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House lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated with restrictions on federal marijuana research and are putting pressure on regulators to change the rules.

While 33 states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, federal research is extremely restricted.

by Business Wire

Global cannabis sales rose 48% to $15 billion in 2019, driven by growth in sales in Canada and seven U.S. states that saw sales more than double.

Organigram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI) (TSX: OGI), the parent company of Organigram Inc. (the "Company" or "Organigram"), a leading licensed producer of cannabis, is pleased to announce it has secured a supply agreement with Medical Cannabis by Shoppers, the online medical cannabis platform by Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. ("Shoppers").

This agreement reflects the companies’ shared commitment to offering Canadian consumers access to high quality medical cannabis products.

What happened

Shares of several cannabis stocks soared yesterday on news that Democrat and Republican representatives introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products to be marketed as dietary supplements. Charlotte's Web Holdings (OTC:CWBH.F) was the biggest winner, with shares jumping 16.2% as of 2:57 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

Because so many growers joined in, businesses and farmers are now seeing demand for that hemp shrinking.

An initial rush to plant caused a boom in the Tennessee hemp industry, but because so many growers joined in, businesses and local farmers are now seeing demand for that product shrinking. 

Hemp processor and retailer Bluhen Botanicals announced Wednesday it will be facing layoffs and cutbacks due to challenges across the industry. It opened a store in downtown Knoxville last year.

A House panel on Wednesday is set to examine some of the barriers to marijuana research amid a growing disconnect between federal and state policies. 

“There is a chasm between the federal laws and what over 30 states are doing,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) told The Hill in an interview Tuesday.  

Nearly four years have passed since Arizona voters rejected adult-use cannabis legalization—the only one of five states to reject it on the November 2016 ballot. Now advocates in the Grand Canyon State are gearing up again to legalize the plant in late 2020.

A recently published article in the journal Scientific Reports has described the remarkable discovery of a previously unknown cannabinoid. Dubbed THCP, the molecule has been shown to be significantly more potent that its well-known counterpart THC, however, it’s still unclear how psychoactive it is in humans or how present it is in popular cannabis varieties.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Hemp growers and entrepreneurs who were joyous a year ago after U.S. lawmakers reclassified the plant as a legal agricultural crop now are worried their businesses could be crippled if federal policymakers move ahead with draft regulations.

Licenses for hemp cultivation topped a half-million acres (200,000 hectares) last year, more than 450% above 2018 levels, so there's intense interest in the rules the U.S. government is creating. Critical comments on the draft have poured in from hemp farmers, processors, retailers and state governments.