Denver officials scrutinizing out-of-state CBD products sold in local pot shops

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Denver is clamping down on CBD products that originate outside of Colorado.

A bulletin issued Wednesday by Denver Environmental Health’s Public Health Inspections Division outlines a policy prohibiting out-of-state-made cannabidiol (CBD) products intended for human consumption.

“It has come to DEH’s attention that some CBD products originate from unregulated manufacturing facilities, have been illegally shipped across state lines, contain unapproved ingredients, or have been made in unsafe…

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Hemp cultivation in Minnesota sees major growth spurt

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Minnesota’s hemp crop has grown exponentially and the number of farmers cultivating the crop has increased sixfold as the state’s pilot program enters its second year.

This year, 42 farmers are growing hemp on roughly 2,100 acres, Minnesota’s Alpha News reported. That’s a huge increase from 2016, when Minnesota’s hemp cultivation program launched with seven farmers growing the low-THC plant on 37 acres.

Farmers who want to cultivate hemp must apply for a license with Minnesota’s…

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New Mexico Governor Vetoes Hemp Research Bills

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NORML | March 16, 2017

SANTA FE, NM — New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has vetoed a pair of measures that sought to establish a hemp research program through the state’s Department of Agriculture.

The Governor gave no public explanation for the vetoes. The Governor has historically been an outspoken opponent of marijuana law reform efforts – receiving an ‘F’ grade on NORML’s 2016 Gubernatorial Scorecard.

The measures, House Bill 144 and Senate Bill 6, permitted the Department to…

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Hemp for cows? Colorado approves hemp-animal feed study

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DENVER — Colorado livestock could be eating hemp under a bill that passed the state Senate Tuesday.

The state Senate voted 34-0 in favor of bill directing the Colorado Department of Agriculture to study the feasibility of allowing farmers to use hemp in animal feed. Currently the practice is forbidden.

Hemp is a non-intoxicating cousin of marijuana. The federal government started allowing farmers to grow hemp under limited circumstances in 2014.

The Washington state Legislature passed a…

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The new face of Wyoming marijuana reform may surprise you

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Wyoming’s relationship with weed could be a key theme in 2017.

The state’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) kicked off the year by appointing a new director — a former mayor and two-term Republican state legislator who said he’s “not going to quit” until his home state legalizes medical marijuana and hemp cultivation.

And as of Thursday, at least five marijuana- and hemp-related bills have been proposed in the state legislature.

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Hemp industry members file legal challenge against DEA’s new marijuana extract rule

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The hemp industry has taken the DEA to court in the wake of a controversial new rule on marijuana extracts.

Denver’s Hoban Law Group, representing the Hemp Industries Association, Centuria Natural Foods and RMH Holdings LLC, on Friday filed a judicial review action against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, alleging the agency overstepped its bounds when enacting a rule establishing coding for marijuana derivatives such as cannabidiol (CBD) oil. The action, Hoban attorneys…

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Thailand approves hemp cultivation

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The cabinet of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly has approved a proposal to permit hemp cultivation in six provinces in the country’s northern region as part of a project to explore the use of plants for medical purposes.

Officials with the Office of the Narcotics Control Board announced Tuesday said the proposal will be implemented in 2017 in 15 districts in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Phetchabun, according to the Bangkok Post.


Marijuana Business License DirectoryThe hemp grown may not have more than 1% THC, otherwise cultivators…

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DEA rule change sparks concern on marijuana extracts

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has introduced a new rule on how it tracks marijuana extracts that is causing concern in the marijuana industry. But should it?

The DEA announced in the Federal Register it is creating “a new Administration Controlled Substances Code Number for ‘Marihuana Extract’” so that it can track things like concentrates and oils separately from marijuana flower.


Marijuana Business License DirectoryThe DEA code for marijuana is 7360, while the new marijuana extract code is 7350.

Some observers believe the rule change could mean increased…

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Colorado hemp industry moves ahead after seed certification

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Colorado’s hemp industry took a major step forward this week when its Department of Agriculture announced that three industrial hemp seed varieties passed a statewide trial that confirmed the resulting plants contain THC levels under 0.3%.

Being under the 0.3% threshold is important because plants with higher THC levels cannot be certified as hemp under state laws, and are instead considered marijuana and can’t be used. The validation means that these seed varieties are now eligible to be cultivated as “CDA Approved Certified Seed”…

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Certified seeds and CBD help U.S. hemp industry take root

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8812369 - field of hemp. industrial kind of this plant is not a drug but a resource. it contains hardly any thc

By Omar Sacirbey

America’s fledgling hemp industry recently got its latest boost when the Colorado Department of Agriculture created six varieties of certified domestic hemp seeds that U.S. farmers can buy to start their own crops.

