If you're looking for a higher-CBD cannabis strain, you might want to give these a try.
CBD. You've seen these three letters advertised at your neighborhood cafe, fused within the topical your aunt has been boasting to the family about, even on the shelves of your local pharmacy stores. What you might not be aware of, however, is which cannabis strains contain the highest levels of cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating cannabinoid that has taken the health and wellness market by storm.
Similar to the way cultivators try to maximize the production of THC, there are also high-CBD strains specifically bred to offer therapeutic benefits without intoxicating levels of THC. This has made it possible for children suffering from seizures to be safely treated with medical cannabis. A number of studies on CBD suggest that it offers potential therapeutic value in the treatment of various physical ailments, such as chronic pain, inflammation, and epilepsy, as well as psychological conditions, including stress, depression, and anxiety.
And while CBD is often associated with oils, tinctures, vape pens, and other cannabis products, it's also available in flower to roll in joints, pack in bowls, and load in vaporizers.
CBD flower is the best thing since sliced bread.
If you want to curate your CBD experience with strain-specific flower, you'll want to know the most popular options available on the legal market. Without further ado, here are seven of the world's most historically significant and widely used high-CBD strains.
First surfacing in 2011, Charlotte's Web is a high-CBD strain with an incredible history behind it – one that helped shed the stigma surrounding the use of medical cannabis to treat children. The strain is named after Charlotte Figi, a girl who developed a rare condition called Dravet syndrome, also known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), as a baby. Severely disabled by age three, she was suffering about 300 grand mal seizures a week, as reported in a CNN article in 2013.
After finding initial success in 2013 with a high-CBD strain called R4, the young girl's mother, Paige Figi, contacted the Stanley Brothers, a group of seven siblings in Colorado who were crossbreeding a strain of marijuana with industrial hemp to produce a high-CBD strain. They eventually developed a high-CBD strain that dramatically reduced her frequency of seizures to two to three times per month.
The story of Charlotte's Web sparked a discussion about the purported benefits of using CBD to treat epilepsy in children. At the time, some families even uprooted and migrated to Colorado just to gain access the Charlotte's Web CBD extract. The cultivator behind this strain, now incorporated under the name Charlotte's Web, made up 14% of the market share for hemp-based CBD products in 2018.
It's considered by some to be a variation of hemp, as it has a CBD content of 17% and minuscule traces of THC. Dominant terpenes are beta-myrcene, caryophyllene, and bisabolol, giving Charlotte's Web flower a sweet taste and woodland-like aroma.
Created by the Spain-based CBD genetics company Resin Seeds, the high-CBD strain Cannatonic is a cross between MK Ultra and G13 Haze. Widely recognized as the “CBD queen,” this strain pre-dated many other CBD strains and helped spark the CBD movement of today. Introduced and analyzed at Spannabis, the annual cannabis event in Spain, in 2008, even Resin Seeds was shocked by the elevated levels of CBD it had achieved with this strain.
Some Cannatonic plants have tested as high as 17% CBD with a THC content that typically hovers below the 6% mark. About half of the population of Cannatonic seeds, however, will offer a near 1:1 CBD-to-THC ratio, according to Resin Seeds. This high-CBD strain has been lauded by HelloMD, an online medical resource, for its relaxing and uplifting properties, offering potentially therapeutic benefits for pain relief, muscle spasms, migraines, and other conditions.
The most abundant terpenes found in Cannatonic, according to one MCR Labs testing results, include myrcene, b-caryophyllene, and limonene, giving the flower an earthy and citrusy flavor.
A cross between two renowned high-CBD strains, Cannatonic and Ruderalis, AC/DC has an exceptionally high 20:1 CBD-to-THC ratio. The strain was selected by Dr. William Courtney, a medical expert who specializes in the dietary uses of cannabis, after he received a packet of seeds from Spain-based Resin Seeds, the original breeder of Cannatonic.
This CBD-heavy strain usually contains between 16% to 24% CBD and 2% to 6% THC, according to the Office of Medicinal Cannabis (NCSM), a government agency that operates under the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sports. The exceptionally high CBD content denotes that AC/DC could potentially be used to treat seizures, anxiety, and pain relief. The most abundant terpenes found in AC/DC include b-pinene, b-caryophyllene, and a-pinene, giving the flower with a sweet and herbaceous flavor.
Harlequin is a high-CBD strain that is a descendant of Thai sativa, Nepali indica, Swiss sativa, and Colombian Gold. This sativa-dominant strain tends to maintain a consistent 5:2 CBD-to-THC ratio. Lab tests conducted on Harlequin samples found that the strain contained between 8% to 16% CBD content and 4% to 7% THC content, according to the NCSM.
The well-defined balance of CBD and THC makes Harlequin a premier candidate to treat a variety of medical and psychological conditions, including anxiety, chronic pain, headaches, fatigue, and stress. Prominent terpenes include myrcene, a-pinene, and b-caryophyllene, giving this strain an earthy aroma with hints of mango and citrus.
Ringo's Gift is a high-CBD strain that is a cross between AC/DC and Harle-Tsu, two hybrid strains also recognized for their therapeutic value and immense amount of CBD content. It's named after its original breeder, a renowned marijuana activist and trailblazer in CBD genetics named Lawrence Ringo, who founded the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective, or SoHum Seeds. There are a few varieties of ratios and phenotypes of this strain, some of which offer an equal 1:1 CBD-to-THC ratio, while some strains have been reported to reach a whopping 25:1 CBD-to-THC ratio.
