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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.

One of UK’s largest hemp farms forced to destroy crop amid policy changes

Published July 30, 2019 | By Alfredo Pascual

The case of Hempen, the United Kingdom’s not-for-profit farming cooperative, illustrates the extra hurdles British hemp farmers face in not being able to use the flower, the most valuable part of their crop. Based in Oxfordshire, Hempen had been growing hemp since 2015. And, until last year, the harvest was used to manufacture and sell […]

Canadian CBD maker sponsors athlete research with UFC

Published July 25, 2019

Canadian marijuana giant Aurora Cannabis is sponsoring CBD research with the UFC to determine if the cannabinoid treatments are effective in treating pain and inflammation. The partnership marks a milestone for the cannabis industry, where individual athletes commonly strike sponsorship deals but few prominent leagues agree to research for CBD or other cannabis products. Athletes’ […]

Hemp rules delayed and insurance could take years, US senators told in key update

Published July 25, 2019 | By Kristen Nichols

Nationwide hemp rules won’t be available until this fall, but still in time for the 2020 growing season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told senators Thursday in an update on the new hemp industry.

Washington state opens hemp opportunities, setting up conflicts with marijuana producers

Published July 24, 2019 | By Bart Schaneman

A new hemp law in Washington state has marijuana growers concerned about the potential of cross-pollination from hemp growers, which could prove disastrous to their bottom line if it occurs.

California CBD company buys chocolate-maker with national distribution

Published July 23, 2019

A California CBD company that makes infused olive oils has bought a smaller chocolate company with distribution in traditional grocers such as Whole Foods Market. Gabriella’s Kitchen bought Lulu’s Chocolates of Nevada City, California, for $1 million in stock. Margot Micallef, CEO of Gabriella’s Kitchen, told Hemp Industry Daily the acquisition positions her company for distribution […]

Ex-US surgeon general joins CBD company’s advisory board

Published July 22, 2019

A former U.S. surgeon general is joining the advisory board of a California CBD company. Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as surgeon general from 2002 to 2008, will advise Kadenwood, a privately held company that makes topical CBD products in Newport Beach, California. The appointment gives Kadenwood a government insider to “shift the perception of […]

Hemp, CBD companies lining up university research to validate anecdotal evidence

Published July 22, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

A surge in academic research about hemp-derived cannabinoids is giving CBD companies new opportunities to find university partners to validate mountains of anecdotal evidence about cannabidiol’s health benefits. The research boom is enabled by hemp’s new legal status and funded by cannabis entrepreneurs who see an opportunity to bring a stamp of authority to an […]

What they’re saying: 10 highlights from the FDA’s query on how to regulate CBD

Published July 19, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

In its open call for suggestions related to how cannabis extracts should be regulated, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received more than 4,000 responses. Respondents ranged from state and local health departments to CBD manufacturers to the American Medical Association. The agency is looking at cannabis extracts from both marijuana and hemp varieties […]

Ohio lawmakers vote to allow hemp production, broader CBD sales

Published July 18, 2019

Ohio legislators have agreed to allow hemp production and CBD products to be sold outside medical marijuana dispensaries. A bill awaiting the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine would allow CBD to be sold outside dispensaries. Right now, the product is legal in Ohio but only in regulated dispensaries, according to an order last year from […]

US Senate calls for hemp answers from White House

Published July 18, 2019

Several Trump administration officials are headed to the U.S. Senate next week to answer questions about looming hemp and CBD rules. Senators have called for regulators who oversee agriculture, public health and pesticides to appear July 25 before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. The hearing, announced Wednesday, will be led by the senators […]

Canadian acquisition underscores CBD’s potential in Europe

Published July 18, 2019

A Canadian marijuana producer cited hemp and CBD’s potential in Europe as it announced plans to acquire a smaller Canadian company with a CBD subsidiary in the Netherlands. The announcement Wednesday that Toronto-based Supreme Cannabis plans to acquire Truverra underscores the interest in accessing European markets. Supreme valued the acquisition at roughly $20 million. Supreme […]

Pictures, please! Hemp group wants more evidence to fight European CBD limit

Published July 17, 2019

European hemp producers and manufacturers are getting renewed pleas to help fight the European Union on how it treats CBD and other extracts. The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) sent an alert this week to roughly 300 members urging the EU to change its Common Agricultural Policy, which governs food rules, according to Hemp Today. The […]