CBD: Consumers Crave Science, Information
This article originally appeared on https://www.letstalkhemp.com/
By Steven Hoffman
Based on a comprehensive consumer survey published in 2020 of 4,000 U.S. consumers plus another 1,000 consumers in Canada, healthy lifestyles research firm Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) found that people are eager and interested in exploring the medicinal value of CBD.
According to NMI’s 2020 North American Cannabis Market Opportunities and Challenges Report, 18% of the U.S. adult population (46 million consumers) say they have personally used CBD products in the past six months.
“Consumers don’t know a lot and they want to learn more,” said Diane Ray, NMI’s Vice President of Strategic Innovation. “Right now, they’re getting information from articles online and family and friends. It doesn’t appear that a lot of authoritative sources are connecting with consumers to provide them with reliable information. It could also be that resistance from social media companies may be a factor in limiting information,” Ray observed.
“There’s an underlying desire to get healthier. People want to believe in the promise of CBD and they want to know how to tap into its benefits. However, the data indicates the industry isn’t educating enough. We see an influx of people experimenting and dabbling with CBD products – from dietary supplements and functional food and beverage to personal care – but that could flatten unless science comes into play more. The market is craving reliable science,” Ray said.
While an older generation in their 60s and 70s are turning to CBD products for pain management – in particular, CBD gummies are number one in terms of consumer choice, according to NMI data – Ray noted that a younger generation, including Millennials and the “i-gen” (the 18-25 age group) are among the most stressed, and they turn to CBD products for anxiety and relaxation.
“Consumers are slowly navigating the puzzle of dosage, quality, etc., to find out what products work for them and fit in their budget,” Ray said. “In the long term, they want to get it where they get everything else, but in the near term, they are looking for education and expertise, and for that they are going to specialty stores, including dedicated CBD stores, dispensaries, drugstores, the internet and natural food stores,” Ray noted.
Natural Marketing Institute identifies five consumer segments that are grouped along the lines of differentiated health attitudes, behavior and psychographics. They include:
Well Beings® – 26%
• Most health pro-active
• Leaders & influencers
• Most multi-cultural
Food Actives® – 14%
• Mainstream healthy
• Basics & balance
Magic Bullets® – 20%
• No healthy lifestyle commitment
• Managers vs. preventative
Fence Sitters® – 23%
• ‘Wannabe’ healthy
• Stressed, want control
• Multi-cultural segment
Eat, Drink & Be Merrys® – 17%
• Least health active
• Taste over health
For more information on the 2020 USA/Canada Whole Cannabis/Whole Health study, visit here.
Cleaner, Greener Cannabis is Growing in New Zealand
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cleaner, Greener Cannabis is Growing in New Zealand
Puro is on track to become one of the world’s first organically certified cannabis cultivators.
MARLBOROUGH, New Zealand (April 27, 2021) — Puro, New Zealand’s largest licensed medicinal cannabis cultivator, is setting new standards in organic outdoor cannabis farming.
The company has been growing medicinal cannabis under organic guidelines at its outdoor site, Kēkerengū, in Marlborough — a region celebrated for its world-class wine industry.
BioGro, the country’s largest organic certifier, has audited Puro’s medicinal cannabis cultivation and last week certified the company’s first commercial crop of high CBD and CBG plants as being ‘In Conversion’ to organic.
This important milestone keeps Puro on track to achieve full organic status from BioGro for its medicinal cannabis production at this site in the next 18 months.
Once full organic status is achieved, Puro will be one of the world’s first certified organic medicinal cannabis cultivators.
For managing director Tim Aldridge, the certificate recognizes and rewards two years of hard work and challenges exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. It also reinforces the company’s overall mission of growing premium medical cannabis of the highest standard that is better for patients — and the planet.
“Worldwide we are already receiving interest in our product and stimulating discussion about the way in which we are establishing our farm,” says Aldridge.
Puro’s cultivation director Tom Forrest’s intimate knowledge and understanding of pharmaceutical growing operations have been instrumental in developing Puro’s organic and regenerative approach.
While it may have taken extra work to establish organic growing conditions, Forrest hopes that Puro’s achievements will encourage other cannabis growers to move their production practices away from a reliance on synthetic chemicals.
“Our focus and intention is to develop an ‘organic playbook’ for cannabis that other growers in New Zealand and globally can adopt and follow,” says Forrest. “Even if we can encourage one or two other commercial growers to move away from their reliance on synthetic chemicals and sprays, then this would be a wonderful achievement for our team.”
The first commercial crop is currently being harvested and over 25 tonnes of wet flower have so far been processed at the onsite purpose-built facility. Puro’s cultivation team believes the same terroir that produces the region’s world-class wine could also produce some novel terpene and cannabinoid profiles, and product testing is currently underway.
