Virginia will soon be home to a new and much needed industrial hemp fiber processing and cannabidiol (CBD) oil extraction facility. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced yesterday Shenandoah Valley Hemp, LLC, trading as Pure Shenandoah, will invest nearly $3.3 million to establish the facility in the down of Elkton. “Projects like...

Canada's Canopy Growth is taking on the UK's GW Pharmaceuticals over a widely used cannabidiol extraction method. The company recently filed its complaint in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas Waco Division. Canopy Growth says it acquired all right, title, and interest in the 10,870,632 Patent, which...

The UK’s Brexit transition period ends on 1 January 2021, and with it access to medical cannabis prescriptions filled in the EU. From January 1, UK prescriptions for finished medical cannabis products such as cannabis oil will no longer be recognised by EU member states. While this does not impact the...

Health Canada recently released results of its 2020 survey on cannabis use across the nation that indicate medical use remains steady in the country. Carried out with 10,822 people aged 16 years or older, the survey's results show fourteen percent indicated they used cannabis for medical purposes during the previous...

An Australian review of regulatory processes for the manufacturing, labelling and packaging of medical cannabis products recently kicked off. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is carrying out the review on behalf of the Department of Health. Potential reforms include: Making Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements for imported medicinal cannabis products...

Australia's Neurotech International Limited (ASX: NTI) has reported final results of in-vitro studies indicate its DOLCE/NTI cannabis strains exhibit potent anti-inflammatory activity. Neurotech acquired an exclusive worldwide license to utilise proprietary cannabis strains from Dolce Cann Global, which it hopes could potentially be used to treat neurological disorders including autism,...

The USA's Federal Trade Commission has announced its first crackdown on CBD vendors that make deceptive claims about their products. Operation CBDeceit is already poised to claim a few scalps - its goal being to protect consumers from false, deceptive and misleading health claims regarding cannabidiol (CBD) made in online...

U.S. Senator Rand Paul has introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (H.E.M.P) Act of 2020 that seeks to significantly boost the maximum THC limit of hemp. A major challenge for hemp farmers in the USA is the THC limit currently in place - 0.3%. Crops over this level are considered...

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has announced its final decision on down-scheduling certain cannabidiol (CBD) preparations to Pharmacist Only Medicines - available over the counter without a prescription. Just to briefly recap the events leading up to this decision: In December last year, a Department of Health spokesperson signalled the...

The US National Institute of Justice has ponied up a bundle of bucks to fund the development of simpler and cheaper THC testing. The 2018 Farm Bill created a few headaches for law enforcement at a federal level when it legalised industrial hemp. Where previously all cannabis was (incorrectly) considered...