to when that might happen, and the country has been working on legalizing medical marijuana for multiple years in the hopes of boosting its economy. Yassine Jaber, one of the members of the Lebanon Parliament who helped draft the bill, believes that Lebanon has "a competitive advantage in the cannabis business" and that "our soil is among the best in the world for this, and the cost of production is low compared to other states."

As countries open up to cannabis, it creates opportunities for foreign companies to expand there.

Canopy Growth to expand into Israel

Earlier this month, Canada-based cannabis producer Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) announced it was working on a deal with Univo Pharmaceuticals (TASE:UNVO) to market and sell medical marijuana products in Israel. Not only is this an opportunity to reach a new market, but under the agreement, Canopy Growth would be able to utilize Univo's facilities to help export its products into other European countries -- once it's legal to do so. Medical marijuana is legal in Israel, and the country's conducted a lot of research and development on cannabis over the years.

The move by Canopy Growth is just the latest example of how it and its rival Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) have been expanding to other countries in the hopes of not just gaining first-mover advantages, but securing low-cost supplies of cannabis as well. Unfortunately, it's a long-term strategy that hasn't paid off just yet, with both companies still struggling to stay out of the red.

Should investors expect more foreign expansion?

The opportunity to get into foreign markets like Malawi, Israel, and perhaps Lebanon soon could be very attractive to companies like Aurora and Canopy Growth. But with cannabis investors focused on profitability more than ever before, it may not be feasible in the near term. Many cannabis producers are looking for ways to conserve cash rather than spend more of it, and that's likely the largest impediment to foreign expansion today.

However, for investors, it's an opportunity to look for new up-and-coming pot stocks from countries that legalize cannabis. With lower-cost production, they may prove to be better investments with more realistic expectations of profitability. Currently, North American pot stocks remain very risky, as is evidenced by the markets where the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF has fallen nearly 80% in the past 12 months while the S&P 500 has declined a much more modest 12%.

 

USDA drops DEA hemp testing requirement for 2020, while FDA acknowledges demand for CBD

By Laura Drotleff
Source: hempindustrydaily.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue addresses the nation's state agriculture departments on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 (Photo courtesy USDA)

Federal agriculture officials will delay the requirement that all THC testing on hemp crops must be performed at laboratories registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

And food and drug regulators say it’s a “fool’s errand” to get people to stop taking over-the-counter CBD.

The testing delay comes after farmers and states alike complained there wouldn’t be enough DEA labs to handle demand. The U.S. Department of Agriculture acknowledges the complaints in an update Thursday.

“We now better understand how the limited number of DEA-registered labs will hinder testing and better understand the associated costs with disposing of product that contains over 0.3% THC could make entering the hemp market too risky,” USDA wrote.

“We were able to reach an agreement (with DEA) that we are going to be able to provide some relief from the laboratory certification process for this crop year,” Greg Ibach, undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told members at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) meeting this week in Arlington, Virginia.

“DEA will still expect states to work with their laboratories to try to achieve certification for the 2021 crop year,” he added.

Hemp entrepreneurs cheered the delay.

“This about-face by the USDA means that farmers can continue to use their trusted local and regional analytical testing labs to ensure compliance with USDA rules,” Josh Schneider, CEO of San Diego-based young plant producer Cultivaris Hemp, told Hemp Industry Daily.

“Getting rid of this ridiculous DEA testing requirement is a step in the right direction by the USDA,” he added. “Hopefully this means that the USDA has come to their senses and will be making better and smarter rules going forward.”

FDA changes?

Also this week, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the newly appointed commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, acknowledged that American consumers want CBD.

He said Wednesday that the agency is working to move forward with regulations.

“We’re not going to be able to say you can’t use these products. It’s a fool’s errand to even approach that,” Hahn said told NASDA attendees.

“We have to be open to the fact that there might be some value to these products, and certainly Americans think that’s the case. But we want to get them information to make the right decisions.”

