Proposed Bills Would Increase Hemp THC Limit to 1%, Legalize CBD in Dietary Supplements: Week in Review

The HEMP Act of 2020 introduced this week would increase the THC threshold and ease testing requirements, among other changes.

December 19, 2020

Theresa Bennett

This week, progress was made on two pieces of legislation that could give the hemp industry a major boost if passed.

On Dec. 15, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act of 2020. Paul’s legislation would address some of hemp farmers’ primary concerns with the USDA’s interim final rule, including boosting the THC limit to 1%. The bill would also only require testing the final hemp-derived product instead of the current standard to test the hemp crop no more than 15 days post-harvest, among other major improvements to federal hemp legislation. Read more

U.S. Hemp Roundtable also provided an update on H.B. 8179, which would legalize CBD in dietary supplements and require the FDA to establish a regulatory pathway for their sale. While not much tangible progress has been made on moving the bill through Congress since its introduction in September, the bill has now picked up 30 sponsors across both political party lines. Hemp industry leaders are hopeful this bodes well for the legislation. Read more

The National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) and the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) also provided an update this week on their efforts to establish a national hemp checkoff program, which would fund research, promotion and hemp consumer education. Larry Farnsworth, the spokesman for the NIHC, tells Hemp Grower that the survey would close at the end of December, with results likely published early in 2021. Read more

Meanwhile, Hemp Grower has started to take a look back at the year and where the hemp industry stands at the end of 2020. One story examines the effects the pilot program extension granted in September could have on the industry moving forward, as well as where states stand with their patchwork of hemp regulations. Another story delves deeper into how CBD companies have fared amid the COVID-19 pandemic nearly a year later, as well as how the pandemic could permanently shape the landscape moving forward.

Keep an eye out this upcoming week for more stories on this year’s trends in both the hemp and cannabis industries. Until then, for those in the process of trimming their hemp buds (or wanting to learn more about it), check out this story for an in-depth look at how LOWD manages its 7-person trim team and maintains consistency.

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Attorney General William Barr Resigns, New Jersey Legislature Sends Adult-Use Cannabis Bill to Governor: Week in Review

President Donald Trump announced that Barr’s current deputy attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, will become acting attorney general when Barr officially steps down next week.

December 19, 2020

Melissa Schiller

Canada Dispensary News Grower/Agriculture Legislation and regulation Medical Cannabis International News State by State: South Dakota State by State: Kentucky State by State: South Carolina State by State: Arizona State by State: California State by State: New Jersey State by State: Vermont Mergers and Acquisitions

This week, President Donald Trump announced the resignation of Attorney General William Barr, who is expected to officially step down next week. Elsewhere, in New Jersey, the state legislature sent a bill to Gov. Phil Murphy to implement the state’s adult-use cannabis program.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

Federal: President Donald Trump announced the resignation of Attorney General William Barr Dec. 14, while simultaneously announcing that Barr’s current deputy attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, will become acting attorney general when Barr officially steps down next week. Rosen will fill the role of attorney general until President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn into office Jan. 20, although Biden has not yet chosen an attorney general. Read more
South Dakota: South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the group behind Amendment A, the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis legalization measure, has filed a response to a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the ballot initiative. The group argues in its court filing that the case should be dismissed because voiding Amendment A would overturn the will of the people. Read more
Kentucky: Rep. Jason Nemes has announced plans to reintroduce a medical cannabis legalization bill in the upcoming legislative session. The Kentucky House of Representatives passed House Bill 136 in February, marking the first time a bill to legalize medical cannabis has received a full House vote in the state, and Nemes says support in the House has only increased since then. Read more
South Carolina: Lawmakers have pre-filed bills in both the House and the Senate to legalize medical cannabis. The bills, both called the “South Carolina Compassionate Care Act,” mirror legislation that was considered during the 2019 legislative session, when the Senate ultimately voted to table to legislation. Read more
Arizona: The Arizona Department of Health Services has announced draft rules for the state’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market. The draft regulations largely mirror the framework of the state’s medical cannabis program, and Arizona’s existing medical cannabis operators can seek licenses in the adult-use market beginning in January. Read more
California: Columbia Care has closed its acquisition of Project Cannabis—a vertically integrated business based in California. The transaction comprises $52.5 million in Columbia Care stock and another $16.5 million that’s expected to come from the sale of Project Cannabis’s real estate assets. Read more
New Jersey: Members of the New Jersey state Assembly and Senate have given final approval to legislation permitting the possession of marijuana by adults and regulating its commercial production and retail sales. Each of the measures now awaits the signature of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Read more
Vermont: Gov. Phil Scott is calling for applicants for the new, three-member Cannabis Control Board that will establish and regulate an adult-use cannabis industry in the state. The board will be comprised of one chair and two members, which will be appointed by the governor after being vetted by the Cannabis Control Board Nominating Committee. Read more
Canada: Aphria and Tilray announced this week that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine their businesses and create the world’s largest global cannabis company based on pro forma revenue. Following the completion of the arrangement, the combined company will have principal offices in the United States (New York and Seattle), Canada (Toronto, Leamington and Vancouver Island), Portugal and Germany, and it will operate under the Tilray corporate name with shares trading on NASDAQ under ticker symbol “TLRY.” Read more
International: The Chamber of Deputies, Mexico’s lower house of Congress, has received an extension on a Supreme Court-imposed Dec. 15 deadline to approve a cannabis legalization bill, again delaying the country’s much-anticipated legalization vote. Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a news conference that lawmakers asked for an extension because they needed more time to make revisions to the bill, and Lopez Obrador now expects approval on the legislation in early 2021. Read more

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Bill to Legalize CBD in Dietary Supplements Gains More Congressional Support

While action on H.B. 8179 has been on pause, industry leaders are encouraged by the traction and bipartisan support it’s gaining in Congress.

