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Florida ag department now regulating hemp and CBD products with new rules, permits

Agriculture officials in Florida are now tracking and regulating CBD and hemp products, a change prompted by a state law that took effect Jan. 1.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversee products containing hemp and CBD ingredients that are consumed by humans and animals.

They also manage the regulatory structure for hemp production.

South Dakotans to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana in November election

South Dakotans will vote this year on whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years and older.

Secretary of State Steve Barnett said Monday his office has validated a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older and require the state Legislature to enact a hemp cultivation law.

Barnett said his office found the petition had enough valid signatures to put the proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot. A constitutional amendment requires 33,921 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

American pot is the gold standard. But Canada leads the export game — for now.

Canada has emerged as the dominant exporter in the burgeoning global trade of marijuana, which ArcView Market Research and BDS Analytics estimated at $14.9 billion in sales for 2019

In a large warehouse, LivWell Enlightened Health feeds its cloned cannabis plants a custom blend of nutrients, sprays them with filtered water and pumps extra carbon dioxide into the air. LivWell releases three types of insects to clear the plants of unwanted pests without the use of toxic pesticides.

Maine hemp farmers want relaxed THC rules, lower fees

The state wants to change the way it differentiates hemp from marijuana to echo stricter federal guidelines.

Farmers are speaking out against Maine’s plan to adopt stricter, more costly hemp farming rules, urging state agriculture officials to lower licensing costs and not change how they measure the small amount of psychoactive element found in this cannabis crop.

Missouri's New Medical Marijuana Industry Puts Banks In A Tough Spot

Robbie Guard sees a green opportunity in Missouri’s newest industry — medical marijuana.

He runs the Cape Girardeau office for MRV Banks. The 13-year-old institution has just three locations along the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. 

As a relatively young bank with a small footprint, it struggles to bring in new accounts. Guard hopes the newly legal medical marijuana industry will change that. 

‘It’s a lot happening all at once’: Illinois shops run out of marijuana just six days after start of legalization

Tens of thousands of people lined up outside eight dispensaries in Chicago to buy recreational marijuana during the first week of legal sales, but at the ninth store selling the newly legal drug, there were no lines.

Dispelling Banking Myths In The Cannabis Industry

For the past five years, I’ve worked in a business development role in the cannabis space. As a result, I have been fortunate to gain a unique, front-line perspective on what is really happening. One of the most surprising things I’ve learned in that time is how much misinformation is out there. My job has been just as much about educating potential partners as it has been about working toward solving their problems. With so much confusion about the cannabis industry, let me take a moment to dispel some banking myths.