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Ireland is undergoing a hemp awakening with the number of cultivation applications soaring dramatically.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) received 77 licence applications by July 2019, compared to 24 for the whole of 2018 and just seven in 2016, reports the Irish Mirror. It says there are now almost 1,000 acres registered for cultivating crops of hemp and this is expected to rise to as much as 5,000 acres.

Strict Hemp Growing Rules

But, as in most European countries and its large neighbor the U.K, strict rules govern the cultivation of the plant. The HPRA stipulates that plants must contain less than 0.2% of THC, and cannot be cultivated in an area which is visible from the road.

The location of the crop has to be proven to Gardaí (the police) via land mapping, prior to the commencement of planting, and all farmers must be Garda vetted. The Irish Times reports cannabis expert Kaya O’Riordan of CB1 Botanicals saying an Irish hemp industry has the potential to create over 80,000 jobs.

Law Change Allows For Medical Cannabis

The Government is encouraging this diversification into hemp growing after earlier this year passing legislation allowing for patients access to medical cannabis.

Irish industry publication Irish Farming has also picked up on the potential for the hemp in the country highlighting how it can reduce its carbon footprint. It says the ideal time for planting hemp in Ireland, renowned for its wet and temperate climate, is late April, early May when the last frosts have gone.

It reports the Irish Hemp Growers and Processors Association saying that the hemp sector will ‘only get bigger and better over the coming years, as the world seeks more renewable and environmentally friendly ways of producing products’. 

Ireland A Staging Post To Europe

Hemp has thousands of applications applications including bioplastics, construction, high protein foods and beverages, food supplements, textiles, paper products, composites, biofuel and graphene substitutes.

Major environmental benefits from its use include; carbon sequestration, enhanced biodiversity, land reclamation and the production of environmentally responsible industrial and consumer goods. The emergence of the Irish hemp industry comes as North American firms are looking to the country as a staging post for the European mainland.

Province Brands, a Canadian cannabis drinks brewer, is planning to launch CBD beer in Ireland next year. The Cronos Group, with a market cap of $5 billion, has established Cronos Group Celtic Holdings in Dublin.

Meanwhile Colorado business Mile High Labs has established a base in Belfast and Satipharm, a subsidiary of of Vancouver’s Harvest One recently established operations in Ireland 

Hopes for a more liberal approach to cannabis regulations from the Boris Johnson Government have risen with the appointment of two cannabis supporters to his team.

Blair Gibbs, former Policy Lead at the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis, who worked with the new Prime Minister when he was Mayor of London, has joined the No 10 Downing Street policy team. Where he will be working with fellow cannabis supporter Danny Kruger, the Prime Minister’s new Political Secretary, who has also called for an end to the prohibition of cannabis.

Tough Stance on Drugs

While the new PM says he enjoyed cannabis in his younger days he has since gone on to take a firm stance against decriminalization of most drugs.One of Mr Gibbs initial tasks may be to focus on establishing clearer regulations for the U.K. CBD industry which currently operates in a regulatory lacuna.

And, secondly, the frustrating situation where raw ingredient CBD – for use in all British retail CBD products – has to to be imported into the U.K.

CBD Regulations On The ‘To Do’ List?

In a recent interview with CBD Testers he expressed his irritation: “We have the perverse situation where farmers must pay the Home Office – the national security department of the British state – for a licence to grow hemp from a list of approved hemp seeds all of which have guarantees to certify they will produce no more than 0.2% THC.

“Once licensed, however, they are mandated to remove and destroy the most valuable part of the plant. That isn’t sustainable, and explains why the U.K. hemp sector is so small in stark contrast to the boom on the Continent. In practical terms there is nothing more radical that needs to happen than DEFRA and the Home Office jointly agreeing changes to the licensing conditions for hemp. A small change at a stroke would give the U.K. the ability to have a domestic hemp industry supplying CBD in to the U.K.”

At the CMC, Blair Gibbs worked with Government on devising clearer guidelines for the CBD industry telling CBD Testers we need to encourage the ‘the adoption of a credible and robust system of voluntarily self-regulation’ for the sector. He said: “I’m, not sue we quite have that yet.”

