EMAIL: kristenn@mjbizdaily.com
PHONE: 720.643.4450

Kristen Nichols

Kristen is a Denver-based reporter for Marijuana Business Daily specializing in the hemp and CBD industries. Previously, she worked at the Associated Press for nearly 20 years. She started covering the marijuana legalization movement in 2009 – when medical stores started popping up around Denver – and wrote about the state’s first legal hemp harvest. Kristen also covered agriculture and politics in Maryland and her home state of Georgia.

The CBD drink sector is tiny. So why are some of the biggest companies bullish on it?

Published November 5, 2021 | By Kristen Nichols

Declining alcohol sales and better flavors in cannabis drinks are making the tiny sector attractive to large food and drink companies.

Delta-8 THC makers seize on nonbinding DEA comments

Published November 4, 2021

Cannabis operators making or selling delta-8 THC are pointing to two recent comments from officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that suggest states lining up to ban the isomer may be going too far.

The loophole to advertising cannabis on Google

Published November 1, 2021 | By Daniela Furtado

Secrets to getting your cannabis brand visible on Google.

Dipping into lessons from tobacco: 5 Questions for Boldt Runners’ Jen Pike

Published October 29, 2021 | By Kristen Nichols

Former Altria executive Jen Pike brings lessons from Big Tobacco to the chewable hemp industry.

Hydrofarm spends $58 million on greenhouse-tech acquisition

Published October 28, 2021

Hydrofarm Holdings Group entered an agreement to acquire Illinois-based Innovative Growers Equipment (IGE) for $58 million, the cannabis cultivation equipment maker’s fifth acquisition in 2021.

Brooklyn CBD retailer sues PayPal over blocked service

Published October 28, 2021

A New York CBD retailer is challenging payments giant PayPal in court over blocking it for allegedly selling controlled substances.

Hemp firm launches blockchain effort to fund litigation

Published October 27, 2021

An Indiana hemp company looking to finance a lawsuit to recover damages after its crop was destroyed in California is turning to an unusual source: blockchain investments in exchange for a cut of future legal awards.

Louisiana to regulate (but not ban) delta-8 THC

Published October 27, 2021

Louisiana is set to allow hemp-derived delta-8 THC in food, a surprising step as more than a dozen states are going the opposite direction and banning the THC isomer or limiting it to marijuana retailers.

Editor’s Notebook: When entrepreneurial exaggeration veers into lying, the entire hemp sector suffers

Published October 27, 2021 | By Kristen Nichols

Strategies for hemp startups that need to promote themselves without veering into dishonesty.

Protecting your hemp business from ransomware

Published October 26, 2021 | By Margaret Jackson

With mainstream companies increasingly becoming the victims of ransomware attacks, it’s only a matter of time before cyber criminals turn their attention to the cannabis industry.

Final week to submit USDA climate comments

Published October 25, 2021

It’s the final week for hemp operators to suggest climate-smart farming practices to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Delta-8 THC could undercut regulated marijuana products but has place in the market, lab owner says

Published October 25, 2021 | By Bart Schaneman

The cannabis industry should be concerned about the safety of delta-8 THC, but it might have a place in the market for therapeutic or recreational uses, said the chief scientist for a Massachusetts testing lab that specializes in medical marijuana.