SAN FRANCISCO -- CBD oil-infused gummy bears, lattes and other food, drinks and dietary supplements are selling quickly even though the U.S. government says they're illegal and local authorities have forced some retailers to pull products. The confusion has the nation's two largest states and others moving to legalize the cannabis compound that many see as beneficial to their health.

Lawmakers in Texas and California are often in opposition, but they're both pushing bipartisan legislation to sidestep federal law and allow sales of the compound found in hemp and marijuana. Republicans and Democrats in Congress also are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to change its stance.

The FDA announced Tuesday that it will hold a public hearing in May to gather more information.

Read more

Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program has reached a milestone: more than 100,000 patients have been certified in the commonwealth since medical marijuana was legalized in 2016. Certification means the patient has registered for the medical marijuana program, has had physician approval for use and they've obtained their medical marijuana card.

People with one of 21 conditions, including epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder, can be approved to use medical marijuana. In February, Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Advisory Board recommended that anxiety and Tourette syndrome be added to the list.

But the final decision ultimately falls to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

Read more

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - A debate to legalize recreational marijuana in Connecticut continues on Monday.

Another legislative committee is slated to act on a bill that could ultimately legalize the use of cannabis for people ages 21 and older.

It's just one of several bills moving through the legislative process this year.

The General Assembly's Judiciary Committee is slated to vote on one such bill on Monday. The bill specifically outlines how marijuana would be legalized.

Read more

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Segra International Corp., a cannabis agriculture technology company, has announced that its application for licensing with Health Canada has advanced to the “confirmation of readiness” phase.

“Confirmation of readiness” precedes issuance of a production “Cannabis Nursery License,” the license subclass required to commence operations at Segra’s New Westminster, B.C. Plant Tissue Culture Production Facility. Segra anticipates the facility will meet all relevant compliance provisions required by Health Canada later this year, with operations commencing shortly thereafter.

“Over the last 12 months, it’s been a pleasure to produce tissue cultured cannabis plantlets with our LP partners at their facilities, but establishing our own licensed nursery has always been the goal,” said Dr. Sma Zobayed, Segra’s director of tissue culture. “The prospect of being the first tissue culture-based cannabis plant nursery licensed by Health Canada is very exciting. We’re pioneering an entirely new segment of the cannabis supply chain, which, over time, could prove very disruptive to the current clone-to-sale business model.”

The company’s Plant Tissue Culture Production Facility is undergoing renovations and personnel recruitment in anticipation of operations, with direction from Zobayed. As the former chief scientific officer for JRT Nurseries, Zobayed oversaw production of more than 12 million tissue culture plantlets annually. Segra’s Plant Tissue Culture Production Facility will serve to both provide plantlets to existing clients and establish base-stock tissue cultured plantlets for expansion into future production facilities.