For varieties that offer a more well-balanced ratio, consumers oftentimes report a warm and calming buzz without evoking feelings of tiredness or risk of couch-lock. This high-CBD strain has been purported to benefit a variety of mental conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and stress. Physical ailments can also be potentially treated with Ringo's Gift, including epilepsy, arthritis, chronic pain, inflammation, muscle spasms, and headaches. Its terpene profile, which includes myrcene, a-pinene, and caryophyllene, make this an earthy strain with a piney and minty aroma, giving off a slightly spicy and tangy flavor.
First cultivated in Northern California at SoHum Seeds, the CBD genetics company founded by Ringo, Harle-Tsu is a high-CBD strain that is a cross between a Harlequin male and Sour Tsunami clone. When it was awarded first place for best CBD flower at the 2014 Emerald Cup, lab testing showed that Harle-Tsu yielded 21.05% CBD and 0.86% THC. On average, however, most Harle-Tsu strain samples contain about 18% CBD.
Boasting a 20:1 CBD-to-THC ratio, this high-CBD strain can be consumed without any concern of being inundated by the intoxicating effects of THC. Harle-Tsu is said to give users the feeling of complete relaxation. It comprises a plethora of terpenes, including myrcene, pinene, humulene, terpinolene, and ocimene. The combination of terpenes and high CBD content generates a number of potentially therapeutic benefits for various conditions, such as epilepsy, chronic pain, inflammation, depression, stress, and others.
Another popular CBD strain bred by Ringo, Sour Tsunami is a sativa-dominant hybrid with a unique lineage. After crossing an NYC Diesel with Sour Diesel and back-crossing it with a Sour Diesel clone, which was then crossed with a sativa-dominant strain called Ferrari, the resulting genetics were crossed back with Sour Diesel to create Sour Tsunami. It's one of the first known cannabis strains created specifically for medicinal purposes.
Despite its complicated origins, this high-CBD strain has become popular for its therapeutic properties. Test results on Sour Tsunami strain samples have demonstrated CBD levels from 10% to 11% and THC levels ranging from 1% to 10%. It could be used to relieve ailments such as chronic pain, back pain, stress, nausea, anxiety, and insomnia. The main terpences found in high-CBD strain include myrcene, terpinolene, and b-caryophyllene, giving the flower a distinct aroma of diesel and chocolate.
Source: https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/article/339298
According to information procured exclusively ahead of a formal announcement Friday, a subsidiary of NYSE-traded giant Teva Pharmaceuticals has signed a deal with medical cannabis company Canndoc to distribute its GMP products to pharma customers, including hospitals, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and all pharmacies in Israel.
It should be noted that, almost by any measure, from market cap to revenue, Teva is one of the largest pharma companies in the world, and considered to be the biggest generic drug manufacturer in the globe. Needless to say, this is a big deal.
As per the agreement, Teva subsidiary Salomon, Levin, Elstein (or SLE for short) will not only distribute Canndoc’s products in Israel, but also seek to “provide logistics capability for exporting Canndoc’s products to countries that support regulations for the sale and distribution of cannabis products for medical use,” as soon as local regulations allow for it, Canndoc, a subsidiary of publicly traded company InterCure, explained.
SLE’s CEO Aviad Bossi commented the agreement allows the companies to pair a “well-established pharmaceutical distribution network” with a “high quality medical cannabis industry presence and market leadership.”
Adding to these notes, Canndoc’s Chairman Ehud Barak said, “Our agreement with S.L.E., Israel’s leading company in distributing medical products, creates a complete supporting platform for supplying Canndoc’s GMP products to any location in Israel and for countries with similar regulations… Through its S.L.E. partnership, Canndoc has aligned itself with one of the most prominent pharmaceutical companies in the world, for the distribution of cannabis-based medical treatments to countries that recognize the value of these medicines for people in need.”
The initial agreement will span for three years, but a term to automatically extend it for two-year periods at a time is included in the deal.
While this is not the first deal between a big pharma company and a cannabis-related business, it is among the couple notable ones to date – pharma is being careful with its approach to marijuana, hemp, CBD and related industries.
The other big deal announced to date: a development and distribution deal between Novartis and Tilray.
Johnson & Johnson has also been getting its feet wet in the proverbial canna-pond. Back in 2017, the company’s incubator, JLABS @ Toronto, admitted a cannabinoid biotech research company for the first time ever.
Beyond specific deals, a few big pharma companies have registered cannabinoid-related clinical trials in the U.S. and Canada. Among leaders in terms of registered trials are Sanofi, Pfizer and Merck. As for cannabis-related patents in the U.S., Abbvie stands out as a front-runner.
As the cannabis industry advances, we’ll likely see more and more big pharma companies ink deals with cannabis firms, or even make their own forays into the space, experts often argue. It’s just a matter of time. But one thing is clear: the movement has started, and it looks irreversible.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2019/09/12/big-pharma-teva-cannabis/
Israel Medical Cannabis News - Sept 2019
“The cannabis bubble has burst,” Dr. Tamir Gedo, the CEO of Breath of Life Pharma, admitted over the weekend after the Israeli medical marijuana firm’s plans for an initial public offering in Canada failed. Last May BOL had been eyeing an IPO at a valuation of over $1 billion.
A year ago, the medical cannabis sector in Israel was riding high. Companies like InterCure were appointing celebrities like former prime minister Ehud Barak to top jobs, while investors were bidding up share prices into the hundreds of millions of shekels amid hopes that the government would clear the way for exports. Israel has years of leading marijuana research under its belt and all it needed were markets to sell its products to.
