News analysis for professionals in the cannabis industry

US House approves cannabis research bill but hopes for reform remain low

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 16th August 2022

Members of the US House of Representatives have approved a bill to expand and streamline research into CBD and cannabis. The bill is now heading for the Senate and is expected to reach president Joe...

US legislators seek to amend cannabis advertising laws ahead of midterms

Written by CannIntelligence | 15th August 2022

Advertising of cannabis products looks set to be a potential battleground as the US legislature heads towards midterm elections later this year ...

US House agriculture committee hears wish list of changes to 2023 Farm Bill

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 12th August 2022

A group of US Congress members, state agriculture commissioners, researchers and industry representatives told a Congressional committee what changes to the law they would include in the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill if given the chance...

22nd Century plays double-your-money after buying into CBD supply business

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 10th August 2022

US firm 22nd Century expects to double its total annual revenue following the acquisition of GVB Biopharma, which it describes as one of the largest global CBD suppliers ...

Trouble in Lima – hemp bill’s chances tied up in Peru’s congressional crisis

Written by Freddie Dawson | 10th August 2022

New legislation has been put forward in Peru to establish a framework for the production and commercialisation of hemp – but what are its chances of passing in a period of political turmoil? ...

Three nations aiming to lead EU states toward joined-up cannabis reforms

Written by CannIntelligence | 9th August 2022

Germany, Luxembourg and Malta have taken the first step towards working together on the legalisation and regulation of recreational cannabis, leading a wave of potential reform across the EU ...

US DEA makes U-turn on psychedelics as senators call for more research support

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 8th August 2022

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has withdrawn its proposal to effectively ban five psychedelic compounds after receiving significant opposition from the research and advocacy community ...

Panel urges closer regulation as Jersey's medical cannabis industry moves ahead

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 5th August 2022

The Channel Island of Jersey is continuing to build its cannabis industry, awarding its fifth cultivation licence to a startup amid calls from officials for stricter regulation ...

Peruvian initiative aims to open up hemp industry for rural 'artisan' production

Written by CannIntelligence | 5th August 2022

A bill put forward in Peru seeks to establish regulation that would allow for the production and commercialisation of industrial hemp in the South American country ...

In a world of wide-boys and no-hopers, who should have a licence to sell weed?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 4th August 2022

It’s difficult to get a licence to operate in the cannabis field in the US if you’ve been convicted of selling cannabis before it was legal. Yet such restrictions do little to protect the market...

Exit Tikun, another victim of Australia's tight regulation and low medical sales

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 4th August 2022

One of the first companies involved in medical cannabis is the latest bankruptcy casualty in the volatile global cannabis market – citing slower than expected sales due to more rigorous than expected regulations ...

A very Juicy scandal as 'e-growers' see their cannabis investments disappear

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 3rd August 2022

Scandal now surrounds the cannabis “crowdgrowing” platform Juicy Fields, which is being sued by its investors for fraud ...

Different regulatory pressures driving innovation in cash services to cannabis

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 2nd August 2022

Regulatory change in Canada’s provinces, and the lack of it at federal level in the US, are both encouraging innovation by providers of financial services to cannabis businesses ...

Swiss CBD company takes issue with EFSA’s delay of novel food applications

Written by CannIntelligence | 1st August 2022

A Swiss CBD company has questioned the approach of European authorities in demanding further data in order to advance novel food applications, describing it as an issue that might signal the end of hemp-extracted cannabinoids...

Spain’s first medical cannabis regulation could boost sector despite restrictions

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 29th July 2022

Patients in Spain will soon be able to access cannabis in pharmacies with a medical prescription as the government is about to introduce new legislation ...

CBD moves further into UK mainstream with more invited listings on Amazon

Written by Freddie Dawson | 26th July 2022

Amazon is expanding its UK CBD pilot, inviting firms that comply with UK novel food regulations onto its platform – clear evidence that support for CBD continues to become increasingly mainstream ...

CBD and cannabis on Australia’s horizon – but don’t thank Labor government

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 25th July 2022

CBD products may start to appear on the Australian market but it will not be due to any action taken by the newly elected Labor government, according to industry insiders and experts ...

