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Laura Drotleff

Laura has specialized in agricultural journalism for the past 20 years. Most recently she served as the editor of a B2B publication and multimedia properties focused on productivity, efficiency and profitability in commercial greenhouse cultivation. She has reported on multiple aspects of specialty crops including floriculture, fruit, vegetables, citrus and cannabis. She also has served extensively on various horticulture industry association boards. Laura is a Michigan State University graduate and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Overheard at HIDC: 10 reasons hemp entrepreneurs can still be optimistic about the industry

Published July 6, 2020 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

Hemp isn’t a bust, despite the industry’s growing pains and all the headlines in the mainstream media that suggest otherwise. That’s the message Kristen Nichols, the editor of Hemp Industry Daily, had for entrepreneurs at the Hemp Industry Daily Conference Direct. “Everyone expected this industry to mature very quickly, but we saw a lot of […]

HIA taps chief, partners with industrial hemp group on marketing checkoff effort

Published July 2, 2020

The Hemp Industries Association has names Jody McGinness as its new executive director and has partnered with the National Industrial Hemp Council to explore the creation of a national hemp marketing checkoff.

‘Cash is king’ for expansion opportunities and COVID-19 cushion: Q&A with Charlotte’s Web CEO Deanie Elsner

Published July 2, 2020 | By Laura Drotleff

Corporate leaders in the CBD industry are increasingly coming from the consumer packaged goods universe, lending their experience and asking the hard questions to whip the nascent hemp industry into shape and navigate the enormous growth that entrepreneurs foresee in the market. Deanie Elsner joined Charlotte’s Web as CEO last year, bringing with her more […]

Overheard at HIDC: Collaborate to strike distribution deals for smokable hemp and other hemp-derived products

Published June 30, 2020

“Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered” – and that’s a good way to think about seeking out large distribution deals for smokable hemp products, according to Jackson Garth, CEO of Verde Leaf Group, an Atlanta-based vertically integrated hemp company.

FinCEN reminds banks to treat hemp businesses equally to any other business

Published June 30, 2020

Officials from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance Monday to address banks’ questions about servicing hemp-related business customers.

Credit unions get new guidance on working with hemp businesses

Published June 25, 2020

Officials from the National Credit Union Administration issued a letter to federally insured credit unions this week, to provide additional information on serving legal hemp businesses.

Multistate hemp and CBD producer Entoura buys Atalo Holdings’ assets

Published June 23, 2020

Hemp producer Entoura, a privately held, vertically integrated hemp company has acquired the assets of Atalo Holdings, a hemp producer and CBD manufacturer located in Winchester, Kentucky.

Texas hemp extractor acquires CBD skin care and wellness company

Published June 23, 2020

Houston-based hemp processor and extractor Bayou City Hemp has purchased a retail company that makes hemp-derived CBD skin care, cosmetics and wellness products.

Two Florida cannabis laboratories merge hemp, CBD customers with new acquisition

Published June 22, 2020

ACS Laboratory, a chain of federally licensed and ISO-accredited marijuana and hemp laboratories based in Tampa, Florida, has acquired another Florida-based, certified hemp and CBD testing laboratory, expanding its national presence to 44 states.

Louisiana rolls out rules banning CBD in food, most smokable hemp products

Published June 22, 2020

In new legislation signed last week by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, the state has set new rules, including civil and criminal fines for noncompliance – including for the possession and sale of all smokable hemp products, alcoholic beverages containing CBD and food and beverages containing CBD.

Smokable hemp possession or sale in Iowa punishable with fines, jail in state’s new hemp and CBD regulations

Published June 19, 2020

New regulations clarifying the types of hemp and CBD products that are legal to sell and purchase in Iowa took effect with the enactment of the Hemp Consumer and Public Safety law on Wednesday.

2020 Outlook: Licensed US hemp acreage falls 9% from 2019, but grower numbers increase 27%

Published June 19, 2020 | By Laura Drotleff

Farmers nationwide are planting less hemp than they did in 2020 due to regulatory uncertainty, a surplus of hemp flower and biomass held over from 2019 and continuously falling wholesale prices.