The FDA developed a working group after a public meeting and comment period to gather industry input about CBD, but the agency said in November that it had not yet seen enough scientific studies or data to allow it to recognize CBD or products containing cannabidiol as generally recognized as safe.

FDA has not provided a timeline for when it will release guidance on CBD regulation.

Widespread opposition

The USDA received more than 4,700 comments about its hemp rules, Ibach told NASDA members.

Many of the comments took issue with the DEA testing requirement.

There are 47 laboratories currently registered with the DEA, and many states do not have a registered testing facility, which would require state, tribal and federal law enforcement agents responsible for testing hemp crops to send samples from out of state within a tight, 15-day testing window.

Not all hemp advocates were satisfied by the testing delay. Eric Steenstra of advocacy group Vote Hemp pointed out that the delay won’t help producers after this year.

“This will help for the season but is not what we wanted or needed for the industry to be successful,” Steenstra wrote on Twitter.

Other changes

The USDA also delayed enforcement of the requirement that producers use a DEA-registered reverse distributor or law enforcement to dispose of non-compliant plants and allow producers to use on-farm practices to dispose of hot hemp crops to render them non-retrievable or non-ingestible.

Hemp farmers are required to document and report the disposal of all non-compliant plants by providing USDA with a completed disposal form, according to the agency. Examples of disposal practices and outcomes are pictured on the agency’s website.

William Richmond, director of the USDA’s Domestic Hemp Production program, told farmers at the Industrial Hemp Summit in Virginia on Monday that testing and sampling requirements were among the aspects the agency could change.

Other parts of the rule, such as a 0.3% total THC limit and the requirement for information sharing, can be changed only by the U.S. Congress, Richmond said.

Richmond reiterated on Monday that the USDA will open another public comment period in the fall to gather industry input on the 2020 production season.

Could Hemp save the planet?

By Yucatan Times
Source: theyucatantimes.com


Shutterstock


With the capability to produce vital resources such as rope, clothing, and paper, the hemp plant has played a crucial role throughout our history. Archeological evidence suggests that we’ve been using hemp since as early as 8,000 B.C., making it the first plant ever cultivated.

While hemp is very famous for its healing properties and for the creation of fibres, it is also famous for the environment, as some experts believe that its cultivation could help reduce pollution in different ways.

Hemp roots help to remove heavy metals from the soil, thus helping its regeneration and decontamination, therefore, its cultivation would benefit the regeneration of the environment, in addition it perfectly favours the cleaning of soils.

Hemp can be used to produce a steel alternative that is 10 times stronger than steel and 6 times more efficient at mending and bending than steel. The use of hemp steel will also reduce the negative impacts of steel production such as harmful emissions into the air and water, waste, and energy usage.

Not only can hemp help preserve our planet and improve our manufacturing, it can help fuel us forward and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

According to the National Hemp Association, hemp can be used to produce two types of fuels:

• Biodiesel — produced from the oil of the pressed hemp seed
• Ethanol/Methanol — produced from the fermented hemp stalk

A study published in 2015 estimated that we cut down an astronomical 15 billion trees every year, and since the rise of human civilization, the population of trees has decreased 46%, now what if we told you hemp could do a better job at purifying air than trees.

Their cultivation is even more efficient than trees in transforming carbon dioxide into oxygen. A quarter of a hectare of hemp does what a whole hectare of trees would do.

New Laser Distinguishes Between Hemp & Marijuana

By Mike Adams
Source: cannabisnow.com

PHOTO Tommology

The defining factor of what makes hemp different from marijuana is the presence of THC. Researchers are trying to analyze a plant’s THC via a hand-held laser.


Since industrial hemp was made legal in the United States, police forces have been scrambling around trying to figure out the difference between it and its outlaw cousin marijuana. It’s part of the reason that hemp was lumped into prohibition in the first place. Back then, lawmakers were concerned that people would use the guise of a legitimate crop to get away with growing pot. Because, well, the two plants are basically the same. They are both similar in appearance and have the same skunky odor. The difference is hemp is defined as having less than .3% THC.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t give much consideration to the confusion factor a couple of years ago when he worked his political magic to bring industrial hemp back from the dead.
It’s caused a veritable crap storm, too, in states where hemp is legal.