Are psychedelics set to follow cannabis into mainstream medical acceptance?

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 21st July 2022

Psychedelics are having another moment in the spotlight. But is the heightened awareness just hype, or have these once-taboo substances been permanently rehabilitated? ...

Report calls for cannabis product testing to be standardised between US states

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 20th July 2022

A US coalition of lawyers and lab researchers has called for the implementation of national standards in the testing of cannabis products ...

Argentina's hemp industry hoping new legal framework will encompass delta-8

Written by CannIntelligence | 19th July 2022

The Argentine hemp industry is hopeful that sales of delta-8 THC hemp products will be formally permitted under the country’s new legal framework for cannabinoids ...

UK government to fund research into psychedelic treatment for alcoholism

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 19th July 2022

Biotechnology firm Awakn Life Sciences has secured UK government funding to accelerate the route to the UK and US markets for its proprietary ketamine-assisted therapy, which is designed to treat alcohol use disorder ...

A 'milestone' for psychedelics as clinical trial begins in US with FDA's blessing

Written by Freddie Dawson | 18th July 2022

As the first federally approved psychedelics clinical trial begins in the US, there is broad but not total agreement among official bodies over legalising research into hallucinogenic substances ...

US 0.3% THC limit challenge dismissed: what could it mean for hemp producers?

Written by CannIntelligence | 15th July 2022

Hemp producers have lost an important challenge on the 0.3% THC threshold for hemp-derived products in the US, potentially making producers liable if they go over the threshold during production, whether or not the end...

Neptune Wellness joins the exodus from Canada's troubled cannabis market

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 14th July 2022

Quebec-based Neptune Wellness Solutions has become the latest firm to exit the Canadian cannabis market, switching focus to its consumer packaged goods business, where it sees more potential ...

Cannabis or marijuana? Why it matters what name you (and the law) know it by

Written by Freddie Dawson | 13th July 2022

There is quite a bit of baggage in how reference is made to the Cannabis sativa plant – as demonstrated by what's behind a new change to the law in the US state of Washington...

British Standards moves to fill the safety and quality gap on CBD vaping products

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 12th July 2022

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has developed a fast-track informal standard, PAS 13956, to address quality, performance and safety issues of CBD vape products ...

International acquisitions chase share of growing global medicinal market

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 11th July 2022

The growth potential of demand for medicinal cannabis is inspiring cross-border acquisitions of pharmaceutical brands as businesses scale up to take a bigger slice of the global market ...

Incoming Colombian government has big plans for the country’s cannabis industry

Written by CannIntelligence | 8th July 2022

Colombian president-elect Gustavo Petro says he will prioritise development of the nation’s cannabis industry and is promising that he will improve regulation, expand the existing legal framework and clarify production regulation as well as decriminalise...

Israeli cannabis firms expand into Europe, bringing Cookies to Vienna

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 7th July 2022

Israeli cannabis firm InterCure is collaborating with US brand Cookies to launch Europe’s first flagship Cookies store in Vienna; meanwhile, Panaxia Labs exports to Germany from Malta ...

DG-Agri – the EU agency ready to put its full weight behind the growth in hemp

Written by CannIntelligence | 5th July 2022

The European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) may not be sure about CBD but the EU Directorate-general for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG-Agri) is fully behind hemp as a crop with potential ...

Why novel food rules are pushing the UK market towards cold-pressed products

Written by CannIntelligence | 4th July 2022

Companies are facing technical and marketing pros and cons as they increasingly turn to cold-press CBD extraction as a way around novel food market limitations in the UK and Ireland ...

Native American tribes try to carve a niche in the cannabinoid business

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 1st July 2022

Utah’s Native American namesake – the Ute tribe – has launched a company to manufacture products that combine hemp-derived cannabinoids with plants they have traditionally used for medicinal purposes ...

No magic solution: EFSA ingestible CBD safety concerns won't be resolved quickly

Written by Freddie Dawson | 1st July 2022

It looks like there will be no easy or quick solutions to addressing the data gaps the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) requires to reach a conclusion on the safety of CBD as an ingestible...