But a year later things haven’t worked out as expected. The Health Ministry’s medical marijuana unit failed to prevent criminal groups from getting hold of marijuana grown on local farms. In recent months facilities run by the companies Better and Ilan Bio suffered break-ins and the loss of seedlings.
Better’s plans to merge into a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange-traded shell company collapsed and the CEOs of the two companies involved stepped down. Exports have yet to materialize and a shortage of medical marijuana for the local market has emerged as companies struggle to meet the Health Ministry’s strict new standards. Few companies are generating revenues.
The Israeli industry isn’t the only one to suffer. The share price for Canada’s Tilray has slumped from $143 a year ago to $32 today. Last month it reported second-quarter losses nearly tripled from a year ago to more than $35.1 million. Cronos Group’s shares are down to $12 from $22 a year ago and Aurora’s have fallen from $12 to $5.90
Here is the state of play for four of Israel’s biggest medical marijuana companies by market capitalization.
InterCure enjoys a market cap of 693 million shekels ($197 million), by far the largest of Israel’s medical marijuana companies. But its shares are down 55% from their high of 14.20 shekels last February, closing at 6.39 on Sunday.
InterCure, which has a range of biomedical businesses, runs its cannabis operations through its Canndoc unit, which had first-half revenues of just 5.18 million shekels and profits of 4.78 million.
The company operates a cannabis farm in northern Israel, which it has been working to upgrade and expand. However, the improvements have been delayed. Meanwhile, a second farm in the south has not gotten Health Ministry approval to begin operations. In Canada, it has a processing plant that is awaiting local approvals to begin operations. Meanwhile, however, the company has distribution agreements for Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.
InterCure has 51 million shekels in cash, which it plans to use to fund nine clinical studies of its efficacy in helping with epilepsy, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain and other ailments. Initial results from these studies are expected to be reported during the course of 2020.
Cannbit, the No. 2 company by virtue of its 230.5 million market cap, has been awaiting Israeli Health Ministry approval to begin operations. Meantime, its shares have plunged 66%, from 27.70 in March to 9.35 on Sunday.
Cannbit isn’t sitting still. It has 58.7 million shekels in cash to fund development and in May signed a deal to sell six tons of cannabis to Panaxia, Israel’s biggest producer and distributor of medical marijuana, over three years starting in 2020. That could yield it 30 million shekels in revenues,
In addition, Cannbit has an agreement with Herzilya Medical Center for research and development services and another agreement with an unidentified cosmetics company to develop cannabis-based cosmetics. It’s also investing $400,000 in research being conducted by Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, the father of Israeli medical marijuana research, to investigate synthetic cannabinoids for treating cancer. The research is in its early stages.
The company lost 3.3 million shekels in the first half of this year, leaving it with accumulated losses of 24.5 million.
Together, with a market cap of 167 million shekels, is perhaps in the worst shape of the four. Its auditors attached a “going concern” warning to its second-quarter financial report, saying it didn’t have the money to move forward with its business plan for the next 12 months, Together has negative equity of 20 million shekels and reported a first-half loss of 9.2 million. It has just 4.9 million in cash on hand.
The company has developed a farm in Uganda for marijuana and has harvested 100 kilograms to date and planted an additional 2.5 acres. The plan is to export the harvest to Europe and it has a contract to sell 12.5 tons to a German company.
Together’s problem is that its cannabis processing plant hasn’t gotten European approvals. The company is trying to get around that obstacle in the meantime by negotiating a deal with a European processor that has all the licenses. Together has bought a licensed German cannabis importer and distributor.
Together is also eyeing the giant Chinese market, but that will take some time as Beijing hasn’t approved marijuana for medical use. The company signed a memorandum of understanding in July with an Israeli company owned by a Chinese corporation to enter the Chinese market.
With a 163 million-shekel market cap, Pharmocann generated 8.9 million shekels in medical marijuana revenues in the first half. But it ended the six months with a 47.6 million loss due to the costs of listing on the TASE through a merger with the shell company Compression Systems. Its shares are down 47% from a February 12 high of 4.40 shekels.
Pharmocann claims it controls 15% of Israel’s medical marijuana market. It has plans to enter the Indian market and has signed a MOU with the Indian company PureMagic to develop food supplements, cosmetics and other products using cannabis. The two will form a joint venture to get a license to grow cannabis in India.
By AVIHU TAMIR
(photo credit: REUTERS)
When evaluating the international medical cannabis markets, we can predict with a high degree of certainty that the European market will not be the first destination for global activity, but most likely, Canada or the US will beat them to it.
However, this reality is set to shift in the coming years, as Europe is
To date, European
Israeli innovation in the field of medical cannabis has garnered the attention of companies in Europe – both at the technological and scientific development levels. In terms of exporting cannabis blooms to European countries, Israel is certainly of keen interest to various European countries. However, fierce competition is already underway with European countries such as Greece, Macedonia and Portugal. These countries have relatively cheap labor, similar weather to Israel solved the issue of customs duties in Europe. Israel can still exploit its relative technological advantage and offer unique cannabis varieties tailored to various medical or cosmetic needs, but this window of opportunity is also expected to end in the coming years as Canadian and American companies base operations in Europe.
Another opportunity for Israel is in the field of CBD, the main component of the cannabis plant that does not have psychoactive effects. Unlike Israel, where the Health Ministry still regards CBD as a dangerous drug, most countries today allow the purchase of CBD legally rather than demanding a prescription. However, each country has a different policy, with Denmark and Belgium, for example, still requiring a doctor’s prescription. Leading Israeli companies are providing various CBD-based solutions locally, and due to current regulatory barriers, there is no incentive to sell it in Europe, so time-to-market is rapid and it generates significant revenue. Today, despite the legal ban, products containing CBD can be purchased in a growing number of dedicated stores in central Tel Aviv, and police also appear to have decided not to enforce the law on this issue.
