Tilray grabbed cannabis industry headlines this week with news that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will allow the Canadian producer to export medical cannabis to California for research purposes. Elsewhere, Coca-Cola announced talks with Aurora Cannabis about developing cannabis-infused beverages, while Flavorman also unveiled plans to create CBD-infused drinks.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is out.
- Federal: The Coca-Cola Co. is in “serious talks” with Aurora Cannabis Inc. to develop cannabis-infused beverages, a move that would signal a significant foray into the marijuana sector by one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. Sources told BNN Bloomberg that Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage company, is interested in developing beverages that are infused with CBD. Read more
- Flavorman, a beverage and flavor development company, is also broadening its services to include CBD-infused beverage development and distribution. The company has put together a dedicated lab team of industry experts who are currently testing and producing formulae for CBD-based drinks. Read more
- A new report from BDS Analytics and Arcview Market Research says cannabis concentrates sales far outpace both flower and edibles in legal U.S. markets, with retail concentrates sales projected to hit the $8 billion mark by 2022. Concentrates have become the fastest growing of the three major segments of the legal cannabis market (flower, concentrates and edibles), largely due to consumer appeal, the report says—the ease of use, potency, discretion and portability of concentrates draws consumers in. Read more
- Oregon: The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office will use state grant money to go after black-market marijuana producers and legal growers who harvest more than their license allows. The nearly-$600,000 grant from a new program will pay for three detectives, one crime analyst and a part-time prosecutor, which are in addition to another three-year federal grant of $250,000 that pays for two additional deputies tasked with marijuana enforcement. Read more
- New Jersey: New Jersey’s six medical cannabis retailers may now add vape products to their shelves. The state Department of Health announced the news as part of its ongoing revisions to the state’s medical cannabis rules; earlier this year, the department approved a plan to improve access to medical cannabis for the state’s more than 26,000 registered patients. Read more
- Michigan: The state Department of Licensing and Regulation said it will comply with a court order that extends a Sept.15 deadline for 206 medical marijuana businesses operating under emergency rules to get a license or shut down to Dec. 15. These businesses submitted initial applications by a Feb. 15 deadline, as well as the second step of the license application, which was supposed to include approval from their local communities, by June 15. Read more
- Utah: Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints want the Utah Legislature to legalize medical marijuana in a special session by the end of 2018, although the church does not believe the initiative on November's ballot is the right way to legalize. “We'd like to see it done this year, in a special session this year,” said Marty Stephens, the church's director of community and governmental relations. Read more
- Nebraska: A cannabidiol oil study authorized by the Nebraska Legislature in 2015 has shown the majority of 23 intractable or treatment-resistant seizure patients in the study have benefited from the cannabis derivative. The study was authorized by a bill introduced by Sen. Sue Crawford. Read more
- Louisiana: State regulators have abolished a rule that limited the number of patients Louisiana doctors can recommend medical marijuana to. The Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners met Sept. 17 to consider changing several rules that currently place restrictions on patient access to medical marijuana, including a patient limit rule that prevented doctors licensed under the state’s medical marijuana program from recommending the drug to more than 100 people at a time. Read more
- Canada: Tilray, a Canadian cannabis company, has been granted permission by the U.S. federal government to export medicinal cannabis to California for scientific research. Dr. Fatta Nahab, an associate professor of neurosciences at the University of California San Diego’s medical school who is behind the research, believes it is the first time that the DEA has given the green light to a Canadian producer to export a cannabis study drug south of the border. Read more
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