EMAIL: laurad@staging-hempindustrydaily.kinsta.cloud
PHONE: 720.213.5963

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.

Front Range Biosciences is honored as Hemp Game Changer at MJBizDaily Awards

Published December 13, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

Front Range Biosciences is the inaugural winner of the MJBizDaily Awards’ Hemp Game Changer Award. The 2019 award was presented to Front Range Biosciences CEO Jonathan Vaught on Thursday night at the MJBizDaily Awards gala during MJBizCon Week in Las Vegas. “I’m really honored,” Vaught said after winning the award. “I’ve got an incredible team that […]

Amid financing challenges, Kentucky hemp grower lands $30 million bank loan

Published December 12, 2019

A Kentucky hemp producer has secured a sizable loan to help grow its business in 2020. AgTech Scientific, a privately held hemp and CBD company in Paris, Kentucky, said it has closed a $30 million business loan with Truist Financial, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank holding company formerly known as BB&T. “We are honored to […]

Rocky start for inaugural hemp auction, but more events are planned

Published December 9, 2019 | By Laura Drotleff

Optimism around a three-day hemp auction in Tennessee turned to disappointment when producers found way more sellers than buyers, driving prices down and leaving some frustrated. But organizers of the inaugural International Hemp Auction and Market, modeled after tobacco auctions in the area, say the market volatility will settle down, making future auctions more valuable. The […]

Iowa retailer arrested for selling still-illegal CBD products

Published December 6, 2019

An Iowa CBD retailer was arrested after allegedly selling products containing cannabidiol to police. Lacie Navin, the owner of Your CBD Store, in Ankeny, Iowa, was arrested as part of a task force investigation into businesses selling CBD in the area after multiple complaints. According to police, this is the first arrest in the state […]

Another German court halts sale of CBD as food without ‘novel’ authorization

Published December 5, 2019

Local authorities acted correctly by not allowing sales of CBD products that don’t have a “novel food” authorization, a German court decided, confirming an earlier ruling. The “novel food” classification is given by the European Union to products that have not been significantly consumed before 1997. The Gießen Administrative Court (VG Gießen) said it decided […]

New York CBD retailer who received hemp shipment still facing marijuana charges

Published December 5, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

A CBD retailer is worried his store could go out of business after the New York Police Department intercepted its most recent shipment of hemp, thinking it was marijuana, and arrested his brother on drug charges. Oren Levy, the owner of Green Angel CBD in Brooklyn, told Hemp Industry Daily the hemp shipment hasn’t been returned […]

New Mexico to invest $400,000 in Las Cruces hemp manufacturing firm

Published December 5, 2019

A hemp manufacturing business in Southern New Mexico will get a boost from the state’s Economic Development Department. The agency said it has pledged to invest $400,000 in 420 Valley as part of a continued effort by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration to grow the burgeoning industry. 420 Valley plans to move into a vacant […]

Embattled Pennsylvania hemp processor ordered to close

Published December 4, 2019

A hemp drying and processing company in Pennsylvania that has received numerous complaints about its facilities, odor and lack of pay to employees has been ordered by the state to close. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an administrative order to cease operation at the Jeannette facility of Patriot Shield Security, The Philadelphia Enquirer […]

Hemp banking gets a boost as four federal agencies remove red tape for new crop

Published December 4, 2019 | By Laura Drotleff

After a seasonlong struggle associated with banking and financing their operations, hemp farmers and businesses can exhale now that federal and state financial institutions have loosened reporting restrictions on hemp banking and issued guidance to members.

Key US senator wants USDA to extend hemp rule comment period

Published December 2, 2019

The top Democratic official in the U.S. Senate is calling on federal agriculture regulators to allow more time for hemp industry stakeholders to have their voices heard regarding hemp production regulations. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to extend […]

Farmers can now apply for hemp production licenses through USDA

Published December 2, 2019

Producers who want to grow hemp in 2020 but live in a state that does not currently have a program can now apply for federal licenses. The Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting license applications from producers whose states or tribes do not submit plans for approval. The agency […]

USDA, congresswoman to discuss hemp rules and challenges with Maine farmers

Published November 27, 2019

Hemp farmers in Maine are getting an opportunity to discuss the new hemp regulations with a representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) thanks to a member of Congress who nudged the agency to get the rules out.