The Victorians Did Not Ban Everything

Having lived in Canada he is said to favor the Canadian Government’s legalization route recently posting the following on twitter. “When the UK gets round to legislating to regulate a legal market for recreational cannabis it will need to learn from other models but also devise one that fits its own culture and institutions best.”

Mr Kruger is a former speech wirier for ex-Prime Minister David Cameron, and in 2017 said: “We do not need to ban everything bad. After all the Victorians never prohibited alcohol.” Earlier this year CBD Testers reported how the British public is now in favor of cannabis legalization and some politicians believe it could happen within five years.

The World Health Organization made waves earlier this year by publishing its first marijuana review. The WHO had lots to say, including a call to place cannabis in a less restrictive schedule of the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

It might not seem like it, but bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., actually want to know what Americans think about the WHO's recommendation. More specifically, the Food and Drug Administration has reopened the comment period regarding the WHO's rescheduling recommendation, along with other marijuana legalization issues.

In spring, the FDA's request for feedback received 1,939 comments, but the agency postponed voting on cannabis-related recommendations until a later date. The agency recently reopened the feedback channel and will keep it open until Sept. 30.

The agency will probably hold a cannabis rescheduling vote shortly after closing the door on comments again. If you're holding cannabis stocks but aren't quite sure what to expect, there are at least four things you need to understand about the FDA's attitude toward cannabis and the agency's role in this burgeoning industry. 

1. The status quo

The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 created five schedules, with different levels of control. Marijuana was placed in Schedule I, the most restrictive, early on, and it's still there, with some minor exceptions.

There have been a few drug approvals for products that contain synthetic THC, the cannabinoid that gets people high, but they haven't been very successful. Although it's difficult to prove, THC seems far less tolerable and less effective when administered without its usual entourage of cannabinoids and other components. 

More recently, the FDA approved the marijuana-derived cannabidiol (CBD) tincture called Epidiolex from GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH). If you haven't heard, CBD is the non-intoxicating cannabinoid that seems to reduce inflammation, surface pain, and insomnia without an intoxicating effect. The FDA gave Epidiolex approval to treat severe forms of childhood epilepsy only after the company proved it was safe and effective in a series of clinical trials.

Epidiolex is officially approved to treat severe epilepsy, and that's it so far. Trying to market it to any other patient group is expressly forbidden. It's also important to note that there are hundreds of different CBD brands, but Epidiolex is the only one that can claim to have any medical benefits whatsoever. 

2. The FDA doesn't mess around

In July, America's largest vertically integrated cannabis company, Curaleaf (OTC:CURLF), received a lengthy warning letter from the FDA that threatened an unlimited seizure of property and closure of facilities. The agency gave the company 15 days to produce a plan, or an argument, to address violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

A warning letter from the FDA isn't the same as a congressional subpoena. The agency can, and often does, shut down non-compliant operations like a boss.

Curaleaf was marketing its CBD products as dietary supplements, which isn't going to work for anyone. One incontrovertible reason has to do with the recent approval of Epidiolex. Since CBD is an active ingredient in an FDA-approved drug, anything containing CBD can't be a dietary supplement.

Previous FDA approvals of dronabinol-based therapies probably mean THC-containing products won't be marketable as dietary supplements either. That means legalization of marijuana won't allow Curaleaf, or its peers, to mention the perceived health benefits consumers or their pets might receive from any THC-containing products.

While Curaleaf tried to pretend its products were dietary supplements to avoid regulation, CV Sciences (OTC:CVSI) is taking a halfway approach. This June, CV Sciences boasted about a successful study with real people that were split into random groups that received a placebo or the company's PlusCBD Oil. Patients given CV Sciences' capsules were significantly more likely to report improvements in sleep quality than those given capsules full of olive oil. 

3. The right way forward is long and expensive

Despite convincing evidence from a clinical trial, CV Sciences won't be sending the FDA an application to market PlusCBD Oil as a sleep aid in the foreseeable future. That's because the company would need to spend money it doesn't have to assemble mountains of data from a long list of sources, including lengthy safety studies with a variety of animals before applying to begin trials with humans. That's a big reason GW Pharmaceuticals spends at least $100 million each year on research and development and CV Sciences is still in a seven-digit zone.  