The business potential, along with other benefits such as geographical proximity and high accessibility, create a substantial window of opportunity for Israeli cannabis tech companies. Identifying the potential is not enough. The government ministries that are behind the promotion of CBD, headed by the Economy Ministry, the Export Institute, the Innovation Authority and the Health Ministry, play a crucial role in realizing it. They should take the reins and remove regulatory barriers that prohibit Israeli companies from selling CBD products abroad, as well as clearing the path to research and development dedicated to the wellness markets of non-prescription products.
Implementing a policy that
Source: https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/How-Israel-can-become-a-major-player-in-the-EU-medical-cannabis-market-600781
A bland announcement in the Federal Register on Monday may mark the beginning of the end of federal drug cops' 50-year Reefer Madness crusade.
Acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Chuck Rosenberg
The federal government announced plans to expand cannabis research Monday, paving the way for the robust clinical trials cannabis experts believe will force the government to downgrade marijuana’s Controlled Substances Act classification.
The decision comes just two days before a key deadline in a lawsuit against the agency brought by cannabis researcher Dr. Sue Sisley of the Scottsdale Research Institute. Sisley had sought to end three years of stalling by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Monday’s regulatory filing, and the warm remarks from Attorney General William Barr that accompanied it in a press release, effectively mean Dr. Sisley’s won. Coupled with Barr’s ardently anti-pot predecessor Jeff Sessions’ departure, progress toward looser federal treatment of cannabis may resume.
“Until today, no one could do anything. We were handcuffed, in limbo,” said Shane Pennington, a member of Dr. Sisley’s legal team. “Now they’ve done something. It’s a huge, huge deal.”
The actual notice published in the Federal Register is characteristically dry, but it says the DEA will soon unveil a proposed regulation to govern applications to grow cannabis for scientific and medical research. For half a century, only one grow was legally approved for such purposes — a University of Mississippi facility contracted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
That monopoly on production has hampered researchers like Dr. Sisley for years. The U-Miss project only produced a handful of strains of cannabis and their cultivation methods produced low-grade flower. Dr. Sisley’s research — which probes cannabis’s potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and focuses on combat veterans — required product of higher quality, more consistent quality, and a wider variety of chemical makeups. The subtleties of cannabis chemistry go far beyond the THC that produces a recreational high, and some researchers believe other attributes of the plant might have various psychological and physiological benefits.
A monopoly on production for research meant NIDA and the growers in Mississippi had no incentive to deliver what Dr. Sisley and her peers wanted for their studies.
Back in 2016, the DEA claimed to be ready to smash up NIDA’s single-actor control of research cannabis back. That announcement was greeted with great fanfare in the research and drug policy communities, and prompted Dr. Sisley to apply for a research-grow license from the DEA later that year.
But it was only a departmental policy. There was no follow-through. Nobody at the government would respond to her application or the dozens of others filed since. And because there were no federal regulations related to the 2016 policy memorandum, Dr. Sisley’s attorney explained, it was almost impossible to force the agency to do what it had promised.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed a bill to legalize marijuana in Illinois into law. The law, which goes into effect next year has set a new benchmark for addressing the War On Drugs myriad social inequities.
Illinois’ cannabis bill is first to incorporate reparations — the dream of legalization movement
“They asked for these applications, they acknowledged the importance of this research, and then they did nothing for years,” Shane Pennington said in an interview. But the rulemaking process announced Monday opens the floor to public comments, which in turn obligates the DEA to respond in writing. That writing will generate specific points of contention that courts can review. The final regulations will obligate the DEA to process applications in some specific fashion that will allow would-be research grows to appeal rejections to a federal judge if they believe they’ve been arbitrarily kept out of the market.
Despite the good news, Sisley cautioned Monday that the new regs leave the DEA plenty of room for further shennanigans.
“Now we just need to keep the DEA’s feet to the fire,” Sisley said in a statement. “DEA/DOJ can slow-roll this for many years to come, leaving progress of medical cannabis research in limbo indefinitely. But at least that door is now theoretically kicked open.”
The agency could have taken this step with no fanfare had it wished. But it got a full press rollout from the Department of Justice.
“I am pleased that DEA is moving forward with its review of applications for those who seek to grow marijuana legally to support research,” Attorney General Barr said in a statement on the agency’s move.
The good news for researchers, and those who suffer from the illnesses and difficulties they hope to cure with cannabis products, is only the beginning.
Monday’s announcement is likely to provide a major boost to the push for federal decriminalization or even legalization.
There’s a ping-pong logic at play here, Pennington explained. The DEA has insisted that cannabis remain a schedule I narcotic — the tightest category of criminal enforcement and pharmaceutical regulation under federal drug law — even as half the states in the nation have legalized it for either medical or recreational use. If clinicians like Dr. Sisley succeed in identifying specific medical uses of cannabis or its extracts, and the Food and Drug Administration certifies those findings, that would force the DEA to reschedule cannabis nationwide.
“The only thing keeping it schedule I at this point is that, according to the DEA, there is no acceptable medical use in the United States for marijuana,” Pennington said. “Now, how do you get that? Through clinical trials that show it’s safe and effective. And who’s the gatekeeper there? The DEA and the FDA.”
The DEA filing notes the agency “anticipates that additional strains of marihuana (sic) will be produced and made available to researchers” under the forthcoming regs, and anticipates the changes will “potentially aid in the development of safe and effective drug products that may be approved for marketing by the [FDA].”
