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.

CV Sciences taps dietary supplement expert to oversee compliance

Published March 6, 2019

CV Sciences, a San Diego CBD manufacturer, has lured a former dietary supplement executive to oversee its research and regulatory compliance.

Alabama state officials tell public to avoid CBD products

Published March 4, 2019

Retailers who sell CBD products in Alabama are getting mixed messages now that the Department of Health is asking the public to avoid using CBD. It’s a move that directly conflicts with the state’s direction in December that authorized hemp-derived CBD production and sales. While CBD derived from marijuana remains illegal, Alabama was the first […]

Washington state to make way for hemp this spring

Published March 1, 2019

Washington state lawmakers and the Department of Agriculture are working together to make the state laws Farm Bill-compliant. A bill that allows hemp to be grown for CBD and moved across state lines was endorsed unanimously on Tuesday by a House committee, the Capital Press reported. The bill also would allow farmers to produce hemp within 4 […]

FDA commissioner gives fresh details on CBD review

Published February 28, 2019 | By Laura Drotleff

In two separate meetings over the past two days, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration offered a glimpse of potential CBD regulations to come and promised an April hearing to start work. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told state agriculture regulators that products not approved by the FDA and marketed with unproven claims about therapeutic benefits […]

States get busy on hemp as USDA delays national hemp rules until 2020

Published February 28, 2019 | By Laura Drotleff

Energized by the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and places federal regulatory authority with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), states have been readying their hemp cultivation regulatory plans for approval. But those next steps were put on hold on this week when the USDA confirmed it will not […]

Federal appeals court to review Idaho hemp seizure

Published February 26, 2019

A Colorado CBD company seeking the release of hemp seized in Idaho has been granted an appeal from a federal court, but it could be months before the case is resolved. Big Sky Scientific said that nearly 7,000 pounds of industrial hemp seized in Idaho last month was taken unlawfully under the 2018 Farm Bill. The 9th […]

California hemp company sponsored to help research high-CBD cultivars

Published February 26, 2019

A California hempseed company and a traditional agriculture biotech firm have been tapped to breed improved industrial hemp cultivars for California. California Hemp Corp., based in Oakdale, and Benson Hill Biosystems, a Missouri crop-improvement company, have partnered in a sponsored research agreement with the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to breed improved industrial hemp cultivars, […]

Marijuana companies look to build big business in hemp

Published February 25, 2019

Two large cannabis companies said Monday they are investing in developing their own lines of hemp-derived products by opening subsidiary companies. Chicago-based Cresco Labs, a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operator, is opening Well Beings to offer a full line of hemp-derived products eligible for national distribution, as well as CBD versions of house-branded products that include […]

USDA seeks public comment on hemp policy during listening session

Published February 19, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host a public listening session Feb. 26 to get feedback on policies being implemented through the 2018 Farm Bill. According to Bill Northey, the agency’s undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, the listening session is an opportunity for hemp producers and other agriculture industry stakeholders to provide input on […]