This week, the New York Cannabis Growers & Processors Association is urging the state department of health to create a framework regulating the cannabidiol (CBD) industry, adding to a broader national push for industry regulations. Meanwhile, Texas hemp producers are preparing to focus on the fiber and grain industries in the state by bolstering the industries and conducting research this year.

Here are this week’s headlines you might have missed.

• Colorado: Charlotte’s Web has completed its previously announced acquisition of Abacus Health Products Inc., a producer of over-the-counter topical products that combine active pharmaceutical ingredients with hemp extract. Read more
  Meanwhile, the Stanley Brothers, the creators of Charlotte’s Web, have released a new brand of low-THC products called ReCreate. In tandem with the product launch, the company also announced a COVID-19 Relief program for members of the cannabis industry. Read more

• Delaware: AgroRefiner LLC has announced it has begun commercial operation of the first phase of a commercial scale, ethanol-based cannabidiol CBD extraction facility. Read more   

• Minnesota: The Minnesota Hemp Farmers and Manufacturers Association recently conducted a study on CBD products in Minneapolis and found that 64% had CBD content that deviated significantly from what was indicated on the label, and 33% tested positive for pesticides or heavy metals. The group is now forming a CBD retail and consumer safety committee. Read more 

• New York: The New York Cannabis Growers & Processors Association is pushing for the state department of health to create regulations that would create a legal framework for hemp growers and CBD businesses. Read more

• Texas: Panda Biotech and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension are using 2020 as a trial run to bolster the fiber and grain hemp industries in the state as interest from farmers moves away from CBD and toward more industrial varieties. Read more

Amidst a national push for a regulatory framework and more oversight in the cannabidiol (CBD) industry, the Minnesota Hemp Farmers & Manufacturers Association has uncovered issues in local products, highlighting the urgent need for regulations.

In collaboration with Confidence Analytics, the association has tested 25 products sold across Minneapolis, revealing 64% had CBD concentrations that deviated significantly from the amount indicated on their labels. 

The Minnesota Hemp Farmers and Manufacturers Association (MHFMA) tested an array of CBD products, including vape pens, edibles, tinctures, hemp flowers, topical lotions, pills, capsules and more. Of the 25 products tested, 16 had greater than a 20% deviation of CBD content from what the label stated, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies as “misbranded.”

Some products contained nearly three times the stated amount, while one of the products had no CBD at all, says Matthew Kaiser, program director of MHFMA.

Additionally, 33% of the products tested positive for pesticides or heavy metals. 

“I had become increasingly frustrated with the amount of focus placed on hemp farmers to test for THC compliance, while absolutely no attention was being paid to the unregulated retail market,” Kaiser says in a news release. “While many consumers have fears of unintentional consumption of THC, the real and more concerning problem to public health is the potential for contamination by heavy metals, pesticides, microbials, molds and toxins. Until we have FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] regulation on these products, manufacturers are given little guidance as to how to label their products and can put whatever they want in them without testing for these dangers to public health.”

Growing Need for Regulations

The results of the study are consistent with findings from studies taken prior to hemp’s legalization in 2018. 

While the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) legalized hemp cultivation and production, it did not legalize the sale of CBD products. Those remain largely illegal, though unregulated, by the FDA. 

The lack of regulations has raised concerns on both local and national levels. Industry participants say the lack of regulations not only stifles the industry, but also puts consumers at risk.

It’s prompted some CBD companies to take matters into their own hands, answering the FDA’s call for more research in order to create industry regulations. Seven CBD companies, along with a research company, recently announced they’ll be conducting a nationwide study to test CBD’s prolonged effects on the liver. 

Meanwhile, some groups are taking action on the local level. The New York Cannabis Growers & Processors Association, for example, recently put out a call to the state’s department of health to create a framework for regulating the industry in New York.

Following MHFMA’s study, the association says it is actively working to form a retail and consumer safety committee with a voluntary board of manufacturers and retailers. 

The committee is aiming to improve transparency by conducting third party testing, supporting the development of industry standards and creating a seal of approval for the retailers and producers who meet established standards. The organization says it’s also looking into building out a retail cooperative in association with the committee to provide discounts for group analytics testing and bulk branding, as well as banking, legal and insurance services.

“The boom of the CBD and hemp industries provide huge opportunities to companies and consumers alike — especially in Minnesota” Kaiser says. “But the results of these tests show how dire the need is for regulatory oversight and comprehensive testing to protect consumers and the brands that put safety first. If these inconsistent CBD products were being regulated by the USDA they would be classified as misbranded. The state has failed to take the lead here, so we’re forming this committee to give Minnesotans — whether they’re customers or business owners — an edge in the CBD industry.”

Organizations and companies interested in joining the oversight committee can contact Kaiser at mkaiser@mhfma.mn

NEW CASTLE, Del., June 18, 2020 -PRESS  RELEASE- AgroRefiner, LLC announced today that it has commenced commercial operation of the first phase of a commercial scale, ethanol-based cannabidiol (CBD) extraction facility. 

AgroRefiner will produce a range of organic CBD products using organically grown hemp procured from farms employing sustainable farming practices. The product line-up will include THC-free distillate, isolate, CBN and CBD A.

The facility, located in Delaware, employs a hemp extraction and distillation sequence developed for AgroRefiner by consulting chemical engineer Mark Scialdone, Ph. D. AgroRefiner says its automated extraction facility utilizes the first circulating ethanol, closed loop design for CBD production.