That’s a recipe for moving cannabis down to schedule II, and a vindication of the confidence cannabis industry insiders have shown in recent years. The sheer amount of money being made thanks to state experiments with legalization has led many investors and entrepreneurs to view federal legalization as a matter of when, not if.
Largest legal pot farm may mark end of cannabis industry’s “Wild West” phase
It’s important not to overstate the significance of potential cannabis rescheduling. State legalization has succeeded because two presidents in a row have decided to allow it to continue. If cannabis drops to schedule II, nothing would change legally about the current order of battle on legalization and retail sales.
But as a practical and political matter, rescheduling would be a major signal that the feds are closer than ever to giving up on the drug war’s most destructive lie. Ending federal prohibition isn’t the magic bullet for ending mass incarceration that some advocates have portrayed it as over the years. But it would fundamentally reset the relationship between police and drug users — and the communities where they currently interact as hostiles would stand to gain from the change.
Much like the NIDA monopoly on research growing has effectively locked in Nixon-era Reefer Madness ideas at the federal level by making proper medical research impossible, the DEA’s insistence that pot is so dangerous it must be classified alongside schedule I drugs like heroin has warped funding streams, enforcement priorities, civil forfeiture regimes, and other law enforcement practices with far-reaching effects on communities.
Now, the DEA’s formal announcement it plans to respond to research grow applications sets the stage for all that to change.
“They may deny many of [the applications], but if they register even some… It’ll be the end of the 50-year NIDA monopoly,” Pennington said. “That’s giant.”
This piece has been updated to include comment from Dr. Sisley and to correct a reference to the DEA’s scheduling of other narcotics.
Source: https://thinkprogress.org/dea-concedes-that-marijuana-research-monopoly-must-end-opening-door-to-sweeping-change-2d60015acd1d/
Sean Williams
Although the marijuana industry has seen its hiccups of late, long-term pot stock investors have little to complain about. Investors with the foresight, wherewithal, and luck to buy into some of the most popular marijuana stocks have seen enormous gains in recent years. And based on the potential of the industry, this growth is just getting started.
Cannabis industry cheerleader Cowen Group, which has arguably been covering pot stocks longer than any Wall Street investment firm, believes that the industry could hit $75 billion in global sales by 2030, which would represent a more than sixfold increase in global sales from 2018, according to data from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics.
Meanwhile, Christopher Carey at Bank of America believes that the cannabis industry has the potential to one day hit $166 billion in annual sales, all while disrupting industries that currently rake in $2.6 trillion a year. Carey is looking for Canada to account for about 3% of this global utopian total (about $5 billion), with the U.S. representing 34% of the addressable cannabis market ($56 billion).
But neither of these optimistic forecasts can hold a candle to the projection Wall Street firm Stifel and covering analyst Andrew Carter put out at the beginning of this month. According to Stifel, the cannabis industry could gallop to $200 billion in yearly sales... in a decade. That's well over double what Cowen Group has forecast, and it's about four times what Jefferies is looking for in annual sales by 2029.
Where on Earth will this growth come from? The report put out by Carter to clients suggests that Canada offers the most intriguing near-term opportunity, primarily because it's the only developed country in the world to have given the green light to adult-use marijuana. Stifel is forecasting sales of 10 billion Canadian dollars ($7.6 billion) by 2023. For context, Canadian cannabis store sales hit $56.6 million in April, and have tallied just $308.3 million in the first 6.5 months of sales since recreational legalization took hold in our neighbor to the north.
The considerably bigger catalyst is the United States, which Stifel and Carter see contributing about $100 billion a year in sales a decade from now. This opportunity certainly won't blossom overnight. In fact, Carter points out that the earliest opportunity for cannabis reform in the U.S. is 2021 given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has continuously blocked marijuana legislation from reaching the Senate floor for
And what marijuana stock does Stifel believe offers investors the best opportunity to take advantage of this $200 billion in annual sales? None other than the largest marijuana stock in the world by market, Canopy Growth (NYSE
While the near-term execution at Canopy is underwhelming [and] likely driving a portion of the elevated expenses, we remain confident that Canopy is best positioned to tackle all avenues for growth in the $200 billion global category.
Within Canada, Canopy Growth has 5.6 million square feet set aside for cultivation, of which more than 4.8 million square feet is already licensed. Given the monumental delays at Health Canada in approving license applications, the fact that Canopy has been this successful in getting its grow farms licensed is a testament of just how far it is ahead of many of its competitors. Not to mention, Canopy will likely slide in as Canada's second-largest grower, making it an instant hit in our neighbor to the north.
However, Canopy Growth has also been actively pushing into the United States. In January, the company was awarded a hemp-processing license in New York State and will be spending up to $150 million to construct a processing facility. It also anticipates moving its hemp-processing capabilities into more than a half-dozen U.S. states. While the U.S. cannabidiol (CBD) market will be huge, the real lure for Canopy is the ability get processing infrastructure in place on U.S. soil ahead of an expected legalization of cannabis years down the road.
Canopy Growth is also acquiring Acreage Holdings (NASDAQOTH:ACRGF) on a contingent-rights basis for $3.4 billion in cash and stock. Though Canopy is paying Acreage shareholders $300 million up front, the transaction only completes on the contingency that the U.S. legalizes marijuana at the federal level. With a 90-month window on this deal, Canopy is aiming to take advantage of Acreage Holdings' presence in 20 states (on a pro forma basis), as well as its nearly 90 retail store licenses.
