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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.

Texas hemp legalization awaits governor’s pen

Published May 23, 2019

Lawmakers in the nation’s second-largest state have agreed to allow hemp cultivation, putting Texas one signature away from joining at least 42 other states to allow commercial hemp farming. The Texas measure, which passed unanimously in the state House and Senate, would not only legalize CBD in the state but would also allow the cannabinoid to […]

London skin-care firm is newest hemp play by Canadian marijuana producer

Published May 22, 2019

A London skin care company is the latest acquisition for Canada’s Canopy Growth, a marijuana producer that is deploying capital around the globe to gain traction for its hemp-derived CBD products.

Canada to consult public, businesses on natural health products containing hemp

Published May 22, 2019 | By Matt Lamers

Canada’s top health agency plans to launch public consultations on a proposed approach for regulating natural health products containing cannabis, Hemp Industry Daily has learned. Any subsequent regulations by Health Canada could have major implications for Canada’s CBD industry, which currently can be accessed only with a doctor’s prescription or through marijuana retailers. “Health Canada […]

Five things CBD insiders are looking for from the FDA

Published May 21, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

The hemp industry cheered when the plant was legalized last year. But the promise of hassle-free commerce from hemp’s most valuable product – the cannabinoids in its flowers – has remained elusive. That’s because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration waited less than 24 hours after hemp was legalized to extinguish hopes that cannabinoids, especially […]

Acknowledging hemp ‘uncertainty,’ FDIC chief says banking rules sufficient

Published May 20, 2019

Banks may be hesitant to serve hemp companies because of confusion about marijuana laws, the top U.S. bank insurer says. But that doesn’t mean financial institutions should require a new law guaranteeing hemp banking, said Jelena McWilliams, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which insures deposits. McWilliams was asked about hemp banking during […]

Canadian hemp growers, health food makers fighting CBD limits

Published May 17, 2019 | By Kristen Nichols

Canada is wrongly treating hemp extracts like marijuana, limiting opportunities for farmers and creating a black market for CBD, according to a trade group that wants Canadian health authorities to reclassify hemp-derived CBD.

Arizona hemp breeder buying two greenhouses

Published May 17, 2019

An Arizona hemp company selling feminized hempseeds and clones said it is buying two greenhouses to increase production. According to HempWave, the new greenhouses – in Phoenix and Willcox, Arizona – total 210,000 square feet. The company said the additional greenhouse space will allow it to produce more than 500,000 seeds and 4.5 million clones […]

Report: Hemp crop insurance guarantee may see US Senate action

Published May 14, 2019

A guarantee about hemp crop insurance may be added to a stalled disaster-aid bill pending in the U.S. Senate. According to The Washington Post, hemp advocate and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is trying to add language to the legislation to ensure hemp will be eligible for federal crop insurance. McConnell steered hemp […]

Iowa governor signs law allowing hemp cultivation in 2020

Published May 14, 2019

Iowa farmers will have the option of growing industrial hemp next year under a law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday. The Iowa Hemp Act passed the Legislature last month with overwhelming support. The law allows licensed growers to cultivate the crop on up to 40 acres. But before cultivation can begin, the Iowa […]

Connecticut authorizes CBD in food, hemp farming

Published May 10, 2019

A new Connecticut hemp law that allows unlimited hemp production and the sale of foods containing CBD leaves New Hampshire as the lone New England state with no hemp program. The law signed Thursday by Gov. Ned Lamont sets up Connecticut hemp production as soon as this year. Details of the Constitution State’s hemp law […]

Georgia legalizes hemp farming, cites need for ‘new commercial markets’

Published May 10, 2019

Citing a need to “open up new commercial markets for farmers,” Georgia has legalized hemp farming in a new law that allows cultivation for all purposes, including CBD-infused foods.

Canadian nutritional-supplements firm to buy North Carolina hemp extractor

Published May 9, 2019

A Quebec, Canada-based supplements company has agreed to acquire a North Carolina hemp extractor, the latest Canadian cannabis company to move into the U.S. hemp industry.