This week, seven groups in the cannabidiol (CBD) industry have announced they’ll be conducting a study with a minimum of 700 participants to measure the effects of full spectrum hemp-derived CBD and CBD isolate on the liver when used daily by healthy adults. The study is in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) calls for more research on CBD, particularly on the liver, so it can move forward with regulating the industry. Meanwhile, hemp samples have returned from space and are being studied by Front Range Biosciences to see how they’ve been impacted by a zero-gravity environment.
Here are this week’s top headlines you might have missed.
National: In response to the FDA’s repeated calls for more research on CBD, seven companies have banded together to participate in an industry-wide study measuring the effects on the liver of daily use of full spectrum hemp-derived CBD and CBD isolate by healthy adults. Read more
Colorado: In March, Front Range Biosciences sent hemp and coffee tissue samples to the International Space Station (ISS) to see how a zero-gravity environment would impact the plants’ gene expression. Now, the team is regenerating and growing out the tissue cultures to see how microgravity and the various stressors the samples experienced have affected the plants. Read more
Illinois: As hemp grown for fiber gains traction in the U.S., Rachel Berry, CEO of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, is experimenting with not just growing the crop, but also processing and using it on her farm. Read more
New Mexico: In the University of New Mexico’s latest study on cannabis, researchers found full-spectrum hemp oil “reduced mechanical pain sensitivity tenfold for several hours in mice with chronic postoperative neuropathic pain.” Read more
North Carolina: As the hemp industry in North Carolina finds its sea legs during its initial growing seasons in a federally legal market, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) is working to help farmers address common challenges and yield better crops. The NCDA&CS’s Agronomic Division recently released new guidelines to help hemp farmers manage soil fertility and plant nutrition, and prepare samples for leaf tissue testing. Read more