The FDA's approval of Epidiolex was preceded by several approvals of drugs containing synthetic THC, but so far, the agency hasn't even reviewed a product with THC from the plant itself. Once you see Curaleaf or one of its peers mention an investigational new drug application, then you'll know they're serious about trying to market cannabis products as medicine.

4. Not the only decider

Unfortunately for cannabis companies that aren't focused on CBD, the Drug Enforcement Administration is responsible for setting controlled substance schedules. Determining a substance's potential effects isn't exactly within the DEA's purview, so it depends on the FDA for help choosing appropriate schedule positions for each drug.

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but the process creates a Catch-22 for THC-containing cannabis research, because as a Schedule I substance, it's nearly impossible to conduct meaningful research on cannabis products. The DEA provides academic researchers with well-understood cannabis strains from preordained sources that help them get around Schedule I rules, but there still isn't a clear process that will allow companies to run FDA-compliant clinical trials with their own products.

What to expect

In 2016, the DEA would have rescheduled cannabis if the FDA had given the green light. Since Schedule I restrictions have severely limited cannabis research, the agency refused to issue an opinion until it has more measurements related to potential safety issues and habit formation to base an opinion on.

While it seems as if the DEA, the cannabis industry, and the FDA are stuck together in a neverending bureaucratic nightmare, the DEA recently took steps to register additional marijuana growers. In January, there were 542 scientists registered by the DEA to conduct marijuana research. That's not a lot, but it's 40% more than there were two years earlier.

The odds that the FDA will consider research conducted over the past few years sufficient to place cannabis in a less restrictive schedule aren't great, but they're a lot better than they were a few years ago.

Few in the cannabis community would argue the fact that one of the biggest stories in the movement in the last 5 years was the legalization of adult-use marijuana in Canada. The first large, developed country to legalize on a federal level, Canada was poised to set the tone for legalization around the world.

But, as I feared, Canada’s government has created an industry that is so restricted it has no hope of competing with the black market. Restrictions have created supply issues which have, in turn, kept prices high.

This is an issue I have addressed several times on our video news show Cannabis News, and it’s an issue that stems from two major problems with implementing legalization. Many lawmakers, politicians and bureaucrats hold the belief that cannabis is a dangerous substance that must be restricted and regulated, and plans need to be made for every possible contingency, even ones that could never come to be. This causes them to be overly cautious, often to the point that they cripple the legal industry before it can even get off the ground.

The second problem is that not enough lawmakers, politicians and bureaucrats believe that the more choice cannabis consumers have, the better the legal industry will function and the sooner the black market will be undercut and crippled. More supply leads to more choice for consumers which leads to lower prices which leads to more consumers coming over to the legal industry.

Instead of treating cannabis like it’s something people need to be protected from, it should be treated like something people want to buy. And while the argument rages between those who think cannabis should be treated like poison and those who think it should be treated like lettuce, many of us would settle for it being treated like alcohol.

Sure, alcohol is regulated, but there are also at least a dozen places within 5 miles of my house where I can buy alcohol, and this doesn’t count bars. I can go to any Kroger grocery store and find dozens of different kinds of alcohol, all reasonably priced. I can have a bottle of Everclear in my hands in less than 15 minutes, no matter which direction I drive. I can buy several bottles of liquor and a few cases of beer and no one will give me a second look. 

Canada’s legalization rollout suffers from these two problems, leaving supply in the country restricted and the black market wholly intact. 

“NORML Canada’s view on legalization is that it is a huge step forward for Canadians,” Andy Lee, Communications Director for NORML Canada, told The Marijuana Times. “To be able to legally purchase and consume cannabis is a freedom Canadians should have been afforded all these years. The actual roll-out of legalization however is a different matter. The current legal framework has created a monopoly market that benefits large corporate Licensed Providers, and leaves little to no pathways for small cannabis entrepreneurs to become part of the legal market. Because of this, LP’s on their own are unable to meet supply/demand and offer competitive quality/pricing to effectively stamp out the illicit market.”

