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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.

Canadian cannabis firm MPX International to acquire Swiss CBD brand for CA$13.4 million

Published April 11, 2019

Another Canadian company is looking to Europe for expansion – this time in CBD. A large, vertically integrated Canadian company plans to buy up the remaining shares of a Swiss organic CBD company to expand into the global market. MPX International, a vertically integrated CBD company based in Toronto, has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares […]

New South Carolina law opens up unlimited hemp production

Published April 11, 2019

Another Southern state is increasing farmers’ opportunities to produce hemp with a new law signed this week. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill expanding the number of growers who can participate in the state’s hemp program and eliminating a cap on the number of acres they can grow. Last fall, the state licensed […]

Oregon finalizes hemp testing rules, suggests new fees

Published April 9, 2019

Hemp is booming in Oregon, so state agriculture regulators proposed another round of rules that could contribute to increased acreage. According to Canna Law Blog, the Oregon agriculture department’s proposed changes include: Lowering registration fees from $1,300 for hemp growers to $250, plus $500 for each grow site. Clarifying the option to resample if hemp fails pre-harvest […]

Kentucky, Montana senators get impatient with outdated hemp rules

Published April 9, 2019

U.S. senators from two big hemp states are getting fed up with waiting for hemp rules on issues such as shipping hemp across states lines to get fixed, so they’re pushing federal regulators to move faster. During a forum in Kentucky on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a new hemp law may be […]

New Mexico’s governor signs state’s new hemp regulations into law

Published April 5, 2019

Legislation that clears the way for the industrial production of hemp and related products in New Mexico has been signed into law.

Wyoming takes another step toward hemp production

Published April 5, 2019

Farmers in Wyoming are getting closer to having another crop to cultivate now that the state’s Department of Agriculture has submitted a plan for hemp production to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Last month, Gov. Mark Gordon signed the first state-level hemp law since passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. Wyoming’s new law calls for […]

Farm Credit Administration to issue guidance on hemp financial services

Published April 4, 2019

Hemp businesses could know as soon as next week which financial institutions they can approach for credit and lending help. The U.S. Farm Credit Administration (FCA) chairman and CEO Dallas Tonsager says that the agency will advise its 69 regional institutions on lending to hemp producers, Agri-Pulse reported. Tonsager said Tuesday that lenders will need […]

FDA warns CBD businesses: Stop making medical claims – or else

Published April 3, 2019 | By Laura Drotleff

Three CBD companies received letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warning them against making “unsubstantiated claims” about their products’ medical benefits. The companies, Advanced Spine and Pain (Relievus) in Jenison, Michigan, Nutra Pure in Vancouver, Washington, and PotNetwork Holdings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are accused of promoting […]

Sens. McConnell, Wyden to financial leaders: Give hemp farms access to banking

Published April 2, 2019 | By Hemp Industry Daily staff

Hemp farmers and businesses may soon have access to banking, credit and financial services if two of the industry’s biggest champions on Capitol Hill have anything to say about it. And they do. Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent letters to four federal banking and financial institutions on Tuesday asking them […]

FDA calls for ‘data and information’ to inform regulatory oversight of CBD

Published April 2, 2019

In his final week at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), outgoing Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb made good on his promise to set a date for the first public hearing on CBD – but it won’t be this month, as he previously promised at a Congressional hearing in February. The FDA will hold the public […]

‘Most of the industry looks good on paper’: Q&A with Highwater Financial’s Brent Williams

Published March 27, 2019 | By Laura Drotleff

With new companies – both cannabis and mainstream – entering the hemp and CBD market every day, it may be difficult for investors to know where the best investment opportunities exist. But there are also more places to get guidance than ever before. For example, Brent Williams founded hedge fund and consulting firm Highwater Financial in […]

Exactus buys online supplement retailer, seeks greater transparency

Published March 25, 2019

Proving that hemp-derived CBD really is sourced from hemp remains one of the big questions around its legality – and may be a key factor in a recent acquisition. Exactus, a Virginia-based health-care company with interests in cannabidiol treatments, acquired Hemp Healthy, a supplement firm that owns an e-commerce site selling CBD tinctures, topicals and […]