December 18, 2020

Theresa Bennett

In September, the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 (H.R. 8179) was introduced to Congress in attempt to regulate cannabidiol (CBD) in dietary supplements. If passed, it would be the first non-medical CBD product to be approved and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

And while no tangible action has been taken on that bill since its introduction, U.S. Hemp Roundtable (USHR) has been working behind the scenes to gather the support of now 30 co-sponsors of the bill. The newfound support, as well as input from the FDA, has industry participants hopeful the bill will pass.

Jonathan Miller, general counsel for USHR, says gathering the new sponsors has been the result of both asking USHR members to send emails to their state representatives as well as holding virtual meetings with nearly 200 political offices across the country. The effort has resulted in bipartisan support: 18 of the bill’s sponsors are Democrats, while 12 are Republicans.

“While everyone is familiar these days with CBD, most members of Congress and their staffs are not familiar with all the nuances, what the FDA has done, what the FDA hasn’t done,” Miller says. “It’s been a real educational process, which makes the fact that we have 30 co-sponsors such a big deal. To take initiative is so complex and so nuanced.”

In addition to congressional support, the bill has also received support from more than a dozen industry organizations and nearly 50 companies, according to a white paper from U.S. Hemp Roundtable.

The bill includes a requirement for manufacturers to comply with existing regulations for dietary supplements, which include safety procedures, labeling requirements and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

David Spangler and John Troup of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) say the FDA has provided guidance on the changes it would like to see in the bill, signaling the agency’s receptivity to the regulations. Among the FDA’s requested changes is setting an upper limit on the amount of CBD allowed per product. The FDA also wants to limit the bill to regulating only CBD in dietary supplements, leaving out minor cannabinoids and other hemp derivatives.

“I don’t know if that’s ideal, but that’s the single biggest ingredient right now, and it could certainly set a tone for how to think about other ingredients,” says Spangler, CHPA’s senior vice president of legal affairs and policy.

“The good news is [the FDA] supports … that CBD can be designated as a dietary supplement, and that new pathway can be established,” adds Troup, CHPA’s vice president for scientific affairs and dietary supplements.

Notably, the bill does not include regulations for CBD in any other product outside of dietary supplements. (From the FDA’s perspective, CBD is currently illegal in all products except Epidiolex, which is a drug used to treat epilepsy.)

Miller says this was an intentional move, as the FDA has objected to regulating CBD in products like food and beverages.

“The folks on [Capitol] Hill that we consulted felt like we should go at it in two steps—dietary supplements first, then food and beverage,” Miller says. “We support pathways for both dietary supplements and food additives, and we believe a bill next year will include a food and beverage path.”

Further Action Required

Miller says the bill has been put on pause as Congress works through other more pressing issues, including fiscal appropriations and the recent election. But once newly elected congressional members assume their positions, Miller expects action on the bill will pick back up in the beginning of 2021.

Miller points out that surveys have found the CBD market could grow from about $1 billion now to anywhere from $10-16 billion within the next five years. He adds that this bill would be the first step in achieving that level of growth.

“All those analyses say those higher-end estimates are only possible if there are favorable FDA regulations,” Miller says. “If we continue to remain with this regulatory uncertainty, we’re not going to see this type of growth.”

Ethos Cannabis Opens Medical Dispensary in Hazleton, Pa.

The Hazleton location represents Ethos’ sixth dispensary in Pennsylvania.

December 18, 2020

Posted by Melissa Schiller

Dispensary News

December 18, 2020 - Hazleton, Pennsylvania. - PRESS RELEASE - Ethos Cannabis, a multi-state medical dispensary operator headquartered in Philadelphia, has officially announced the opening of its dispensary in Hazleton, located at 113 Woodbine Street. The dispensary will be open for medical marijuana patients immediately.

Ethos is focused on serving mainstream consumers and further developing the health and wellness market to help individuals feel and live better through their experiences with cannabis. The Hazleton location represents Ethos’ sixth dispensary in Pennsylvania. The new facility will initially employ 14 employees who will serve patients with 24 qualifying conditions defined in Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act.

In addition to their flagship in Philadelphia, Ethos operates dispensaries across the state in Allentown, Montgomeryville, Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre. The Wilkes-Barre location opened on Oct. 16. Two more dispensaries are planned in the future in the Pittsburgh area and another one in the Philadelphia area.

“We are very excited and honored to be opening our sixth dispensary in Pennsylvania and continuing to extend our welcoming, educational, and informative experience to more medical marijuana patients in Pennsylvania.” said Teddy Scott, chief executive officer of Ethos and the founder and former chief executive officer of PharmaCann.

David Clapper, President of Pennsylvania and Chief Financial Officer, added, “We chose to open a second dispensary in Luzerne County because it is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest and most populous county. Our overarching goal is to ensure that all qualifying Pennsylvanians have access to top tier medical cannabis products and service.”

Proposed Bills Would Increase Hemp THC Limit to 1%, Legalize CBD in Dietary Supplements: Week in Review

Attorney General William Barr Resigns, New Jersey Legislature Sends Adult-Use Cannabis Bill to Governor: Week in Review

Bill to Legalize CBD in Dietary Supplements Gains More Congressional Support

Arkansas Medical Cannabis Sales Top $200 Million

Ethos Cannabis Opens Medical Dispensary in Hazleton, Pa.

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