Though Carter primarily focuses on Canada and the United States -- and rightly so, as these two countries could account for close to 55% of global pot sales in a decade -- don't overlook that more than $90 billion in forecast sales (assuming Stifel's projection is accurate) will come from the overseas market.
Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB), the only Canadian grower that's expected to produce more weed per year at peak capacity than Canopy Growth, is one such name that could thrive internationally. Between production, exports, distribution, and research agreements, Aurora has a presence in two dozen countries, including Canada.
The thing is, Aurora Cannabis isn't going to see much of a benefit from this international presence until demand in the domestic Canadian market is saturated. Only when dried flower oversupply and/or commoditization hits will the true benefit of these external sales channels really bear fruit for the company.
Nevertheless, with more than $90 billion on the line outside of Canada and the U.S., there should, presumably, be plenty of opportunity for Aurora to really excel by the midpoint of the next decade. Best of all, the presumption is that a good chunk of these external sales will be for medical cannabis, which tends to sport a higher price point and better margins than recreational marijuana.
Whether its Aurora Cannabis or another global pot stock that you fancy, the gist is that marijuana could be a once-in-a-generation growth opportunity,
Source: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/07/13/marijuana-sales-to-hit-200-billion-in-a-decade-wal.aspx
The Ministry of Health and Agriculture do not agree on the question of the legality of the import of medical cannabis from abroad for marketing purposes in Israel The Ministry of Agriculture claims that the imports made by Syqe, which is in cooperation with Teva and Philip Morris, Claims that this is a legal process that is permitted for all companies.
In contrast to the Ministry of Health's decision to ban the importation of EU-GMP "finished" medical cannabis products for marketing purposes for patients in Israel, the Ministry of Agriculture said Monday.
In response to the magazine's request, the Agriculture Ministry claims in its response that the Ministry of Health's decision to permit such imports for marketing purposes is contrary to the procedures. They contend that such imports are permitted only for research purposes and laboratory tests, and in any case requires a license for crop protection services after a strict closure process.
As a result of Syqe's announcement last week of the marketing of its new cannabis inhaler in the Netherlands, it was puzzling how the Health Ministry allowed the company to market cannabis that does not meet Israeli production standards (IMC-GAP and IMC-GMP).
Senior officials in the industry also wondered how Syqe introduced cannabis to Israel without obtaining a permit from the plant protection services in the Ministry of Agriculture for importing plant material, without strict closure before entering the country, and for marketing and trading purposes for patients.
Among other things, the Ministry of Health claimed unfair preference to Syqe, in which the Phillip Morris company invested NIS 100 million. Teva is also the exclusive distributor of the new inhaler. The Ministry of Health has been "caught" in the past and gives benefits to Philip Morris and therefore raises some concern.
The Ministry of Health said in response to Cannabis Magazine's query that such imports are now allowed to any company that wishes to do so, since they claim that the European standard is sufficient for the marketing of products in Israel even without meeting Israeli standards. It is also claimed that a finished and dried cannabis product does not meet the definition of "plant material" and therefore the Plant Protection Services license is not required in the Ministry of Agriculture.
We asked the Ministry of Agriculture to clarify the question of exactly what "plant material" is, ie, whether a "finished" cannabis product containing dried plant material is considered "vegetable material" and therefore requires a crop protection service license, or is it a product such as dried za'atar Requires this license, is not bound by the closure process and is permitted for marketing and commercial purposes.
In response to the letter from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture claims that the importation of the "Syqe" without obtaining the Plant Protection Services license and the marketing goals, and not just the research, is improper and ostensibly contrary to the procedures. Accordingly, any other import of Cannabis product, even when it comes to a "finished" product, is strictly prohibited, but only for research.
"Any imported plant material must comply with the requirements of the import regulations, including the import license of the Ministry of Agriculture," the Ministry of Agriculture reported. "In addition, all imported plant material is required with the approval of the release of the Ministry of Agriculture."
"Dried za'atar leaves are considered dry and processed, and are required for visual inspection at the port before they are released. However, since the purpose of the product is to eat, there is no need for the license."
Finally, the Ministry of Agriculture states unequivocally that, contrary to the claims of the Ministry of Health, "dried cannabis inflorescence is considered 'vegetable material' and is required by the Ministry of Agriculture."
"Import regulations published in 2009 (Seventh addition) state that cannabis, in different product forms, is prohibited in importation," was determined. "You can apply for an import license for research and development under strict closure conditions."
In response to this announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health responded that they were right and that the import of "Syqe" was done with permission and that any other import of a finished and dried cannabis product, even for marketing purposes.
In other words, as of today, the Ministry of Health permits the import of finished and dried cannabis products for marketing purposes for patients in Israel, but the Ministry of Agriculture claims that this is a violation of the law and a procedure that was done contrary to procedures.
Source: https://www.קנאביס.com/2019/07/%d7%9e%d7%a9%d7%a8%d7%93-%d7%94%d7%97%d7%a7%d7%9c%d7%90%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%a0%d7%92%d7%93-%d7%9e%d7%a9%d7%a8%d7%93-%d7%94%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%90%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%90%d7%a1%d7%95%d7%a8-%d7%9c%d7%99%d7%99/
KATIE SHAPIRO
In the two years since California opened the golden gates to legal, adult-use marijuana, an entirely new cannabis culture has emerged: luxury cannabis.
