BIG HIT
B.C. strike and cyberattack impacting OCS could cause $3M revenue hit for Aurora: CEO
Aurora Cannabis Inc. says it could take a revenue hit of up to $3m because of a cyberattack that downed Ontario’s pot distributor and a strike that halted deliveries to B.C. cannabis stores, reports Financial Post.
Though both disruptions could affect Aurora’s earnings, the company is facing even bigger challenges in a 30-year high inflation rate and an illicit market that has barely been diminished by the legalization of cannabis.
Aurora will lean on international medical cannabis markets in Europe, Australia and Israel for “insulation” from the current economic climate, said Aurora chief executive Miguel Martin.
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FDA ON CBD
FDA says no way to food companies wanting to get on the CBD gravy train
As several major food makers are champing at the bit to cash in on the CBD food and drinks craze, the FDA recently warned Congress that any attempts to legalize CBD in food products would put public health at risk, per Benzinga.
Shortly after, a bipartisan group of House members sent a letter to the FDA commissioner to complain about the agency’s “completely insufficient response” to their bill, which called for hemp-derived CBD to be permitted and regulated as a food additive.
“They seem to concede that there should be a pathway for dietary supplements, but they seem opposed to food and beverages,” said Jonathan Miller, the general counsel of the Hemp Roundtable.
TRIP TO CALI
German lawmakers tour California cannabis businesses to inform national legalization plans
German lawmakers and a top federal drug official from the country recently toured California marijuana businesses and heard from state officials, experts and advocates about lessons learned from cannabis legalization, including steps that have been taken to promote equity in the industry, reports Marijuana Moment.
The California officials and stakeholders conveyed to the German visitors that one of the most significant threats to public health when it comes to cannabis is leaving the market unregulated in an illicit space where products are not tested and age restrictions for sales aren’t enforced.
Creating a regulated environment that attracts adult consumers, supports the legal industry and diverts from the illicit market—by keeping taxes at a manageable rate, for example—therefore serves public health interests, the officials were advised.
HIGHER CBD
Newly-approved European hemp seeds to deliver record levels of CBD
Bulgarian firm CBD Seed Europe has secured a place on the European seed register for two of its genetics, which it says deliver record levels of cannabidiol. Whilst most registered CBD seeds on the European Common Catalogue deliver CBD contents of 5% to 6% its newly-registered varieties can reach up to 12% in the field, per BusinessCann.
And, with the EC limits for THC content in hemp seeds set to rise from 0.2% to 0.3%, CBD Seed Europe says it will be able to develop new strains that will raise the CBD level ‘even higher’
Americo Folcarelli, co-founder of CBD Seed Europe, said its success is the result of substantial work and investment.