Police have been unwittingly busting hemp operations left and right thinking that they are bringing down gangs of mega-pot-smugglers, only to find out later that they screwed the pooch. It’s caused prosecutors all over the country to start dismissing cases for petty pot possession. Because without extensive, time-consuming tests to determine the difference between hemp and marijuana, it is difficult to prove whether an offender is actually breaking the law.

A team of scientific minds from Texas, a state that has experienced its fair share of fumble-nut jumbles as a result of legal hemp, believe they have come up with a solution to the problem. Researchers at Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences say they have a contraption that can eliminate all of the guesswork and laboratory snags associated with identifying hemp.

It’s a portable hand-held laser that is capable of determining with “100% accuracy” whether suspect plant material is hemp or weed.

Essentially, the tool utilizes the same technology (Raman spectroscopy) that has been applied for years when farmers need to quickly test plants for diseases and nutritional value. In the case of hemp, researchers say the laser can illuminate plant structures (revealing THCA content), which would immediately show law enforcement exactly which version of the plant they are dealing with.

“A hand-held Raman spectrometer can be an ideal tool for police officers and hemp breeders to enable highly accurate diagnostics of THCA content in plants,” researchers explained in the journal RSC Advances.

At this point in the game, the only tool cops have for the job is something known as high-pressure chromatography (HPLC). The only problem is this test isn’t something that can be used in the field. Samples must be sent off to a lab, a process that often sees pot cases getting bumped to the bottom of the list because analysts are typically too busy trying to help solve a heaping backlog of murder and rape cases. Most Americans wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, it’s their tax dollars at work.
More than anything, though, these lab tests are a waste of resources.

“These sophisticated tests are destructive, time-consuming and can only be performed in certified laboratories,” researchers told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “This drastically delays the times of analysis for potential drug substances.”

Interestingly, the device can also pinpoint specific strains (and their quality) by measuring the THC content. A similar test allowing hemp farmers to monitor CBD quality is also in the works.

Researchers believe that by allowing farmers to see exactly how much CBD is present in their crops, it will enable them to get a fair price when the time comes to take those plants to market.

“Our colleagues, the farmers, were positively surprised that we could identify the variety with 98% accuracy,” Dmitry Kurouski, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M, told Science Daily. “That blew them away.”

For now, law enforcement will continue to struggle. And unfortunately, that means more people will be mistakenly dragged to jail. Although this device might eventually make their jobs easier, more research is needed before that is guaranteed. It could still be another three years before these devices are in mass production. So, expect this problem to get worse before it gets better.

TELL US, can you explain the difference between hemp and cannabis?

NoCo Hemp Expo Rescheduled Due to Coronavirus

By WholeFoods Magazine Staff
Source: wholefoodsmagazine.com



Denver, CO—The 7^th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo are rescheduling this year’s event out of concern for the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

The show was originally scheduled for March 26-28; it is now scheduled for August 6-8, in the same locations, including the Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel and the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado.

Morris Beegle, Producer of the Expo, said in a press release: “The decision to shift the timing of this year’s Expo has not been an easy one. The health and safety of all participants remains a top priority.

We want to provide attendees, exhibitors, vendors, staff, industry partners, and others involved in the Expo enough time to rework their schedules and plan accordingly for the newly announced August dates. We’re also exploring options for a potential online digital conference in the upcoming weeks to continue the conversation about hemp. We look forward to creating a robust, powerhouse event in August, and appreciate everyone’s support.”

The Expo team will monitor and comply with all protocols provided by the CDC and WHO regarding the coronavirus. The Expo team is collaborating with partners including the City of Denver Coronavirus Task Force, Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ office, and other local public health agencies to ensure the safety of all participants for the Expo.

The Southern Hemp Expo, the release adds, is on hold; it was originally scheduled for August 14-15 in Nashville, Tennessee. More information on that event will be released at a later date. Updates will be posted on the Expo’s website.