The key to legalization is allowing the maximum amount of participants. The lowest possible barriers for entry into the industry will maximize choice and supply and benefit every cannabis consumer. It will create the most jobs and the biggest possible economic impact while driving illegal dealers out of business.

As much as many hate to hear it, cannabis is a commodity, subject to all of the economic laws that affect every other commodity and service.

On the one-year anniversary of adult-use legalization in Canada, other forms of cannabis are supposed to be allowed for sale, but many are skeptical that rollout will be any smoother. “Regarding edibles, concentrates, and topicals slated for Oct 17th, 2019, many industry experts have predicted that there will be supply issues with demand far outstripping available product,” Andy told us. “This will mirror the initial rollout of legalization Oct 17th, 2018 with dried flower. The likelihood is that only a handful of LP’s will have product for sale come Oct 17th, but will be sold out immediately, for many months.”

The legal cannabis industry needs to be unleashed if it is to ever get a foothold, no matter what country we are talking about. Hopefully lawmakers in Canada learn that lesson before they do too much lasting damage to the industry’s ability to compete with the black market.

Marijuana stocks have seen quite the ups and downs over the past few months. In that time, company values have begun to rise along with future projections for the pot stock market. With so many options to choose from cannabis stocks seem to be ripe with opportunity. With great power, however, comes great responsibility.

This responsibility comes in the form of research. Investors need to ensure that they have done all the research possible before investing in a given company. If they are able figure out all the numbers pot stocks to watch can potentially become pot stocks to buy.

In the end, it all comes down to personal preference and what the data says about a given company. Aside from knowledge about a particular marijuana stock, one must also know their specific investor style. With all this in mind, there are many pot stocks to watch moving forward.

A Growth Oriented Pot Stock to Watch

AgraFlora Organics (AGRA Stock Report) (PUFXF Stock Report) is one of the leading diversified cannabis companies currently focused on both the domestic and international marijuana markets. The company has a large indoor cultivation facility based out of London, ON. In addition to this, they are also a joint venture partner with Propagation Service Canada for a very large-scale 2.2 million square foot greenhouse complex based in Delta, BC.

Because of this, they have quite a large amount of potential for growing big quantities of marijuana. One of the main claims to fame for AgraFlora Organics has been their successful track record of increasing shareholder value. In addition, they have also stated that they are working heavily to pursue a variety of opportunities throughout the cannabis industry. With this in mind, they remain a key pot stock to watch.

Big News for AgraFlora Organics

The company recently announced that they have provided guidance for a new integration method of their proprietary cannabinoid formulations library as well as their manufacturing process. They will do this at their fully operational Toronto, ON facility. With this update, they have stated that they will be able to provide almost 100% accuracy for THC potency results through a ISO-certified lab based out of Colorado.

Additionally, they have been working to have support for their proprietary micro-diffusion technologies, which will help to optimize bioavailability and solubility for their varying cannabinoid-infused products. AgraFlora Organics’ commitment to innovation continues to put them at the top of cannabis stocks to watch moving forward.

A REIT Pot Stock to Watch

Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR Stock Report)  is arguably the most famous REIT in the marijuana stock market. The company operates by purchasing and then leasing out facilities for those who wish to grow cannabis. Because they have managed to lease out all of their owned spaces, the company has remained consistently profitable.

The last week or so has quite the amount of growth which has attracted a large amount of investor attention. One of the key things to note is that they also provide a return for investors in the form of a dividend. All of this adds up to a very interesting marijuana stock to watch for the future of the ancillary cannabis market.

In one of the first looks at how legalizing marijuana affects neighborhood crime rates, a new study revealed a drop in crime in areas that have a dispensary, according to Marijuana Moment. 

The results of the study published in the journal Regional Science and Urban Economics last week indicated that the opening of a dispensary in a Denver neighborhood resulted in a 19% decline in crime.

“The results imply that an additional dispensary in a neighborhood leads to a reduction of 17 crimes per month per 10,000 residents, which corresponds to roughly a 19 percent decline relative to the average crime rate over the sample period,” the researchers said.

The data was compiled from January 2013 until December 2016 in the Colorado capital, which researchers described as “the clear mecca of recreational marijuana sales” in the state. 