In another significant first, Puro is working with the New Zealand Government’s international business development agency, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, to pave a pathway for exporting bulk medicinal cannabis from New Zealand. Puro is seeking international partnerships for its products.
Puro is now working to finance further developments. Last week, the company successfully closed a $2 million retail investment campaign. The funds will be used to complete development of Puro’s breeding facility in Waihopai, near Blenheim, which will sit beside its existing indoor research facility at the site and be used for seed production. It is seeking further wholesale investment of $6 million that will fund the development of Puro’s commercial glasshouses.
If you’re interested in learning how to purchase Puro’s unique cannabis product or to consider an investment into Puro, please contact Tim Aldridge - tim@puro.co.nz.
For more information on Puro, including future investment opportunities, visit puro.co.nz and follow @Puro on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
For further press information, please contact: Melissa Reid - melissa@hempire.co.nz
# # #
UN Vote on Cannabis Could Impact THC and CBD Products Worldwide
This article originally appeared in the November 18, 2020 edition of the Let’s Talk Hemp Newsletter
By Steven Hoffman
The United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is scheduled to vote on December 2 on the fate of cannabis recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO). The vote, reports Green Entrepreneur, will affect a series of recommendations for THC and CBD products, including pharmaceutical cannabis products such as Marinol, Syndros and Sativex.
“Among its recommendations, the WHO calls for all forms of THC to be removed from the drug convention of 1961, placing it with cannabis in Schedule I, the least restrictive classification by UN standards. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical cannabis medications would be placed in Schedule III,” Green Entrepreneur reported.
“In addition to the WHO’s recommendation on rescheduling cannabis and cannabis resins, another significant recommendation relates to ‘cannabidiol preparations,’ or CBD, Nushin Rashidian reported in Cannabis Wire. “The WHO already took a position in 2018 that pure CBD doesn’t warrant regulation. This latest recommendation is to put that position into effect by adding a note under the cannabis and cannabis resin entry under Schedule I that ‘preparations containing predominantly cannabidiol and not more than 0.2% of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol are not under international control,’” Rashidian wrote.
It should be noted that while Schedule I in the U.S. means the most stringent of regulated categories under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), under the UN 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Schedule IV is the most restrictive and includes substances considered dangerous with limited or no medical value. “In removing cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV, the WHO is effectively acknowledging its medical utility, Cannabis Wire reported.
Writing in Forbes, leading cannabis attorney Bob Hoban said, “The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 is an international treaty prohibiting production and supply of specific drugs and of drugs with similar effects — except under governmental license for specific purposes, such as medical treatment and research. Under the Single Convention, Cannabis (not ‘marihuana’ or ‘marijuana’) is categorized alongside cocaine and heroin as a dangerous substance with no medicinal benefit and a high potential for abuse,” he wrote.
“The UN Convention doesn’t distinguish between marijuana or hemp or make other legal distinctions that exist in the United States, but defines the substance as ‘cannabis’ and generally comments on the legality of its various uses. This excludes most ‘industrial’ uses of cannabis, or what we think of as non-psychoactive hemp in the United States, from UN control. These industrial uses can include applications for textiles, bioplastics, pulp for paper, and biofuels, just to name a few” Hoban reported.
No Changes Anticipated in the Near Future
Hoban noted that even if the UN votes to approve WHO’s cannabis recommendations, the legality of cannabis won’t change in the near future.
“Here’s an example: if the UN were to adopt these changes, or even if the Single Convention were abolished in its entirety (highly unlikely), its tenets continue to be ingrained in the United States’ CSA and the domestic laws of its numerous signatories. Until those laws are also repealed, amended, altered or otherwise modified, nothing will change overnight because of the political will and conflict in signatory countries” he wrote in Forbes.
Representatives of the U.S. said the country will not support recommendations regarding CBD as a medical preparation, Hemp Today reported. “The U.S. representative said the WHO proposal to remove CBD medicine from international drug controls could ‘introduce legal ambiguities and contradictions that would undermine effective drug control.’ Instead, she reaffirmed that medical CBD is not scheduled in the Conventions, and therefore not subject to drug controls, reminding as well that CBD which may be present in industrial hemp products are similarly exempt,” Hemp Today reported.
In addition to the U.S., not all member states, including Russia, are on board with WHO’s cannabis recommendations or any changes to international drug rules. However, a group of international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) signed on the support approving WHO’s recommendations, according to activist and organizer Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli, based in Barcelona, Spain.
NGOs Encouraged to Sign On to Support WHO’s Cannabis Recommendations
“As you may know, the United Nations will make a historic decision on medical cannabis in early December 2020,” Riboulet-Zemouli said in an email communication. “Together with ECOSOC-accredited organizations [referring to the UN Economic and Social Council], we have created a statement to be submitted to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs member states for consideration. We are calling on global drug policy reformers, patients, advocacy, and health organizations to sign-on,” he said.