Hemp cultivation also is benefiting from rising demand for CBD products and new applications for hemp.

The plant is used for medicines as well as products ranging from clothing to building materials.

Colorado’s seed program, unveiled last month, comes as hemp cultivation has been hindered by a dearth of seeds and…

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Colorado hits another cannabis 1st with certified hemp seed

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DENVER — Colorado notched another nationwide first Wednesday involving cannabis when state agriculture officials showed off the first certified domestic hemp seeds.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana.

The seed certification “is vital to the long-term growth of the industry,” said Duane Sinning of the…

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MIT Grads Raise $4.5M to Fund Hemp Trading Platform

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A pair of recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates have packed up, moved to Chicago, and raised $4.5 million to launch a first-of-its-kind trading platform for industrial hemp.

The duo said traditional markets have overlooked hemp, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. And the two are off to a solid start, having won regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission for a portion of their company, Seed CX, to become a swap execution facility.

The two twentysomethings also hope to become a “designated…

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Uruguayan Cannabis Company Betting on Hemp

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Uruguay made history nearly three years ago when it became the first modern country to legalize recreational marijuana at the federal level. But given how difficult the country’s industry rollout has been, at least one Uruguayan cannabis producer is shifting its sights to marijuana’s non-psychoactive cousin: hemp.

International Cannabis Corp., one of only two licensed marijuana producers in the country, aims to tap a global hemp market instead of just the Uruguayan marijuana market, in part because it’s far less regulated, Bloomberg…

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New York Growing Hemp for First Time in 80 Years

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Madison County, just east of Syracuse, New York, is home to the first legal industrial hemp crop in the state in 80 years.

And thanks to a bill signed into law on Friday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the cultivators will be allowed to sell it under an existing pilot program, according to the Journal News.

The bill was necessary because the 2014 law that launched the current hemp crop only allowed farmers and universities to grow the plant for research purposes.

JD Farms, which is working hand in hand with Morrisville State College on the project, is…

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Fearing legal pot might not live up to the hype, Uruguay now looking at hemp

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For all the buzz it’s generating, legalized pot may not live up to the hype. At least not in Uruguay where limits on production and pricing have led one of two producers to diversify into less regulated hemp.

Weeks before selling its first ounce of pot at pharmacies, International Cannabis Corp. is already betting that hemp — a variety of cannabis — will be a much bigger market than selling the psychoactive part of the plant, according to CEO Guillermo Delmonte. Hemp and its…

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Medical Marijuana Inc. Partners With CannaNative on CBD Product

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California-based Medical Marijuana Inc. and Native American company CannaNative have put together a hemp-derived CBD product line to be sold on tribal lands.

The companies said in a news release Monday that Medical Marijuana Inc. and its HempMeds subsidiary will produce the product line, which will be sold under the CannaNative brand.

It will be offered at tribal wellness centers, native doctor’s offices, pharmacies, and dispensaries on tribal lands. It is “intended to help the more than 560 U.S. tribal nations develop hemp- and…

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3 years into nation’s hemp experiment, crop’s future is hazy

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PUEBLO — Three years into the nation’s hemp experiment, a 20-acre farm in southern Colorado exemplifies the crop’s hazy potential.

Hemp could be enormously profitable, but right now there are just as many questions as answers for Will and Ally Cabaniss, two Florida natives who moved to southern Colorado to embark on the hemp business.

“Every day brings something new and different,” said Will Cabaniss, holding up a red plastic cup containing a hemp seedling awaiting planting….

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Missouri AG Sues Four Retailers Over CBD Oil

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Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has filed suit against a quartet of retailers for selling hemp-derived CBD oil, charging they don’t have licenses.

Koster has been seeking to shut down upwards of 30 unlicensed CBD retailers in the state, according to the Associated Press. All but four shops voluntarily shut down after receiving written warnings in the mail.

Koster filed suit against Above the Cloud LLC, which does business as Vapur West, and Main Street Traders LLC, which does business as Main Smoke & Gift Shop. Both are located in…

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Pennsylvania Gov Signs Industrial Hemp Law

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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has put his signature on a law that could restart his state’s hemp industry.

The new law, while it doesn’t immediately authorize commercial hemp production, could lead to “large scale production,” according to WITF.

The law authorizes the state Agriculture Department and institutions of higher education to begin cultivating hemp for research purposes, either by themselves or via independent contractors, which could lead to solid business opportunities for would-be hemp growers in Pennsylvania.

