Cannabis Professional’s early morning roundup of cannabis industry news. View archive here.
This week in weed is starting off with hope for would-be CBD product sellers in the United States that rules might come sooner than expected, more outdoor cultivation licences being issued in Canada and insights from the country’s newest micro-cultivator.
– Jameson Berkow
Table of contents FDA CBD efforts • Aurora’s new outdoor cultivation licenses • Hearst Organic on licensing process
FDA “expediting” CBD efforts
The United States Food and Drug Administration is attempting to move faster towards establishing a regulatory framework for products containing cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant.
Facing mounting pressure to clarify the rules following the late 2018 passage of the U.S. Farm Bill, which legalized hemp-based CBD products across the United States, the FDA’s acting chief information officer tweeted late Friday the agency was "enthusiastic about research into the therapeutic benefits of CBD products but also need to balance safety,” Dr. Amy Abernethy said.
“To understand the breadth of issues and gather data on safety we have conducted a public hearing, reviewed the medical literature, and have an open public docket.”
The agency has received over 3,400 public comments following their May 31st public hearing on proposed CBD regulations and the plan is for an official FDA report to update the public on its progress by “end of summer/early fall,” Dr. Abernethy said.
Some states have taken it upon themselves to craft their own regulations amid the federal vacuum. North Carolina, for example, has proposed a statewide ban on smokeable hemp products and Maine has already established its own system of regulations for CBD-based natural health products.
Companies, of course, are not waiting for the regulations either, with the latest projections suggesting Americans will be spending US$23-billion per year on CBD products as soon as 2023.
Aurora gets two outdoor cultivation licenses, advances plans for edibles
Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis announced Monday it has won Health Canada approval to grow cannabis outdoors in British Columbia and Quebec.
Aurora joins a handful of other licenced producers such as WeedMD and 48 North in securing an outdoor cultivation licence. Unlike those companies, which are largely using their outdoor production to grow ingredient-quality cannabis (i.e. cannabis that will not be sold as dried flower, but rather in an extract format), Aurora will initially be using the two locations in Westwold, B.C. and Lachute, Que. for cultivation research.
“For this season and next, our focus will be on researching cultivation methods and evaluating genetics in order to produce high THC and CBD cannabis in outdoor-grown plants, with the ultimate goal of extracting these components," Aurora chief science officer Jonathan Page said in a statement. "The unique climates of each site also presents a great opportunity to determine which cultivars will perform best in different outdoor environments.”
The company has also received a cannabis processing license for its Aurora Air facility near the Edmonton International Airport. That facility “will be home to several of the new production lines for edible products such as gummies and chocolates,” Aurora said, with plans to introduce those products to the Canadian market in December.
“The process is long but it can be done!” newly licensed micro-cultivator speaks
As anyone who has read Mark Rendell’s detailed look at the challenges facing small-scale cannabis growers looking to enter the legal market knows, becoming a licenced micro-cultivator in this country is no small feat.
Hearst Organic managed to pull it off, securing approval from Health Canada on Friday. Based in the small town of Hearst, Ontario, home to roughly 5,000 people a few hours east of Thunder Bay and the self-proclaimed moose capital of Canada, the company had first applied back in October 2018, meaning it took roughly nine months to get through the application process and make it out the other side.
“We didn’t hire any consultants, we did everything ourselves using the [Health Canada] guide,” the company said in response to questions via Twitter. “We did get some questions from HC which was to be expected. Yes the process is long but it can be done! We kept things simple and to true to our craft methods.”
As of March 31, roughly 150 micro-cultivation and micro-processing applications had been submitted to Health Canada but as of mid-July only a handful of licenced had been issued. Micro licenses are similar to standard cultivation licences with the major difference being micro growers are limited to 200 square meters of cultivation space.
Jameson Berkow