December 6, 2019, Louisville, KY – PRESS RELEASE – Atalo Holdings, a hemp research, development and production company doing business in six states with headquarters in Winchester, Kentucky, launched a new consultation subsidiary, Hemp Knowbility, at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s 2019 Hemp Summit Dec. 4.

“Hemp Knowbility will offer economical, hands-on consulting packages and one-time seed licenses for farmers, whether they be organic producers, experienced hemp growers or first-time hemp farmers. Access to seed and agronomics for a compliant product will be critical as states adopt the recent USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] guidelines,” said Atalo CEO William Hilliard. 

Hemp Knowbility builds on Atalo’s 25 years of research and development in the U.S. and Canada and the best practices developed by the Atalo Growers’ Group over the past five years, as well as a 200-year heritage of hemp farming in Kentucky. The new subsidiary will make this information available in affordable packages that include farm visits, phone and video support, and access to consistent, quality hemp seed.

Joe Collins is a hemp grower in Northern Kentucky. “The Hemp Knowbility team was a big help in raising the three hemp crops I’ve grown,” he said. “In a new industry that, at the present time, is uncertain about a lot of things, it’s really helpful to have a team in place to help us farmers on decision making. My consultant has been a huge help in the growing process. It means a lot to be able to call someone instantly to answer any questions that may come up.”

Rhonda Cornett, the chief operating officer for Hemp Knowbility, is well-known in agriculture for her experience as a farmer, as a grower representative for Altria and as the manager of grower communications for the Atalo Growers’ Group. “As the hemp industry continues to find its footing, farmers are looking for proven agronomics, advice on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) documentation and reliable seed for a compliant crop as they add hemp to their rotation. The response at the Kentucky Hemp Summit was excellent. We’re here to help and excited to get started,” Cornett said.

Thorofare, New Jersey, Dec. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Akers Biosciences, Inc., a developer of rapid health information technologies, announced today that it will continue its strategic review and has identified the hemp and minor cannabinoid sectors as promising adjacent opportunities that could benefit from Akers’ core competencies. The company is exploring how to leverage its 30 years of operational history in its medical device business, where its current products have U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance, its current operations practice Good Manufacturing Processes (cGMP), its medical device facility is certified under ISO 13485 – 2016 and the facility carries an Analytical Lab Certification for Schedules 2, 3, 4 and 5 controlled substances issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the State of New Jersey.

Akers has an extensive history in the development, production, and distribution of rapid screening and testing products designed to deliver medical information to healthcare providers. We believe that recent public statements by regulators, including the FDA, expressing concerns about the safety of certain cannabidiol products on the market creates an opportunity for a company like Akers, with experience in manufacturing and developing safe diagnostic tools, to pursue this opportunity, and help develop new safe products derived from cannabinoids.

Akers has also formed an advisory board with expertise in the hemp and minor cannabinoid industry to assist the Board of Directors in its strategic review including, potentially, the extraction, testing, purification and formulation of safe cannabinoids within the hemp industry. The advisory board may also explore a pathway to consumer products with a focus on minor cannabinoids.

Akers intends to work closely with its new Advisory Board members Bob Hoban and Michael Patterson, as well as its own legal counsel. Hoban is the President and Founder of Hoban Law Group which is a full-service law firm specializing in ‘cannabusiness.’ Hoban won the landmark Cannamart case in 2010 which led to Colorado’s commercial cannabis regulatory system in 2011. Patterson is a health care executive with over 25 years of experience who is currently the Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Cannabis Pharmaceutical Research and Development LLC. Patterson is a subject matter expert in the global cannabis industry and a board member of the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine.

Michael Patterson said, “With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill legalizing hemp and CBD derived from hemp, and the recent release of USDA guidelines requiring laboratory testing be performed by a DEA licensed laboratory, it is an opportunistic time for Akers to pursue possible opportunities in the hemp/cannabinoid testing and product formulation business.”