UK FSA issues final final list of products linked to a CBD novel food application

Written by Freddie Dawson | 30th June 2022

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its final public list of CBD products that can be marketed in England and Wales – and again it's twice as long as it was ...

Kanabo switches its emphasis towards cannabis prescribing and dispensing

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 29th June 2022

UK-based medical cannabis company Kanabo will look to focus on “last mile assets” such as dispensing and prescribing as it responds to changing market conditions ...

Consumer trends and regulatory hurdles leave recycling schemes high and dry

Written by Freddie Dawson | 28th June 2022

Changing consumer trends have been blamed for the failure of a Canadian pilot programme for returning and recycling cannabis vaping devices ...

EU novel food applications: the science behind what EFSA says it wants to know

Written by CannIntelligence | 27th June 2022

The European Food Safety Authority wants more safety data before it approves CBD products as novel food. This is what it wants to know, and why, along with a summary of the science on each...

State AGs urge US Congress leaders to take action on 'copycat' THC edibles

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 24th June 2022

A bipartisan group of 23 US state attorneys general have joined calls to halt the sale of edible cannabinoid-containing products that imitate the look of well-known brands ...

Recreational cannabis remains illegal in Delaware despite unusual efforts

Written by CannIntelligence | 24th June 2022

A bid to legalise recreational cannabis in the US state of Delaware failed when lawmakers fell just short in a rare bid to overturn a governor's veto ...

Why the long pause? Companies question Efsa's insistence on filling 'data gap'

Written by Freddie Dawson | 23rd June 2022

In trying to be overly cautious on novel foods, has the European Food Safety Authority inadvertently added an extra risk to public health? ...

Canadian and US firms set sights on promising German cannabis market

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 22nd June 2022

North American cannabis firms are attempting to muscle in on the German medical cannabis scene – possibly in an attempt to establish themselves in the market before a recreational regime is established ...

Guyana's leaders pin hopes on hemp bill to revive lost jobs and agriculture

Written by CannIntelligence | 21st June 2022

Government officials in Guyana believe the Industrial Hemp Bill, expected to be voted on by Parliament by the end of June, will be a big step towards the creation of a legal framework for hemp...

Mixed reception for Minnesota law on hemp-derived cannabinoid products

Written by CannIntelligence | 17th June 2022

A new law makes Minnesota the first state in the US to apply a 21+ age restriction to all hemp-derived cannabinoid products regardless of potential for intoxication ...

Canada can teach Germany about pitfalls of legalising recreational cannabis

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 17th June 2022

Germany should plan ahead to avoid problems which have plagued governments that have already legalised recreational cannabis on top of medical cannabis ...

Changes ahead in Rhode Island as adult recreational cannabis sales are legalised

Written by CannIntelligence | 16th June 2022

Cannabis will be available for recreational use in Rhode Island from 1st December after governor Dan McKee signed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act into law, making the state the 19th in the US to legalise...

Lack of quality science on cannabis and pain leaves room for fake news and myth

Written by Barnaby Page | 16th June 2022

“It’s a myth that cannabis relieves pain,” declared the Daily Mail. But that is not what the study it was reporting said at all ...

Data gaps in EU novel food applications will be difficult, slow and costly to fill

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 15th June 2022

CBD companies say they do not know when or even how they will be able to provide the missing data that has caused the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to pause the clock on assessing...

How do you tell if a user is under the influence? It's still a testing problem

Written by CannIntelligence | 14th June 2022

While cannabis use is now legal in many US states, there is as yet no reliable test to determine whether, or how far, a user may be “under the influence” ...

State bank regulators call for America Competes to incorporate SAFE Act

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 13th June 2022

US state bank regulators have asked Congress to provide legal cannabis businesses with access to financial services by integrating a bill preventing banks from being penalised for doing so into a broader law on innovation and competition...

California cannabis cultivation tax stands to be eliminated imminently

Written by CannIntelligence | 10th June 2022

Tax on the cultivation of cannabis in California could be eliminated as of July ...

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