CCMA Political greenBrief
Thursday, December 27, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
President Trump Signs The 2018 Farm Bill Which Federally Legalizes Hemp
“The significance of this law change should not be underemphasized. This law marks the first change in the federal classification of the cannabis plant since it was initially classified as a schedule I controlled substance by Congress in 1970, and paves the way for the first federally-sanctioned commercial hemp grows since World War II.”Paul Armentano, Deputy Director For NORML, On The Passage Of The 2018 Farm Bill
“The regulated market will only thrive when producers and consumers have confidence in the labs. Right now that confidence is something we don’t have.”Hezekiah Allen, Chairman Of Emerald Grown, On The Recall Of Thousands Of Pounds Of Cannabis In California
Trump Signs Farm Bill, Officially Legalizing Industrial Hemp (USA – Hemp Industry)
Westworld (December 20, 2018) The moment the hemp industry has been waiting for finally happened: President Donald Trump just signed the 2018 Farm Bill, legalizing industrial hemp in the United States. There was no specific mention of hemp when Trump signed the bill, but he called it his “great honor to sign the 2018 Farm Bill, a very special and important piece of legislation.” He added, “It opens new markets for agriculture all over the world.” Industrial hemp farming will soon be regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, and the USDA’s regulations will no doubt be harsher than those for growing cotton, soy or other traditional crops.
California Marijuana Recall Threatens State Cannabis Industry (CA – Cannabis Testing)
Gephardt Daily (December 25, 2018) Thousands of pounds of marijuana products were recalled last week in California nearly a month after a lab was caught falsifying pesticide test reports, threatening what some had thought would become the nation’s most promising state for the cannabis business.
Under California law, all consumable marijuana products for sale must be tested and analyzed for 66 known pesticides. Agents found Sequoia’s lab director Marc Foster had been faking reports since July about testing for 22 of the pesticides and was fired.
Recall Deals Blow To California’s Marijuana Industry (CA – Cannabis Testing)
SFGate (December 23, 2018) The recall of tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana and other products after a Sacramento laboratory was caught faking pesticide test results has jolted a cannabis industry that has struggled for legitimacy in its first year facing a full-slate of state regulations. The action against Sequoia Analytical Lab last month was “yet another cut in the death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts scenario that is playing out for so many producers in the state,” said Hezekiah Allen, the chairman of Emerald Grown, a co-op made up of about 100 licensed growers mostly north of San Francisco.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Recall-deals-blow-to-California-s-marijuana-13487748.php
The Year In California Weed: Highs, Lows And What Happens Next For Legal Marijuana (CA – Legal Cannabis)
Desert Sun (December 26, 2018) Since the state started regulating adult-use marijuana sales at the beginning of 2018, entrepreneurs looking to break into the California cannabis market have scrambled to get temporary state licenses, scrutinized an evolving set of rules, weathered supply chain slowdowns and wondered if the nation’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions, would launch a federal crackdown before they could even get a whiff of victory. As legal pot enters its second year in California, the industry is still operating under a set of emergency regulations.
The 12 Months Of Cannabis (CA – Legal Cannabis)
Sacramento News & Review (December 27, 2018) After voters legalized adult-use marijuana in November 2016, California opened legal weed sales on January 1, becoming the country’s sixth recreational-use state. The rookie year was far from flawless. With legalization came a bong load of new taxes, a mellow-harshing government push-back and a patchwork of ever-evolving regulations that left many people dazed and confused. As legal weed prepares to enter its second year in California, let’s relive the highlights and lowlights of an eventful year one.
https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/12-months-of-cannabis/content?oid=27507751
Farm Bill Caps Historic Year For Cannabis (USA – Hemp Industry)
North Coast Journal (December 27, 2018) You may have missed it among headlines about the looming government shutdown and plunging stock markets, but when President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill on Dec. 21, he officially removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. The legislation, pushed hard by Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), officially distinguishes hemp from marijuana, its psychotropic cousin, defining industrial hemp as a cannabis plant with no more than 0.3 percent THC content on a dry-weight basis. It changes hemp from a controlled substance to an agricultural commodity, making it legal to grow, sell and transport throughout the country.
