Political Breakthrough Heralds the End of the Prohibition on Hemp
DENVER, Colorado, December 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
CannabisNewsWire Editorial Coverage
With federal legalization of hemp expected in the United States by Christmas, the farming and cannabidiol product industries are anticipating great changes in their future.
- Hemp farming, which has been illegal in the United States since 1970, is about to be made legal under the newest Farm Bill legislation.
- Pilot projects and work in Canada have allowed companies to prepare for U.S. hemp farming by developing their techniques, science and crop strains.
- With legalization promising great growth, companies are seeking paths to investment opportunities.
Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC:MCOA) (MCOA Profile) is among the innovating companies carrying out cultivation, research and development projects on sites in the United States and Canada. Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE:CGC) (TSX:WEED) has been expanding its operations through partnerships with other companies, covering investment, supply and research. Cronos Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON) (TSX:CRON) has expanded its cultivation and markets while negotiating for fresh investment. Aphria, Inc. (NYSE:APHA) (TSX:APHA) has partnered with a company specializing in branding to develop new consumer-driven brands and products for the cannabis market. Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (NYSE:ACB) (TSX:ACB) is putting out new products in the United States and looking to export those products abroad, following the successful export of medical cannabis into Europe.
To view an infographic of this editorial, click here.
The End of an Era?
For decades, hemp has been locked out of agricultural development in the United States. Once a vital crop used to produce the rope and canvas on which the American naval and merchant shipping forces relied, it was made illegal in 1970 under legislation designed to reduce drug addiction. For nearly half a century, farmers have been unable to cultivate this crop despite growing evidence of its usefulness.
Now that is set to change. After months of haggling, politicians in Washington have finally brokered a deal to pass the legislation that will make hemp legal. For the past four years, a small band of farmers and university researchers have been involved in pilot projects, testing the potential of the hemp market. The profitable outlook, together with growing demand for health and wellness products derived from hemp, have led politicians to change their stance.
Could 2019 be the year that hemp's cannabidiol (CBD) derivatives become household commodities?
LegalizationLegislation
The past decade has produced considerable growth for companies working in the hemp sector, such as Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC:MCOA). Hemp is a form of the cannabis plant with very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in the marijuana strains of cannabis. Despite hemp's essentially innocuous nature, it was made illegal under sweeping federal regulations that classified all forms of cannabis as Schedule I substances, among the most dangerous and least medicinally helpful of drugs.
Since 1996, the legal landscape has been changing as states have introduced pro-cannabis legislation in defiance of federal drug policy. This allowed companies such as MCOA to emerge and start looking at the potential of industrial hemp. However, these companies were caught in a no-man's-land industry sector between conflicting state and federal legislation. Under those circumstances, building a commercial hemp industry had limited practicality.
A change at the federal level began four years ago, when the 2014 Farm Bill made it legal for companies to carry out pilot projects to grow hemp. Companies moved quickly to make the most of the opportunity, setting up facilities such as the farm MCOA established in Oregon. From 9,650 acres in 15 states in 2015, hemp production grew to 77,000 acres under 3,500 licenses in 23 states in 2018.
During the course of that change, the hemp industry has gained widespread acceptance in Washington and throughout the country, leading to cross-party support for hemp's inclusion in the new Farm Bill as an agricultural commodity. But conflict over other aspects of the bill held the legislation up until late November. Then, in the waning days of a lame-duck Republican House, an agreement in principle was finally reached.
Once the farm legislation is passed as expected, growing hemp could become fully legal in the United States as early as January. That would be huge news for farmers and a great start to the new year for the fast-growing industry.
Farming Hemp
The anticipated legislative changes may lead to a new agricultural phenomenon for United States farmers, but it will be far from the first hemp crop in North America. Aside from the pilot projects in the United States, more liberal legislation in Canada has allowed farmers to get a head start on hemp production. For MCOA, this has meant pursuing profitable crops and supporting farmers on both sides of the border.
In Canada, MCOA's efforts have taken the form of an innovative joint venture in New Brunswick. There, MCOA teamed up with Global Hemp Group, Inc. and four local farmers to experiment with techniques for hemp farming. This has led to practical developments, such as the use of a bean harvester to strip leaves and inflorescence from plants, improving the efficiency of the harvest. It has also led to more academic results, including research on plant nutrition with Dr. Ron Smith at the University of New Brunswick.
