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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.

Here’s final chance to tell FDA how it should regulate CBD

Published July 16, 2019

U.S. health authorities are taking final comments from the public on how to regulate over-the-counter cannabis extracts such as CBD. The suggestions are due to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by midnight ET Tuesday, July 16, on how the agency should regulate cannabis-derived products. The FDA has vowed to expedite its review of cannabis-derived compounds […]

FDA to provide update on CBD review by late summer or fall, official says

Published July 12, 2019

Federal health regulators say they’ll update the hemp industry on their CBD review by late summer or fall. Dr. Amy Abernethy, who leads the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s work group on cannabinoids such as CBD, said Friday the agency is “enthusiastic about research into the therapeutic benefits of CBD products but also need to balance […]

Investment firm increases stake in CBD company

Published July 12, 2019

Sol Global, a Toronto-based international cannabis investment firm, has increased its stake in a privately held CBD company. The firm announced Friday it spent 15 million Canadian dollars ($11.5 million) in HeavenlyRx. The purchase brings Sol Global to a 42% stake in HeavenlyRx. The announcement comes less than a week after Sol Global raised CA$50 […]

CBD company ups stake in beverage brand to secure 50-state distribution

Published July 12, 2019

A Toronto-based hemp and CBD investment company increased its stake in a traditional soda company with an eye toward developing CBD-infused beverages with the brand. HeavenlyRx bought 15 million shares in Jones Soda Co. for $9 million and now holds 39% of the Seattle-based beverage manufacturer. The deal also gives HeavenlyRx two seats on Jones Soda’s board. Jones […]

Demetrix raises $50 million to research synthetic cannabinoid production

Published July 11, 2019

California-based Demetrix secured $50 million in a Series A funding, which the company will use for research of synthetic cannabinoid production. The Emeryville company wants to use baker’s yeast to produce large volumes of cannabinoids. More than 100 of cannabinoids can be found in the cannabis plant, sometimes in trace amounts. The company did not […]

Sol Global raises CA$50 million for CBD expansion; exec resigns

Published July 8, 2019

Sol Global, a Toronto-based international cannabis investment firm, said it raised 50 million Canadian dollars ($37.5 million) in debt financing. The company will use the proceeds to fund its expansion in CBD activities and operations in California, Florida and Michigan. The company also said Jonathan Gilbert resigned as president of its subsidiary, Impact Biosciences, which […]

States setting their own CBD rules as federal action lags

Published July 3, 2019 | By Kristen Nichols

Hoping to resolve the legal confusion surrounding the selling of CBD products, states are starting to leapfrog federal health regulators and give hemp entrepreneurs permission to put cannabis extracts in food, drinks and dietary supplements.

But the efforts aren’t reducing legal headaches for the hemp industry.

As hemp acreage booms, pricing confusion bedevils new hemp producers

Published July 2, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

Farmers are so bullish on hemp that growers from Wisconsin to Florida are making big investments even before federal agricultural regulators write the rules for how the plant can be grown and sold. The hemp boom conceals a nagging problem for hemp farmers and manufacturers alike – there is precious little information about how to […]

European regulators, activists join calls for CBD oversight

Published June 28, 2019

Europe’s booming CBD market needs better regulation and safety protocols, according to two reports out this week from both government regulators and nonprofit activists. First, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), an agency of the European Union, said there is an “urgent need” to get a handle on the potency of CBD […]

Editor’s Notebook: Why slow-moving hemp regulations are still great for cannabis

Published June 27, 2019 | By Kristen Nichols

The hemp industry is changing fast. The federal government, not so much.

The entire cannabis industry celebrated last December, when hemp was removed from the Controlled Substances Act in the 2018 Farm Bill.

Liquor stores, gas stations among first cleared to sell CBD in Louisiana

Published June 27, 2019

Louisiana is starting to award licenses to sell CBD products, and the first recipients include liquor stores, gas stations and CBD-specific shops. Louisiana’s Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control has so far awarded 20 temporary permits to sell CBD. A new Louisiana hemp law allows the sale of hemp-derived CBD but requires a state permit to do […]

CBD company taps Victoria’s Secret marketing expert

Published June 26, 2019

A CBD company expanding into shopping malls has tapped a marketing executive from mall staple Victoria’s Secret to lead its branding. Green Growth Brands of Columbus, Ohio, appointed Jann Parish its chief marketing officer. Parish also held that title with Victoria’s Secret. Before that, Parish ran branding campaigns for retail brands Calvin Klein and Tommy […]