CBD And Hemp Plays Positioned For A Big Year (USA – Hemp Industry)
Market Watch (December 27, 2018) After some selling at the end of the year, the cannabis sector looks prime for a major rally.Here are a few securities in the industry that look particularly well-positioned for a big 2019. The timing of this agreement for licensing and product development is critical as some industry leaders believe that a final farm bill, including provisions for the legalization of industrial hemp at a federal level is expected to reach completion this week or by the end of the year.
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/cbd-and-hemp-plays-positioned-for-a-big-year-2018-12-27
Trump Signs Farm Bill Legalizing Hemp, FDA Responds; House Rules Committee Chairman Signs Onto Federal Cannabis Bill (USA – Cannabis Industry)
Pot Network (December 24, 2018) The big news of the past week, of course, is that President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill, officially removing hemp from the DEA’s list of Schedule I controlled substances. Federal oversight of hemp, marijuana’s non-intoxicating relative, will now move from under the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Agency to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The final bill which included language inserted by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell passed both chambers last week with bipartisan support.
What Will The Farm Bill Mean For Hemp-Derived CBD? (USA – CBD Industry)
Cannabis Now (December 21, 2018) President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill on Thursday, finally legalizing commercial cultivation of hemp — defined as cannabis with under 0.3 percent THC. Because the law explicitly removes any cannabinoids from hemp other than THC from the Controlled Substances Act, it implicitly makes hemp-derived CBD a legal substance. This medically promising and extremely fashionable non-psychoactive cannabinoid appears to now have an unambiguous legal path to widespread production and mainstream commercialization.
https://cannabisnow.com/what-will-the-farm-bill-mean-for-hemp-derived-cbd/
Hemp Farming Comes Home To The USA (USA – Hemp Industry)
The Leaf Online (December 22, 2018) Cannabis hemp, once the world’s mightiest agricultural crop before being ripped away from U.S. farmers under the “Marihuana Tax Act” in 1937, has finally been restored to domestic agriculture. The bipartisan law removes non-psychotropic hemp, containing less than 0.3 percent THC content, from the Controlled Substances Act. It places full federal regulatory authority of industrial hemp with USDA, and allows State departments of agriculture to file hemp programs plans and regulate intrastate hemp cultivation per their State specific programs.
http://theleafonline.com/c/business/2018/12/hemp-comes-home/
Cannabis Industry Leaders Give Insight Into 2019 (USA – Industry Predictions)
Green Market Report (December 26, 2018) We see 2019 in 2 distinct ways: The Rise of the Consumer, and the Rise of the Product. With a more developed consumer data landscape, companies will start focusing on the type of products offered. This will drive and be driven by segmentation of patients/consumers into more defined verticals. As that occurs, blurry lines on why people are consuming cannabis will become more clear, which will allow research and data to accelerate and further product specification to occur.
https://www.greenmarketreport.com/cannabis-industry-leaders-give-insight-into-2019/
FDA Moves On Hemp (USA – Hemp Industry)
Food Business News (December 26, 2018) The Food and Drug Administration will continue to govern the regulatory status of hemp-based food, beverages and ingredients after the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the farm bill, removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. The law defines hemp as cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) and derivates of cannabis that are less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis of the psychoactive compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (T.H.C.), Dr. Gottlieb said. The F.D.A. still has the authority to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/13072-fda-moves-on-hemp
Legal Weed Is Everywhere In The US — Unless You’re A Scientist (USA – Cannabis Research)
Politico (December 26, 2018) Americans can legally buy high quality marijuana in most states, but when scientists want to study pot in a lab, they’re basically stuck with schwag. A little-known research facility at the University of Mississippi is the only place in the country that is authorized to grow and test marijuana for medical research purposes. But this effort is stymied by a slow process for certifying scientists, a lack of funding and according to pot experts, an inferior product compared to what the booming cannabis sector has rolled out in recent years.