A majority of the crimes that dropped were nonviolent in nature, the study’s authors noted, including trespassing, public disorder, and simple assault. The results, they add, “are robust to many alternative specifications, are unique to time periods after legalization, and diminish quickly over space.” 

Moreover, the researchers underlined that their own findings are consistent with theories that legal weed pushes out criminal organizations and that there is, in fact, no link between marijuana use and criminal behavior.

“The results show no evidence supporting theories that marijuana dispensaries increase local cannabis crimes (since we do not find increases in marijuana crimes such as cultivation, possession, or sales nearby) or that dispensaries increase crimes through increased intoxication […],” researchers concluded.

This conclusion falls in line with the findings of another study concerned with the effects of legalizing medical marijuana from last year. The research showcased a reduction in drug-related violence in US states that border Mexico that legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes as the need to smuggle drugs into the country declines.

Cannabis was legalized for recreational use in Colorado in January 2014. Legal pot sales in the state amounted to $1.2 billion in 2018, while studies conducted after legalization showed that drug use among teenagers fell as legal weed kicked off.

The Barbados government has promised to give members of the Rastafarian movement at least 60 acres of land for its members to grow marijuana legally.
Agriculture Minister Indar Weir, speaking in parliament on Friday, is also promising the group that it would play a major role in establishing a medicinal cannabis industry.
Weir said the government has met on numerous occasions with at least two groups representing the Rastafarian community and agreed they would be included in the industry.

“There have been absolutely good cooperation between myself at the Ministry and potential interest groups; I speak to the Rastafarian movement of Barbados.
“I have met with two different groups and I want to make it clear that we have indicated to them that they will be a part of this industry and that every effort will be made to make sure they are included, so we did consult with them,” he said, noting that the latest round of talks this week dealt “how we would go forward and in terms of how we can work together.
“We have already made provisions for them to have access to land as well so that 60 acres of land being made available in Barbados to the Rastafarian community is the first step towards ensuring that they will not be left out of this.”
Earlier this week, the president of the African Heritage Foundation, Paul Ras Simba Rock, urged the Mia Mottley government to allow Rastafarians to use marijuana for religious purposes.

But Weir told legislators that the proposed legislation spoke only to the use of medicinal cannabis.
“I feel the responsibility to make sure that we make it absolutely clear that what we are dealing with here is medicinal cannabis and we ought not to introduce the confusion that most people seem to be going through with regard to what is the decriminalization of recreational cannabis.
“In presenting this to the Cabinet of Barbados, I also raised that we ought to be very, very, clear with this conversation.”
In his presentation on the Medical Cannabis Bill 2019, Weir said that Barbadians would benefit from the establishment of a medical cannabis industry and that any foreign investors interested in becoming involved in the industry would have to allow Barbadians to own 30 percent of its business.
“This is designed to make sure every last Barbadian is given a chance to participate. We’re not just singling out one group, but that every group that has an interest will be part of this industry.

Weir also gave the assurance that the industry would be heavily monitored, with a solid and strict licensing regime. He said licences will be required for cultivation, research and development, laboratory, processing, retail and distribution, import and export and transport.
The bill contains criminal sanctions for misuse of the drug. These include a fine of 15 times the value of the medicinal cannabis, imprisonment of ten years, or both.

Meanwhile, leader of the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Verla DePeiza, is brushing aside the government’s “conversation” regarding the marijuana industry.

She told the Barbados TODAY online publication, legalization of medicinal marijuana should have occurred as early as the 1970s and cautioned the government to tread carefully as it attempted to dispense its most recent piece of legislation on the matter.
“The words pharmacy and dispensary both appear in the legislation. The word ‘pharmacy’ is defined in the Pharmacy Act and requires a license, a professional designation and all of that. But what is a dispensary, especially since the Pharmacy Act also has something separate called a dispensary?” she asked.

According to DePeiza, any “confusion” on such important parts of the legislation could have dangerous consequences.
“We need to be really clear about what we are intending to do. If at this stage we are only talking about its medicinal purposes, then it needs to be managed by the medical profession. If we are speaking about commercial enterprise, then that is another story,” she added.