The company's U.S. project at Scio, Ore., is earlier in its development and proportionally smaller. The Oregon cultivation benefited from good weather in 2018, extending growing time and leading to an improved harvest. Here, MCOA is already growing hemp with a higher CBD content - 6 to 12 percent. Large greenhouses were used to dry out these plants, with staff continuing to learn and refine their drying techniques with each batch.
On both sides of the border, partnering with other companies is helping MCOA maintain a high pace of innovation and expansion. The company is currently looking for opportunities to work with a cannabinoid extraction player in the United States to make the most of its crops.
Preparing for a Boom Market
With legalization around the corner, hemp companies are moving to strengthen their positions for market expansion.
For MCOA, this has meant a move into mainstream advertising. The company's hempSMART™ subsidiary has partnered with asseenontv.pro to launch a television advertising campaign for its Full Spectrum Pet Drops, a pet well-being product using CBD.
CEO Donald Steinberg said, "As our hempSMART brand continues to grow, MCOA will continue to search for and utilize new partnerships that will uniquely market our incredible collection of all-natural CBD product formulations. We feel that our strategic partnership with ASONTV is an important milestone for the Company that will help promote our hempSMART Pet Drops to consumers across the country."
The company has also filed an application to uplist its shares from OTC Pink to the OTCQB tier on the OTC markets. This strategic move should provide better access to institutional investors to raise funds targeted to help the company grow along with the wider industry. A new CFO and independent director were appointed over the summer to ensure strong leadership during this period of huge potential.
Like MCOA, Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE:CGC) (TSX:WEED) has been partnering with other companies to support its growth. This includes an investment and supply deal with 48North Cannabis Corp., a strategic supply agreement with MediPharm Labs Corp. and a research and development collaboration with Battelle. One of the factors fueling Canopy Growth's expansion has been an investment from Constellation Brands, which pumped billions into Canopy Growth earlier this year. This financial move should give the American drinks giant a way into the cannabis and hemp markets, including the production and sale of CBD-infused drinks.
Cronos Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON) (TSX:CRON) has also been pursuing growth, with expansion into Latin America, an increase in the scale of cultivation and a collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks to develop innovative products for the cannabis market. This has drawn the attention of outside investors, and the company is now in talks with Altria Group, Inc. about potential investments that could provide additional funds at a strategic turning point for the market.
Aphria, Inc. (NYSE:APHA) (TSX:APHA) aims to carve out a distinct space in the market through innovative consumer products. Aphria recently announced the creation of a joint venture with Perennial, Inc. to develop original consumer-driven brands and products for the cannabis market. This will join Perennial's experience in brand development with Aphria's expertise in cannabis to explore edibles, beverages and other new lines of products.
Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (NYSE:ACB) (TSX:ACB) is already busy putting new products out. The company has recently announced the release of cannabis softgel capsules for the Canadian market and expects to export them to international markets next year. The company already works on an international scale, having announced its first shipment of medical cannabis to the Czech Republic in November.
Pending hemp legalization in the United States is only the latest in a series of shifts in the wider cannabis sector, shifts that appear to have opened the way for a wave of expansion and innovation.
For more information about MCOA, please visit Marijuana Company of America (OTC:MCOA).
About CannabisNewsWire
CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.
Receive Text Alerts from CannabisNewsWire: Text "Cannabis" to 21000
For more information please visit https://www.CannabisNewsWire.com and or https://CannabisNewsWire.News
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER: CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with CNW or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by CNW are solely those of CNW and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable CNW and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. CNW and FNM and their respective affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.
The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author, and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, CNW, FNM, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment.
CNW & FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and CNW and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.
CannabisNewsWire (CNW) & NetworkNewsWire (NNW) are proud to be affiliated partners of the Investor Brand Network (IBN)
About IBN
Over the past 10+ years we have consistently introduced new network brands, each specifically designed to fulfil the unique needs of our growing client base and services. Today, we continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.
Please feel free to visit the Investor Brand Network (IBN) http://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com
Corporate Communications Contact:
CannabisNewsWire (CNW)
Denver, Colorado
www.CannabisNewsWire.com
303.498.7722 Office
[email protected]
Media Contact:
FN Media Group, LLC
[email protected]
+1-(954)345-0611
SOURCE CannabisNewsWire
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article