EMAIL: [email protected]
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.

CBD uncertainty in the US market prompts $112M Tilray writedown

Published March 6, 2020

Canadian marijuana producer Tilray is lowering the value of its U.S. CBD assets, citing delays from health regulators. Tilray executives reported a $112 million writedown of the value of its 2019 agreement with Authentic Brands Group. The two companies planned to bring CBD products to mass retail outlets, but the lack of direction from the […]

After federal rebuke, hemp winemaker vows to keep exploring idea

Published March 5, 2020

A New York hemp grower whose attempt to launch a hemp wine label was blocked by federal regulators says he’s still exploring the idea. Kaelan Castetter, CEO of Castetter Sustainability Group, tells Wine Spectator that he’s not giving up on plans to sell wine infused with hemp terpenes. Castetter’s hemp wine business, Sovereign Vines, was blocked […]

Some global cannabis trade events, key for business marketing and growth, feel coronavirus sting

Published March 5, 2020 | By Jeff Smith

Some U.S. and international cannabis industry conferences and trade shows – important for marijuana and hemp businesses to market their products and cultivate relationships with vendors and buyers – are feeling the fallout from coronavirus fears.

Concerns looming over coronavirus impact on hemp industry, but some US firms could gain from fallout

Published March 4, 2020 | By By Bart Schaneman and John Schroyer

Hemp companies of all stripes – from growers to retailers – are likely to join other global industries feeling the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

CBD manufacturer snags $5 million from private equity firm

Published March 3, 2020

A New York-based company that makes hemp-derived CBD supplements, drinks and cosmetics has secured $5 million from a European private equity firm in a cash-for-stock deal. Emerald Organic Products, which makes CBD products under the Pura Vida Vitamins label, on Tuesday announced the deal with Bedrock Group Holdings, a private equity firm with offices in […]

Minnesota floats idea of central regulator for hemp, marijuana

Published March 2, 2020

Minnesota regulators want legislators to launch a one-stop office that would oversee all aspects of medical marijuana – as well as a potential adult-use MJ market.

Editor’s Notebook: Why the industry goes sideways by overexplaining

Published February 28, 2020 | By Kristen Nichols

Sometimes the most basic advice is the hardest to follow.

Floss every day! Save more for retirement! The list goes on. …

Sephora sets CBD standards as it adds fourth line of topicals

Published February 27, 2020 | By Kristen Nichols

Beauty retailer Sephora has released a set of baseline standards for CBD-infused products it will carry as the high-end cosmetics store adds a fourth line of hemp-derived topicals to store shelves. The Sephora CBD standards require that CBD products it sells: Include only full-spectrum or broad-spectrum CBD extracts, not isolate. Source the CBD from U.S.-grown […]

Losses widen for Green Growth Brands as it plans sale of CBD business

Published February 24, 2020

Green Growth Brands, an Ohio-based cannabis retailer that owns both marijuana dispensaries and the nation’s largest chain of CBD retail locations in mall kiosks, reported $21.2 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019, up more than 600% from the same period in 2018. The company also announced plans to sell its CBD business […]

Hemp data company launches legal battle over ‘benchmarks’ moniker

Published February 24, 2020

Two companies that provide data and analytics to the hemp industry – New Leaf Data Services and PanXchange – are in a trademark dispute over the phrase “hemp benchmarks.” New Leaf sued PanXchange earlier this month in federal court in Connecticut, claiming trademark infringement of its “Hemp Benchmarks” service. PanXchange, which is based in Denver, offers […]

Fruit, vegetable giant latest to join smokable hemp industry

Published February 19, 2020

A major fruit and vegetable processor is entering the market for smokable hemp flower, converting a former pear and apple cannery in Washington state to hemp drying. Seneca Foods, a Nasdaq-listed (SENEA) company that processes fruits and vegetables from more than 2,000 farms across the U.S., said it has acquired a 49% stake in CraftAg, a […]

Grocery giant Kroger lobbies on CBD after adding topicals to store shelves

Published February 17, 2020

The nation’s largest grocery store chain by revenue, Kroger, is now lobbying on CBD policy. The move comes after the grocery giant added CBD topicals to its store shelves in 17 states. According to Kroger lobbying disclosures, first reported by Cannabis Wire, the grocery giant reported spending roughly $190,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019 […]