July 26th Highlights

• The CBD opportunity - A pair of recent white papers published by New Frontier help to illustrate the opportunity in the burgeoning American CBD market, which could be worth $20 billion by 2024, according to Colorado-based cannabis research agency BDSA. Across the European the CBD market has grown phenomenally in recent years and set to be worth €1.5bn by 2023, and these moves are causing significant uncertainty for the thousands of people employed in the industry. The increase in consumer awareness coupled with a lack of regulatory clarity has led to a growing CBD consumer market in America. On the other side of the world, in late 2019, I conducted a survey with more than 190 responses. The survey was intended to better understand how and why Australians were accessing/using cannabidiol (CBD). Of the respondents more than 70% had tried CBD within the previous 12 months, only 16% had accessed CBD via a doctor (more results to be released in future posts.
• The importance of CBD regulations - This article demonstrates the importance of regulating the CBD market. Unfortunately, there are many companies that produce products that do not meet quality standards, and specifications - this can occur for a number of reasons, but the end result is the same, consumers are purchasing products that do not contain the ingredients which are listed. 
• CBD in the EU - Applications for hemp extracts and natural cannabinoids under the EU’s Novel Food rules have been suspended by the European Commission, which has expressed a “preliminary conclusion” that extracts from the flowering and fruiting tops of the hemp plant should be considered a drug under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961. As a consequence of this opinion, submitting a Novel Food application will not be a viable option for operators in the hemp sector that strive to demonstrate the safety and legality of their products. This decision could completely derail CBD products across Europe and cripple the hemp industry. Giving up the most profitable commercial hemp application will also prevent the parallel development of value chains for the valorization of co-products (hemp fiber and shivs) that can be used for the production of paper, construction material, textiles, cosmetics and bio-based plastics. Reference material can be found here

Trail Blazing Ahead - MediPharm Labs - my experience at MediPharm Labs

Cannabidiol market to be worth more than $89bn by 2026

CBD in Europe: novel food or narcotics? What can companies do? Look to the UK!

New Frontier Data: 86% of Americans have heard about CBD 

MediPharm Labs achieves first sales milestone in Australia

Survey: most Australian medical cannabis patients use illicit market

Zelira Inks cannabinoids for cardiovascular conditions deal

Hemp seed exporters to benefit from reduced red tape

Little Green Pharma facility gets the go-ahead