Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to make recommendations on how to regulate the use of popular cannabis compound CBD in food and supplements, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing agency officials. After weighing the evidence on the compound’s safety, the FDA will decide within months how to […] Read more
U.S. FDA reported weighing CBD regulation in food, supplements
Canopy eyes U.S. expansion via weed gummies maker
Ontario firm to pay US$297.5 million for Wana Brands
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s Canopy Growth Corp. said on Thursday it would buy weed gummies maker Wana Brands for US$297.5 million, as the world’s biggest pot producer looks to expand in the U.S. cannabis market. Demand for pot edibles such as gummies has risen during the pandemic, as people stuck at home turn to cannabis-related products […] Read more
Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil
Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more
Lighting up the hemp business
Could the timing finally be right for a Canadian hemp crop? Blue Sky Hemp Ventures is betting yes, based on a marriage of oil-industry strategies and hard-nosed farm smarts
Reading Time: 9 minutes It isn’t easy to make a business case for hemp. The crop has so much potential. But then, it has had such a checkered past too. Sure, there have been some successes, but farmers can’t be blamed for remembering the hemp co-operatives that bled red ink, or for recalling all the big talk about hemp […] Read more
Hemp poised for year of gains
Nationwide increase in acres expected
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The hemp industry in Canada is set for a good year in 2021, according to Canadian Hemp Trade Association (CHTA) CEO Ted Haney. “It looks like we are looking at another 15 to 20 per cent increase in seeded acres nationally, which should take us over the 100,000-acre level for sure,” he said. […] Read more
BAT looks beyond tobacco to Canadian marijuana
Lucky Strike cigarette maker buys into Moncton's Organigram
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — British American Tobacco (BAT) said Thursday it will buy a nearly 20 per cent stake in New Brunswick-based cannabis producer Organigram for about 126 million pounds (C$221.3 million) as it seeks to expand beyond its main tobacco business. Organigram, headquartered at Moncton, grows cannabis and makes cannabis-derived products in the Canadian market, where […] Read more
Cannabis-infused drinks fizzle on production, distribution challenges
'Actually executing the idea is much more difficult'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Investors pinning hopes on cannabis-infused drinks to propel growth of the legal marijuana industry may have to wait a bit longer, as companies struggle to produce and distribute the highly-sought beverages in a profitable way. Nearly 11 months after regulators allowed their sales, very few brands have been able to reach shelves. Canada […] Read more
Canopy Growth may face challenges offloading assets, CEO says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s biggest cannabis producer, Canopy Growth Corp., could face challenges offloading assets as it seeks to winnow its facilities down to focus on its most lucrative markets and products, its CEO told Reuters. The company, which reported a smaller-than-expected third-quarter loss on Friday, is conducting a “thorough strategic review” of its production facilities […] Read more
For many U.S. farmers who planted hemp, CBD boom leaves bitter taste
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters – Dan Maclure planted eight acres of hemp on his Vermont farm for the first time this year, aiming to cash in on the exploding demand for CBD, a derivative of the plant reputed to ease anxiety and other ills without the high of its close cousin, marijuana. He persevered when some of his hemp plants grew white […] Read more
Vape product concerns weigh on cannabis companies
Reading Time: 3 minutes Toronto | Reuters — A U.S. recommendation that consumers avoid vaping products containing the active ingredient in marijuana ahead of their legalization in Canada next month could be a blow to Canadian cannabis companies’ hopes that the higher-margin products will help propel them to profitability. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