The evolution of an affluent sector in a new market was inevitable as soon as recreational cannabis became a commodity. From paraphernalia partnerships with mainstream designers to freshly farmed flower and pastry chef-made edibles, it’s also not just about getting high. CBD, or cannabidiol, is everywhere and its cure-all reputation for relieving stress, anxiety, inflammation and insomnia has led to an all-out craze for products infused with the less-psychoactive cousin to THC — and it might be the biggest wellness trend of our time. Whether you find it on the menu in spas, restaurants and coffee shops or on-shelf at the pharmacy, there is no shortage of ways to get your daily dose.
While challenges remain — Proposition 64 was approved by voters in 388 out of California’s 540 cities and counties, but two-thirds of local governments have outlawed cannabis shops — there are 631 shops legally operating now, according to an estimate from state officials. In Orange County, retail restrictions are still upheld everywhere. However, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Irvine and La Habra permit “some types of cannabis industry” like cultivation and distribution.
When Los Angeles-based cannabis cultivator and retailer MedMen opened a store in Manhattan in 2018 on the iconic Fifth Avenue, Page Six dubbed it “The Barneys of Weed.” The dispensary chain now operates 22 stores in six states. And thanks to Los Angeles-based luxury cannabis company Beboe, a “Barneys’ of weed” now exists … in Barneys. Opened in March at Barneys’ Beverly Hills location, The High End offers a range of marijuana-minded accoutrements and wellness products. Pioneers like MedMen and Beboe have set the bar high for what modern cannabis could and should look like, helping consumers shed the negative stoner stereotype and enabling a new breed of businesses to fill a long-overdue niche within the burgeoning industry.
In honor of luxury cannabis having its most major moment yet, we present an ultimate guide to living the green life in Orange County.
MedMen (2141 S. Wright St., Santa Ana :: medmen.com) is often compared to an Apple Store, so expect to find an army of red shirt-clad, knowledgeable and friendly staff to help you navigate a curated array of California’s best brands.
From The Earth (3023 S. Orange Ave., Santa Ana :: fteusa.com) is known for its personalized customer service and super selection of sun-grown flower from the Emerald Triangle.
Originally opening as a medical dispensary in 2017, People’s (2721 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana :: peoplesorangecounty.com) has won industry awards like “SoCal Cannabis Store of the Year” as the largest dispensary in California with an artistic aesthetic – its walls are covered with works by local creatives – stocked with the state’s most notable brands.
Bud and Bloom (1327 E. St. Gertrude Place, Santa Ana :: budandbloomoc.com) caters to experienced and new consumers alike, even providing a monthly charter bus (the Cannibus, natch) to senior living communities. An industrial chic interior with exposed brick and reclaimed wood plays beautiful backdrop to an award-wining inventory and experience.
Available in select California dispensaries, Défoncé worked with a former Kraft Foods executive to develop its eight rich flavors using responsibly sourced ingredients including the finest Belgian cacao and premium, sun-grown California cannabis. :: defonce.com
Since driving to Santa Ana isn’t convenient for all OC’ers, shopping for cannabis is as easy and discreet as a swipe on your iPhone.
Meet MyJane, a new all-female cannabis delivery and subscription service for women that aims to educate its clients as much as sell to them. A must-try is the Sleep Box, which includes 10 CBD and THC-laced products targeted to alleviate insomnia. ::myjane.com
Outside of Blüm‘s brick and mortar (2911 Tech Center Dr., Santa Ana), they offer doorstep delivery within a 20-mile radius (you can also order ahead online). ::letsblum.com
Visit Eaze, a statewide, on-demand delivery service straight from partner dispensaries. ::eaze.com
Some love the ritual of rolling their own, but pre-packed joints take the work out of smoking on the go. California cannabis companies continue to get creative in packaging their signature strains, with beautiful boxes to pop into your purse or pocket. Here are our seven favorites, which, pretty presentation aside, are packed with powerful flower.
Lowell Smokes :: lowellsmokes.com
Higgs :: higgs.life
Leune :: leune.co
Island :: island.co
Pure Beauty :: purebeautypurebeauty.co
Lola Lola :: lolalola.com
Sunday Goods :: sundaygoods.com
One of the best ways to manage muscle pain and skin irritation is with THC- and CBD-infused topicals – another buzzword to learn in the legal cannabis lexicon. Like CBD-only products, these lotions and potions don’t get you high. Instead, they’re absorbed directly through the skin for localized pain and inflammation relief. Here are five product lines we’ve found to work wonders.
Apothecanna :: apothecanna.com
Dr. Kerklaan :: drkerklaan.com
High Gorgeous :: highgorgeous.com
Lord Jones :: lordjones.com
Papa & Barkley :: papaandbarkley.com
The beauty industry is abuzz with CBD with the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue and Sephora stocking soothing, CBD-infused serums for a facial refresh. The cannabis plant is known to be antioxidant-rich with moisturizing properties to nourish and protect skin against effects of the elements. Apply any one of these five formulas for an instant glow.