The bill’s…

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Aussie Hemp Food Maker Expecting 400% Growth This Year

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Hemp Foods Australia is doing so well the company is projecting 400% growth over the coming 12 months.

CEO Paul Benhaim chalked the firm’s success up to overseas demand for the hemp products’ health benefits, which are particularly big in Japan, he said, according to Australian broadcaster ABC. Benhaim recently met with the First Lady of Japan, Akie Abe, at the first-ever Kyoto Hemp Forum.

To meet demand for the company’s products, the company is upgrading a factory in New South Wales to manufacture hemp-based snack bars, drinks,…

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Pennsylvania: Hemp Farming Bill Sent to Governor

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Pennsylvania: Hemp Farming Bill Sent to Governor

HARRISBURG, PA — State lawmakers in Pennsylvania have approved legislation, House Bill 967, to establish “a pilot program to study the growth, cultivation or marketing of industrial hemp.”

The measure was transmitted to the Governor’s office on Monday, July 11.

This proposal is compliant with Section 7606 of the omnibus federal farm bill authorizing states to sponsor hemp cultivation pilot programs absent federal reclassification of the plant.

More than two dozen states have enacted legislation permitting licensed hemp cultivation in a…

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Kentucky: Industrial Hemp has Growing Market Potential

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Kentucky: Industrial Hemp has Growing Market Potential

FRANKFORT, KY — More than half of Kentucky’s industrial hemp crop this year can be traced to nineteen counties, 58 farmers and one company in Winchester.

With 23,000 pounds of imported hemp seed destined for 2,466 acres, Atalo Holdings is a superpower in hemp production and processing in Kentucky. Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy (GOAP) Executive Director Warren Beeler told the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee today that the company’s hemp contracts this year cover over half the 4,500 acres planted…

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Rhode Island Legislative Session Closes Without Legalization Vote

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The Rhode Island legislative session came to close early on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, despite overwhelming public support for reform, leaders of the House and Senate did not allow legislators to vote on the Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act this year.riseal

Other notable outcomes of the 2016 legislative session include:

— Passage of Article 14 in the state budget, which makes significant changes to the medical marijuana program. You can find a summary of the new regulations here.

— Passage of legislation to add…

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Hemp Industry Facing Barriers to Commercialization

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8812369 - field of hemp. industrial kind of this plant is not a drug but a resource. it contains hardly any thc

By Omar Sacirbey

It’s been more than two years since President Barack Obama signed legislation authorizing the limited cultivation of hemp, but the fledgling industry remains a long way from becoming a thriving business.

Observers say commercialization of this potentially lucrative plant remains limited for legal, financial and technological reasons.

They point to restrictive federal guidelines governing hemp, a dearth of investors willing to wager money on the plant, and a lack of commercial-scale processing equipment. Finding fixes to…

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Hemp Farming Escalating in KY, Downsizing in TN

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While hemp production is rapidly expanding in Kentucky, the number of farmers sowing the crop is being cut in half in neighboring Tennessee.

In Kentucky, according to the Commonwealth Journal, the state has authorized 4,500 acres be cultivated with industrial hemp in 2016, up from roughly 900 acres that were planted last year.

Kentucky began with a hemp pilot program in 2013 that included just 33 acres for cultivation, and the crop has proven quite successful for farmers who have sown it.

But…

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Pennsylvania Senate Unanimously Passes Industrial Hemp Bill

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Pennsylvania Senate Unanimously Passes Industrial Hemp Bill

HARRISBURG, PA — While sick Pennsylvanians anxiously await the outcome of an expected vote to legalize medical marijuana in the Pennsylvania House, lawmakers in the Senate voted unanimously to approve a bill to create an industrial hemp cultivation pilot program on Wednesday.

Members of the Senate voted 49-0 to approve Senate Bill 50, the Industrial Hemp Act.  Over 20 states have adopted similar laws.

The bill, which authorizes instituions of higher education to conduct agricultural pilot programs in hemp cultivation research under…

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Virginia Legalizes Industrial Hemp

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A new hemp market was legalized last week, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Senate Bill 691 into law last Monday, which simply removes any criminal penalties for growing industrial hemp or for making any products from it, a local NBC affiliate reported.

Virginia is just the latest state to get on board with the hemp movement, as many others with suffering agricultural economies have looked to hemp as a possible savior, including Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota,…

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Hemp Cultivation Programs Get Green Light in MN, WA

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Industrial hemp received the go-ahead this week in both Minnesota and Washington State, according to news reports.

Although the plant won’t yet be allowed to be grown by just anyone, a pilot program in Minnesota and a research program in Washington have gotten permission from their respective state legislatures to move forward. If they both prove fruitful, it could open up even more business opportunities in both states long term.