“This statement will be submitted to the proper authority at the Commission of Narcotic Drugs for inclusion during the proceedings and in the official records, showing that NGOs care about the issue at stake. We would like for your organization to be included,” Roboulet-Zemouli added.
Read More
The World Health Organization Says Reschedule Cannabis: Will the UN Agree?
What You Need to Know about the Possible Historic U.N. Vote on Cannabis
WHO Scheduling Recommendations on Cannabis and Cannabis-related substances
NGO Statement to the UN Regarding Patient Access to Cannabis Medicine
Cannabis Industry Celebrates Major Election Victories; Voters Clap Back at War on Drugs
This article originally appeared on LetsTalkHemp.com
By Steven Hoffman
As the counting of votes continues to decide who won the presidential and some too-close-to-call congressional elections the day after Election Day in the U.S., cannabis industry advocates are celebrating a number of victories in key states where marijuana has been legalized, and where other drugs have been decriminalized.
In New Jersey, the Garden State, 67% of voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana for people age 21 and over. The state commission that regulates the legal medical marijuana market in New Jersey also will oversee the new recreational market, which, according to Bloomberg News, is expected to generate $1.9 billion in sales in the state, resulting in $126 million in sales tax revenue, according to estimates from New Jersey’s Office of Legislative Services.
In all, five more states approved ballot measures legalizing cannabis use for adults, including Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Prior to yesterday’s election, 11 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized marijuana.
In an additional blow to the U.S.’ war on drugs, voters in Oregon yesterday made it the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. “Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which backed the measure, told the Associated Press (AP).
Oregon voters also approved a ballot initiative making the state the first to legalize therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms. In addition, a ballot initiative in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) to decriminalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms and other psychedelic plants and fungi appeared to have a commanding lead in yesterday’s election, reported the Washington Post.
Voter Attitudes About Drugs Are Changing
In Arizona, voters in 2016 had narrowly defeated a marijuana legalization proposal. However, attitudes have changed as the state legalized non-medical use of marijuana for adults age 21 and over. In addition, the Arizona initiative allows individuals convicted of certain marijuana crimes to seek expungement of their records, reported AP.
Despite Governor Kristi Noem’s position against hemp and marijuana, South Dakota residents yesterday voted to legalize recreational marijuana for adults age 21 and older. Voters in South Dakota passed the ballot measure by a 53-47 margin, reported Argus Leader.
In the state of Mississippi, voters approved legalizing medical marijuana, and recreational marijuana was approved by voters in Montana. The Montana measure allows for marijuana possession, use and growing among adults age 21 and older, and it also puts the state’s Department of Revenue in charge of establishing and overseeing a commercial system for growing and selling cannabis, with a 20% tax on sales, according to Vox.
According to Fast Company, the historic wins in the 2020 election for cannabis and against the U.S.’ seemingly endless war on drugs should have a positive impact on cannabis stock prices following the election. Politico reported that with the addition of five more states, one in three Americans now lives in a state where recreational marijuana is legal.
Hemp Scores Victories on Election Day
According to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, hemp industry champions in Congress scored some victories on Election Day 2020:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who led the fight for hemp’s legalization in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills, won reelection by a more than 20 point margin in Kentucky. As of this morning, it is not clear whether McConnell will remain Majority Leader, but even if Democrats seize control of the U.S. Senate, hemp will be secure under the leadership of Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (and McConnell will remain a powerful force as Minority Leader.)
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who has led efforts to pressure the USDA and FDA into support for the hemp and CBD industries, won reelection by a nearly 20 point margin as well.
Cannabis champion Senator Corey Gardner (R-CO) lost by a wide margin, but his victorious opponent, John Hickenlooper, oversaw one of the first successful state hemp programs in Colorado and should be an industry ally.
Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), lead sponsors of HR 8179— critical legislation that would open up a legal pathway for the sale of hemp-derived CBD as a dietary supplement – cruised in their reelection bids.
Reps. David Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), authors of a strong letter to DEA, urging that agency to withdraw its troublesome interim final rule on hemp, won overwhelming re-relection victories.
U.S. Hemp Roundtable also reported “One sour note: longtime hemp champion, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) lost a hard-fought battle for re-election in an overwhelmingly Republican district. The hemp industry owes Rep. Peterson a huge debt of gratitude for his important work on the 2018 Farm Bill, introducing legislation to protect hemp-derived CBD, and most recently, helping secure an extension for states to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill. We look forward to working with his replacement as Chair of the House Agriculture Committee,” the hemp advocacy organization said in a statement.
Read More
Hemp and Election 2020 – U.S. Hemp Roundtable
The Big Winner on Election Night? Drugs – Fast Company
1 in 3 Americans Now Lives in a State Where Recreational Marijuana is Legal – Politico
Marijuana Legalized in 5 More States this Election Day – Associated Press
# # #