Weekly News in Cannabis - April 5th

Bees Enjoy Hemp Plants, New Study Suggests

A new study out of Colorado State University suggests bees have a high affinity for the pollen in hemp plants. Scientists are optimistic this new finding could help naturally increase the declining global bee population and stimulate the growth of hemp.

For this study, researchers placed ten bee traps around a hemp farm in Colorado. After five days, the research team collected these traps and analyzed the different bees found inside.

According to the study data, there were close to 2,000 bees in these ten traps that were of almost 25 different genera. Honeybees were the most common bee genera, but researchers say they also found a few rare bees in their traps.

Study authors entitled this research paper, “Bee diversity and abundance on flowers of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)” and published it in the March 2019 edition of Biomass and Bioenergy.

Police Struggle to Distinguish Hemp from Marijuana At State Borders

Members of the US transport industry are on edge after dozens of drivers have been arrested for attempting to bring hemp across state lines.

Although hemp is legal thanks to the 2018 US Farm Act, it’s difficult for police to tell the difference between this CBD-rich plant and the illegal drug marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are derived from the cannabis plant, so they both look and smell incredibly similar.

The only way to prove whether or not this plant is legal hemp is to test its THC content. THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical in marijuana that gets users “high.” Under US law, hemp must have a THC content of less than 0.3 percent.

This issue is seriously affecting truckers who have to go through states with strict cannabis laws like Idaho. Under Idaho state law, both marijuana and hemp are illegal for both medicinal and recreational use.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration is actively searching for a hi-tech device that could determine a product’s THC content on the spot. As DEA officials and lawmakers scramble to address this issue, however, police are holding millions of dollars worth of hemp as evidence.

New Company in Boulder Touts High-Yielding CBD Extraction Technology

Former executives at Wild Goose Canning have recently partnered with experts in the hemp industry to create a novel CBD extraction technology. Called Hemp Harvest Innovations, this new Boulder-based company believes it can help cannabis manufacturers meet the high global demand for CBD.

After US hemp cultivation was legalized in 2018, the North American CBD market skyrocketed. Unfortunately, cannabis manufacturers are having great difficulty meeting the increasing CBD global demand using current extraction technologies.

Leaders at Hemp Harvest Innovations say their patent-pending extraction method can reliably pull out a high amount of CBD from the hemp plant. Hemp Harvest Innovations’ scientists also claim they didn’t use any harsh chemicals or solvents in their new extraction technology.

High-CBD Haleigh’s Hope is Now Officially Organic

The USDA recently gave the American hemp company Haleigh’s Hope organic certification for its handling processes. This designation makes Haleigh’s Hope the first vertically integrated CBD company to obtain full USDA organic status.

A few months ago, the USDA officially recognized Haleigh’s Hope’s crop as organic. Leaders at Haleigh’s Hope claim these certifications position their company well in the competitive CBD industry.

Haleigh’s Hope is involved in all aspects of hemp cultivation, extraction, and manufacture. The company prides itself on using only organic, non-GMO products to create its namesake high-CBD strain.

This Denver-based company is named after a four-year-old girl named Haleigh Cox who has cerebral palsy. After using this high-CBD strain of cannabis medicinally, Haleigh Cox noticed a vast improvement in epileptic seizures.

Data Service Providers Could Help Improve Cannabis Production

As more US states legalize medical and recreational marijuana, cannabis growers and manufacturers are getting interested in using digital technologies to ramp up production. Recent findings put out by PlanNet, a CA tech services provider, suggest companies that invest in data center technologies could significantly cut operational costs.

Speaking to tech experts at Data Center World, PlanNet executives said various IT technologies could help cannabis cultivators better control indoor growing conditions. A few examples PlanNet gave included automated lighting and watering.

PlanNet claims these data systems tend to result in lower operational costs, higher crop yield, and faster harvest time. Using IT systems also helps cannabis companies better manage their energy output and expenses.

As the marketplace for legal hemp and marijuana expands, PlanNet sees excellent opportunities for data service providers to help cannabis companies meet global demand.