As governments around the world are increasingly allowing the Cannabis argument onto the agenda, the conversation has become about more than just medical or recreational. The uses of Hemp – the Cannabis plant that doesn’t get you high – have long been neglected.

However, this versatile plant is finally beginning to get the credit it deserves. With usesranging from construction materials and fuel to biodegradable plastics, Hemp could be a significant player in reducing the world’s carbon emissions.

With an astonishing amount of petroleum-derived plastics being spilled into the oceans and landfills every year, people are increasingly questioning if there could be a better way. Plant bioplastics could offer a more sustainable alternative, and Hemp plastics could be a frontrunner.

The Global Plastic Problem

Global plastic production has seen a steady increase year-on-year since its invention in the 1960s. In 2015, as production reached an all-time high, it was estimated that 381 million tonnes were produced. Of this, only 19.5% was recycled, leaving 25.5% being incinerated, and 55% to be ‘discarded’. Unfortunately, the rather neatly termed ‘discarded’ means that it was either sent to landfill or ended up in the ocean.

Despite a steady increase in recycling since the 1980s, the industry remains massively unsustainable. Mainstream plastics, most of which are produced from petroleum, can take between 400 and 1,000 years to degrade, and it is estimated that there are already 150 million metric tonnes in the ocean.

What are Plant Bioplastics?

Before the commercial boom of modern plastics, plant bioplastics were in circulation from 1912 onwards. These were made from cellulose from plants like corn, cotton, and Hemp. In comparison to modern petrochemical plastics which can take 1,000 years to degrade, bioplastics can degrade naturally in just a few months.

These cellulose bioplastics thrived until the 60s (cellophane was named after the cellulose that it was originally made from). However, the scale of production was minute in comparison to the modern plastics industry,

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Why Hemp Plastic?

Bioplastics can be made from a wide variety of plants. However, few of these plants grow as fast as Hemp. Hemp can reach a height of five feet in just a few weeks and has been known to reach 20 feet in months. This means that a large amount of product can be harvested relatively quickly. In comparison to one hectare of cotton, the same area of Hemp can produce two or three times more fibre, annually.

The Cannabis plant can also help to reduce pollution further. Not only does it not require pesticides or herbicides to grow, but it is also one of the most effective carbon dioxide stores on the planet. In fact, it is thought to absorb more CO2 per hectare than any other commercial crop or forestry.

Hemp also improves growing conditions for other crops. It can shade out weeds, and improve soil health by locking in nitrogen and even toxic metals. Hemp was even used to help clean up the nuclear spill at Chernobyl.

In comparison to corn – another effective product for plant bioplastics – Hemp reduces food waste. Corn is a valuable food source, so it would make little sense to harvest it for plastic production, rather than food. Hemp, however, does not have this problem.

All parts of the Hemp plant can also be put to further use. This includes the seed oil, which can be converted into anything from biofuel to cosmetics products. The ‘hurd’ can also be used in construction as a green alternative to concrete. The fibre has also been used to create textiles for thousands of years.

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Halted Progress

Despite being a more sustainable way to satisfy our need for plastics, innovators are yet to find a cost-competitive way to produce them. In the case of Hemp plastics, this could be partially down to the prohibition of Cannabis, which took hold internationally in the 1920s and 30s. However, there is some hope that technology will catch up.

Many large companies are now investing in the possibility of replacing their synthetic plastic products with bio-plastics. One of the largest toy companies in the world, Lego, has recently joined this list. The company announced that it was exploring the possibility of replacing its synthetic plastic bricks, with a Hemp alternative.

A Fair Comparison

Producing plastics from plant sources is more expensive than its synthetic counterpart. But, this may not remain true for long. Researchers have found that the cost of producing bioplastics is reducing, as the cost of petroleum – which most plastics are made from – is increasing. The companies that succeed in finding a more cost-effective method of producing bioplastics also stand to make millions, as demand for the technology increases.

It would be naive to suggest the Hemp could solve all of our plastic woes. Plastics made from plants would not be a viable option for all products. However, plant bioplastics do have the potential to massively reduce our plastic issue. Replacing single-use plastics with Hemp-derived plastic would decrease both plastic waste and our carbon emissions.