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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.

How coronavirus in China could be a boon for US hemp producers

Published February 17, 2020 | By Bart Schaneman

The coronavirus outbreak in China likely will benefit American hemp companies that compete with Chinese suppliers on the global and domestic markets. Trade tensions between the United States and China previously caused disruptions in the cannabis supply chain. And this newest issue underscores the vulnerabilities in the global marketplace that vape and other cannabis and […]

SLIDESHOW: Products for hemp on display at the World Ag Expo

Published February 14, 2020

The staff of Hemp Industry Daily attended the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, this week. Here are some of the new products for hemp cultivation and processing. (Click on the orange arrows to advance the slideshow.)

UK clears path for CBD food sales but adds dosage limits and safety deadline

Published February 14, 2020 | By Alfredo Pascual

British food regulators have given the CBD industry a little over a year to apply for safety evaluations in order to remain on shelves, a landmark advancement as many nations have yet to decide whether cannabidiol can be sold in food. The announcement by the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) on Thursday also set dosage […]

Five mistakes to avoid before planting hemp this season

Published February 13, 2020 | By Kristen Nichols

As hemp production grows at lightning speed, farmers are finding that the difference between success and failure in the cutthroat market happens before the first leaves emerge. Selling a hemp crop for the right price is dependent on starting with the right genetics and environment for growing. But in a new industry with a precious […]

Abacus acquires Harmony Hemp for $5.5M, boosting retail reach to 12,000 stores

Published February 12, 2020

Rhode Island CBD manufacturer Abacus Health Products acquired Utah’s Harmony Health brand of topical CBD products in a cash-and-stock deal worth $5.5 million. The acquisition flexes Abacus’ retail footprint to roughly 12,000 locations nationwide. Harmony Health brands, which will continue selling under the Harmony Health name, include lotions, pain relief gels and roll-ons made by third-party contract […]

SLIDESHOW: Hempinions at the World Ag Expo

Published February 12, 2020

The staff of Hemp Industry Daily is attending the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California. We asked members of the hemp industry: How will farmers cope with the USDA’s hemp rules in 2020?

California bans drug felons in hemp production to comply with federal rules

Published February 12, 2020

California instituted a 10-year ban on drug felons growing hemp, a move state authorities say is required by the federal law that legalized the crop. The ban, issued by California’s Department of Food and Agriculture, makes people convicted of drug felonies ineligible to receive state hemp-cultivation licenses for a decade. The emergency rule was issued along […]

Brain specialist, plant researcher tapped to lead California cannabis institute

Published February 11, 2020

California’s flagship agriculture school has tapped a schizophrenia researcher and a plant expert to lead its new center to study hemp and marijuana. The University of California, Davis, appointed professors Cameron Carter and Li Tian as co-directors of its Cannabis & Hemp Research Center. Created last year, the research center is charged with: Increasing academic collaboration […]

Sports Illustrated, Canopy are latest to chase sports market

Published February 7, 2020

Sports Illustrated and Canadian cannabis behemoth Canopy Growth are the latest players looking for a piece of the sports nutrition and recovery market. New York-based Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Sports Illustrated brand, said it will roll out a line of CBD-infused topicals by the end of 2020. And Canopy Growth, majority owner of […]

CBD processor acquires California brand, plans to expand footprint

Published February 6, 2020

Maine CBD processor Sun Kissed Industries has acquired a California company that makes CBD products sold in 20 states. Terms of Sun Kissed’s acquisition of Hakuna Supply on Thursday were not disclosed. Carl Grant, CEO of Portland, Maine-based Sun Kissed, said in a statement that the acquisition will “thrust Sun Kissed onto the global CBD […]

EXCLUSIVE: Dominant Florida medical cannabis supplier sees huge CBD dip

Published February 5, 2020

Trulieve Cannabis, the predominant player in Florida’s medical marijuana industry, has experienced a huge drop-off in milligrams of CBD sold in Florida over the past eight weeks. The trend accelerated this week, according to data analysis from Marijuana Business Daily‘s Investor Intelligence analysts. Trulieve’s market share of CBD sales has fallen nearly 20 percentage points […]

EcoGen plans to use $40 million private placement for consolidation

Published February 4, 2020

Colorado hemp grower and CBD manufacturer EcoGen Laboratories raised $40 million in a private placement, saying it will use the funds to consolidate operations and start producing white-label CBD products in a former steel plant in western Colorado. The company said it plans to consolidate operations and extraction in a new headquarters in Grand Junction, […]