“In today’s marketplace where there is currently limited regulation, no transparency and low end-user confidence or understanding in CBD products or the processes behind them, AgroRef will be a trusted partner for best-in-class extraction,” said Howard Matz, CEO of AgroRefiner. “AgroRefiner will work only with certified organic farms employing sustainable agricultural processes and will employ superior extraction methods to supply premium products to our customers.”  

As Texas farmers submitted their applications for the 2020 growing season, Panda Biotech, a hemp fiber processing company based in the northwest part of the state, announced a plan to donate 60 tons of certified hemp seed to interested growers. The stock was quickly claimed, and executive vice president Scott Evans thinks that the company’s giveaway helped stoke the hundreds of applications that poured into the state capital this spring. 

But there’s another side to what Evans is hoping to accomplish: Panda Biotech will work with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to conduct a research project this year (and in years to come). 

Courtesy of Panda Biotech

“Our whole play here is we want small acreage, but as many different soil types, regions and growers,” he says. “We want a widespread set of data. So, more people on fewer acreage is better for our data report.”

The hemp seed in this project is a Chinese variety grown primarily for fiber production. With Panda Biotech’s resources supporting a broad swath of the state this year, the plan is to accelerate the market infrastructure needed to get hemp fiber off the ground in the U.S.

“But along with that, we're encouraging people to experiment with different varieties,” Evans says. “That information can be submitted and will be put into our final report. We're working with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. They will be helping us collect the data and form the final summary at the end of the growing season. We will then share for free with all the participants in this program.”

The research will focus on vital inputs: planting rates, seeds per acre, row spacing, planting depth, fertility rates, soil nutrient levels and pest problems.

The hemp varietal trials follow decades of public-sourced research into “wheat, grain sorghum, corn, sunflowers and soybeans, as well as other crops,” according to the school. Calvin Trostle, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist and statewide hemp specialist, said: “We will seek a balance between a bare-bones approach vs. an intensive assessment of hemp variety growth and performance.”

Whatever data comes out of this trial run will help set a foundation for next year, when it’s expected that more states will fall in line with the USDA’s impending final rule on hemp regulations. (Texas received its own USDA approval in January.)

Texas Department of Agriculture

“Texas, as you know, is a big state and there are a lot of different climates within the state alone,” Evans says. “A big part of the seed disbursement is we're allowing everybody in the state to have access to it—not just people near our facility—because we want to see the data from everywhere and find out what's the most ripe and fertile growing regions for hemp within Texas.”

Based on weather patterns and seed distribution, Evans was hoping that most farmers would get their seeds in the ground sometime in mid- to late-May, though he expects to see some variability among hemp growers’ data.

This is cotton country, after all, and the springtime tends to run dry. “Getting this seed out late has kind of a benefit where we want some people to experiment with later planting dates,” he says. Last year, Texas farmers grew 5.25 million acres of cotton—just a shade of 50% of total U.S. output.

Evans and others in the state, like Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller, hope to see hemp embraced as a business boon for farmers in need and for a consumer marketplace interested in more sustainable products. (When the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production in the U.S, Miller said: “This is the big leap forward we’ve all been waiting for.”) 

“I see no reason why they can't grow a million acres of hemp,” Evans says. “And we're not looking at this as any sort of replacement. This is a rotational crop. There's a lot of benefits from growing hemp for your soil. So, maybe you grow your cotton crop two years and then you throw a hemp crop in there.”

To get hemp farmers up to speed with where the market is headed, Panda Biotech is building a decortication and processing facility that will offer a natural outlet for a commodity market that appears otherwise saturated in the U.S. This is why Evans suggested small acreage for the crop this year: Keep expectations low, develop the research and then take stock of what a Texas hemp fiber market might look like in 2021 and beyond.

He points out, too, that being able to process 130,000 tons of hemp biomass is just the sort of thing that provides a certain peace of mind for growers who might not know yet where to sell this newly legal crop.

Kenneth McAlister is a hemp grower who figured he’d throw his hat in the ring this year.

“Biggest thing is going to be to learn what we can and can’t do with [the hemp crop],” he says from the seat of his combine on his north Texas farm. “Nobody in the area has any idea exactly of what we can and can’t do with it.”

He got his Panda Biotech seeds in the ground in early June, citing the dry spring in his part of Texas. This year, McAlister is growing 32 acres of hemp with an eye toward fiber processing. He says he can see which way the wind is blowing with demand for hemp fiber—and hemp-derived plastics, even—and it’s a matter of taking a shot at growing it on his land. “I’m looking at what I can do to rotate something different on the ground,” he says, referencing his wheat and cotton crops, “and help pull some of the nutrients up or break the soil a little different.”

It’s a learning curve for so many farmers in Texas and elsewhere. That’s the whole thesis behind Panda Biotech’s move.

“A big thing here is going to be finding cured genetics, seeing how they respond to this climate and then improving upon those or crossbreeding those to find varieties that are suited for that region and also for fiber production,” Evans says. “I've been in the industry for number of years, there was medical cannabis, recreational cannabis, and then it was CBD. But really the true, scalable commodity ag models are in fiber and grain. We see a lot of potential for that in America. And that's why we're going with such a large-scale facility, because such as in commodity ag, it's all about slimmer margins and higher production numbers.”