The Minnesota pilot program was okayed by the U.S. Drug…

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Kentucky Entrepreneur Vows to Buy All the State’s Hemp

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Grow it and he will buy it.

John Roulac, the founder and CEO of a major hemp foods company, Nutiva, said he plans to buy all the organic hemp that Kentucky can produce, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

But labeling hemp as organic has been a controversial issue in recent weeks, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it would grant one Colorado hemp producer with an organic certified label, but then reneged last week, saying the decision was premature.

“The USDA’s new…

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Ripple Effects of the FDA’s Stance on CBD Products: Q&A With Attorney Robert Hoban

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By John Schroyer

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stepped in – again – to warn CBD companies in multiple states to quit making medicinal claims about their products, attorney Robert Hoban authored an opinion on the issue that quickly made the rounds on the Internet.

The piece was posted all over social media and various cannabis-oriented websites as an analysis offering both hope and notes of warning, especially for those in the hemp trade, since many of the companies put on…

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Colorado Hemp Farm Granted ‘Organic’ Label by USDA

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A hemp farm in Colorado has broken the organic glass ceiling.

That is, it’s the nation’s first hemp producer to get the formal blessing of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to label its crop “organic,” a prized marketing tool that is often used lightly in the cannabis industry.

CBDRx, a hemp grower in northern Colorado, requested the certification from the USDA and obtained it after a third-party audit, according to KUNC. The company can now use the formal USDA organic seal in its…

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Oregon Hemp Farmers Pivot to Medical Use Over Industrial

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Hemp farmers in Oregon are getting more and more interested in the potential medical uses of their crops instead of the traditional industrial uses, such as clothing, textiles and food.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is poised to begin re-issuing licenses for hemp growers in the state next month, and as potential licensees begin to line up for permits, the discussion over what use that hemp will be put to is at the forefront. The answer for many is now CBD and medicine, according to the…

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Kansas: Hemp, CBD, Penalty Reduction Bill Being Considered

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Kansas: Hemp, CBD, Penalty Reduction Bill Being Considered

TOPEKA, KS — Lawmakers in the Kansas Senate are considering legislation, House Bill 2049, to amend various penalties and regulations specific to marijuana possession and use.

Members of the House of Representatives approved the measure by a vote of 81 to 36 last year. Members of the Senate are now debating the bill.

House Bill 2049 seeks to a) establish a statewide research program to oversee the production of industrial hemp, b) authorize the limited use of cannabidiol for therapeutic purposes, and c) reduce criminal penalties for…

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$42M Merger Creates Hemp Juggernaut in Canada

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A single company is about to dominate Canada’s thriving hemp-based foods industry.

Manitoba Harvest this week acquired Hemp Oil Canada for $42 million, which will give the combined company an edge in two industries: hemp foods and hemp ingredients, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

Manitoba Harvest will generate an estimated $75 million in annual revenues after the acquisition.

Shaun Crew will remain at the helm of Hemp Oil Canada, which he co-founded. The firm just finished a new…

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Congress Unveils 2016 Omnibus Spending Bill, Reauthorizes Marijuana Protections

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WASHINGTON, DC — Members of Congress on Wednesday unveiled the 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill, legislation that is responsible for funding the federal government through the 2016 fiscal year.  

While stand alone marijuana related bills rarely gain traction in Congress, the annual omnibus appropriations bill has become a tool for federal lawmakers to pass marijuana related language into annual spending guidelines.

In last week’s Legislative Round Up, we covered five distinct marijuana provisions that lawmakers sought to include in the…

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State in India Legalizes Hemp Cultivation

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In yet another sign that the cannabis reform movement is not just confined to the United States, the state of Uttarakhand in northern India has announced that it will allow local farmers to begin growing hemp, as long as they only sell it to the government for industrial purposes.

That means it won’t be anywhere close to the medicinal uses of cannabis in the U.S. or Canada, and regular marijuana is still prohibited. The farmers also must regulate their hemp so the THC content is only…

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Hempcrete: A Revolutionary Building Material Made from Hemp

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Hemp is now revolutionizing the way we build homes and office buildings. By using the wood-like inner stalk of the cannabis plant, combined with some lime and water, manufacturers are now molding ‘Hempcrete’ bricks.

What Is Hempcrete?

Grinding the inner stalk of the cannabis plant into fine chips and mixing them with lime and water creates incredibly durable bricks of hemp.
Hempcrete is a strong, breathable, flexible, mold-proof and fire resistant material that offers distinct advantages over conventional building materials.

Benefits of…

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