Herbivore Botanicals Emerald CBD+Adaptogens Deep Moisture Glow Oil $58 :: herbivorebotanicals.com(photography courtesy of Herbivore Botanicals)
Designed with medical-grade stainless steel and ceramic wick technology, each Besito vaporizer comes filled with signature flavored cannabis blends (Grapefruit, Mint, Blackberry) and a built-in battery. $50 :: besito.la
The philanthropic Bloom Farms – a one-for-one company that pledges a healthy meal to someone in need with every product sold – recently restyled a highlighter vape pen in rose gold with a signature metal mouthpiece and redesigned battery. $60 ::getbloomfarms.com
Dosist’s line of sleek white “dose pens” come pre-loaded with one of six scientist-engineered formulas (bliss, sleep, calm, relief, arouse, passion) and are the easiest to use of ’em all. $40 :: dosist.com
Give new meaning to the “rosé all day” mantra with this metallic PAX 3 device. Packed with technology, it works with both flower and extracts, has more than 60 temperature settings and custom session control through Bluetooth functionality and a mobile app. $249.99 :: paxvapor.com
For cannabis concentrate enthusiasts, the Puffco Peak smart rig device is sleek and small enough to keep out on the coffee table or take with you on the go. $379.99 ::puffco.com
Sun grown by second-generation farmers in Mendocino, Sonder’s extract in its oil cartridges are as tasty as they are pure. Choose from Daytime, Nighttime or Sonder time for recommended usages like “everyday shenanigans, obliterating a stressful day, summer afternoon naps, late nights making music and expansive thinking.” $36 ::sondertime.com
Famed potter, designer and author Jonathan Adler just dropped a capsule collection in collaboration with Higher Standards, a luxury cannabis lifestyle company with two brick-and-mortar locations and an online boutique. From $40. :: higherstandards.com
When a high-profile, New York City-based wardrobe stylist launches a vaporizer case company, you know it’s going to complement any look. Rogue Paq, available in Italian ($250) or vegan ($175) leather, comes monogrammed by hand and has a suede interior filled with thoughtful design details like water-resistant interior pockets, scent suppression technology and plenty of space to organize your stash in style. ::roguepaq.com
Beverly Hills-based jewelry designer Jacquie Aiche has been creating gorgeous ganjainspired pieces for her #JAtribe long before legalization made it in vogue. The entire line is covetable, but her signature Sweet Leaf stamp looks best on a vintage stainless steel, 10-diamond baguette Rolex. $9,000, special order only. (photography courtesy of jacquieaiche.com)
Source: https://www.ocregister.com/2019/07/02/cannabis-the-ultimate-guide-to-luxe-products-and-services/
As government authorities come to grips with legislation of cannabis-based products, expanding rapidly year on year, the European market holds a key position.
The combination of population, GDP, nationalized healthcare, and cultural historic use in many countries makes Europe an attractive market for global producers of cannabis-based products, both medical and retail.
European standards are, therefore, now the benchmark to be achieved to facilitate market entry, and Europe has an opportunity to lead the way in establishing sensible regulatory systems that provide safe access to appropriate products while not unnecessarily burdening what have been historically widely consumed products.
Europe was the seat of the explosion of the now global CBD trend. While North America progressed medical cannabis legislation across its states over the last fifteen years, these have been high THC focused products based on modern indoor grown plant varieties. CBD was considered a scheduled substance and the cultivation of hemp was banned in the U.S. until this year, leaving a severe lack of high CBD genetics.
Brands like Endoca and Enecta were some of the first to establish a presence using online sales and social media channels to raise consumer awareness of the potential benefits of CBD, and they were particularly successful in countries like UK, Italy and Greece.
European Union (EU) national regulators have struggled to get to grips with the regulation of cannabidiol products, which has proven difficult given that CBD is not a scheduled controlled substance, hemp food products were historically consumed, and extracts of the plant were manipulated for use in medicines and many other applications.
While parties who claim there isn’t sufficient evidence for the medical efficacy of cannabidiol have a point, there is actually a wide base of early stage studies exploring its effects, the physiological systems it impacts, and the mechanisms behind the benefits so many consumers experience.
Cannabidiol doesn’t get you high, it mostly doesn’t interact with the main cannabinoid receptors, it interacts with a range of g-coupled protein receptors and particularly interesting is its interaction with the anandamide receptors. These exist in the walls of almost every cell in our bodies, triggering our response in fight or flight stress situations, managing vasodilation and heart rate. CBD’s impact on anxiety and stress may be legitimate, it may not all be placebo after all. Cannabinoids and terpenes are powerful compounds whose synergistic effect we are only beginning to comprehend.
With a decade of austerity under our belt, and the progression of automation in the workforce and our daily lives, it should be no surprise that stress and anxiety are becoming more prevalent. One thing that seems to be clear from several studies, as well as the clinical trial testing on Epidiolex, is that CBD is well tolerated and very safe in low daily doses. Given so many consumers are willing to spend their hard-earned money on these products, there is something genuine underlying this technology, and EU companies should have the opportunity to lead this emerging technological field.
Given the widespread and often confusing information being distributed online by companies and brands exploiting a new market area, health authorities are right to protect consumers from false advertising and medical claims, particularly considering that an ICCI market review tested sixty CBD products and found thirty (50%) of them to contain contaminants.
The UK health authority Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) attempted to protect consumers by classifying CBD as a medical product following the approval of Epidiolex, to restrict medical claims. This had little impact however, with brands and retailers simply tweaking their materials to suit the new parameters….and still many products are on the market today that contain contaminants, or whose contents are nothing like that described on the label.
The recent EFSA guidance note is interesting in that it attempts to provide some clarity between a traditional hemp food product and a ‘new’ or novel concentrated plant extract. Unfortunately, this has only left confusion across many EU markets, with good operators not sure how their national FSA will decide to regulate.
The idea that an extraction process providing a concentrated form of a plant, which is then formulated into products in low strength, is somehow novel when it is standard practice for a plethora of food products is a strange position to take.
So, the regulatory path to date hasn’t been smooth, and in actual fact it hasn’t worked in making the market safer for those who wish to use CBD products where they feel they offer benefits. If anything, the current regulatory pathway of trying to close the market down only pushes consumers further into the grey market.
What European consumers need is a range of safe strength CBD products available in their normal retail environments, grown, extracted, manufactured and labelled to safe European standards.
Source: https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/europe-standards-for-cannabis/67882/