He continued, “Their decades of experience in bioscience and highly regulated healthcare industries provide could be synergistic in providing trusted hemp/cannabinoid testing and product formulations to companies across the United States and internationally” 

Additionally, Akers is consulting with two industry leaders on possible opportunities in the hemp/cannabinoid industries, David Goldstein and Yoray Halevy, who previously launched a medical cannabis recommendation engine called Potbotics and compiled a cannabinoid-based database through this former company. Possible opportunities may include the development of consumer facing products, such as cosmetics and sleep aids using minor cannabinoids. Akers believes that it is possible that cannabinoids may be able to be utilized in a myriad of goods to provide users with natural alternative remedies ranging from sleep benefits to workout recovery.

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MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, Dec., 2, 2019--PRESS RELEASE-- The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Monday it will add chronic pain and age-related macular degeneration as new qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program. Under state law, the new conditions will take effect in August 2020.

MDH also approved two new delivery methods to give patients more options. The new methods being added are water-soluble cannabinoid multi-particulates (for example, granules, powders and sprinkles) and orally dissolvable products such as lozenges, gums, mints, buccal tablets and sublingual tablets.

The program’s two medical cannabis manufacturers will double the number of patient cannabis treatment centers in accordance with legislation passed during the 2019 Minnesota Legislative Session. These new sites will mean greater access to cannabis treatment centers. The manufacturers selected eight locations for additional centers. Leafline Labs has proposed centers in Willmar, Mankato, Golden Valley and Rogers, while Minnesota Medical Solutions has proposed centers in Woodbury, Blaine, Duluth and Burnsville.

Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said the changes give patients more options, particularly in light of concerns about potential health impacts of e-cigarettes and vaping.

“We hope the addition of new delivery methods will provide a potential alternative to vaping for some patients and that the additional centers will provide more convenient access,” Commissioner Malcolm said.

Commissioner Malcolm explained that the two new qualifying conditions were added to allow patients more treatment options for conditions that can be debilitating.

“Minnesota’s medical cannabis program tracks patient experiences so we can learn about the real-world benefits and downsides of using medical cannabis for various conditions,” Commissioner Malcolm said. “The generally positive experience patients have had using medical cannabis to treat intractable pain prompted us to add chronic pain as a qualifying condition. Meanwhile, the decision to add age-related macular degeneration was due to a lack of good treatment options for managing symptoms.

“The bottom line is that people suffering from these serious conditions may be helped by participating in the program, and we felt it was important to give them the opportunity to seek that relief,” Commissioner Malcolm said.

Adding chronic pain will allow patients with pain to more easily access medical cannabis as an earlier treatment option. In 2016, MDH added intractable pain to the program. As defined by state law, intractable pain is pain whose cause cannot be removed and, according to generally accepted medical practice, the full range of pain management treatments appropriate for the patient have been used without adequate result or with intolerable side effects.

As in years past, MDH used a formal petitioning process to solicit public input on potential qualifying conditions. Throughout June and July, Minnesotans submitted petitions to add qualifying conditions. Following this petition period, the process included public comments and a citizens’ review panel. MDH staff also prepared a set of documents summarizing the available research pertaining to the use of medical cannabis for each prospective condition.

In addition to the newly approved conditions, MDH received petitions for four other conditions: anxiety, insomnia, psoriasis and traumatic brain injury. The petitions were rejected because the conditions had been petitioned previously and this year’s petitions did not include new scientific evidence.

Under current state rules, patients certified to chronic pain or age-related macular degeneration will become eligible to enroll in the program on July 1, 2020, and receive medical cannabis from the state’s two medical cannabis manufacturers beginning Aug. 1, 2020. As with other qualifying conditions, patients will need advance certification from a Minnesota health care provider. More details on the process are available on the Medical Cannabis website.

When the 2014 Minnesota Legislature authorized the creation of a medical cannabis program, the law included a set of nine conditions qualifying a person to receive medical cannabis. State rules direct the commissioner of health to consider each year whether to add other qualifying conditions and delivery methods. The current list of qualifying conditions includes:

• Cancer associated with severe/chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting
• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
• Terminal illness, with a probable life expectancy of less than one year
• Intractable pain
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Alzheimer’s

Currently permitted delivery forms include liquid (including oils), pills, vaporizable liquids or oils, and topical applications. The two new delivery methods will become effective Aug. 1, 2020. Minnesota law does not permit smokable or edible forms of medical cannabis.