This week, Brightfield Group has released a new report that highlights the challenges cannabidiol (CBD) companies have faced amid COVID-19, as well as some opportunities with shifting consumer behaviors. Meanwhile, The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has launched a Consumable Hemp Program to regulate CBD products. The department also rolled out the state's smokable hemp ban this week.
Here are this week's headlines you might have missed.
- National: While regular CBD consumers have increased their consumption, smaller companies have experienced a “significant extinction event” propelled by the coronavirus, according to Brightfield Group’s new report, “Navigating Seismic Shifts: July 2020 CBD Report.” Read more
Meanwhile, ASTM International’s Committee on Cannabis is aiming to bring consistency to how cannabis and hemp growers collect, retain and send samples to state testing labs with a new standard. Read more - Mid-Atlantic region: The spotted lanternfly is a non-native invasive planthopper that has been making its way throughout the northeastern U.S., feeding on and destroying farm crops and trees. While more research still needs to be done on the new species, preliminary observations show that while it severely impacts hops, a cousin of cannabis, it doesn't pose an outsized threat to hemp. Read more
- Texas: While the Lone Star State is restricting smokable hemp, it's also joined a growing number of states that have created regulations for consumable hemp and CBD. Read more
