On Monday, the state conducted a public hearing for allowing industrial hemp to be grown commercially in Kansas. Last year, the crop was grown for research purposes.

Unless there are substantial objections to the proposed plan, the ruling should go into effect on or near Jan. 1, 2021. This would mean farmers in Kansas can grow commercial industrial hemp starting next year.

Cannabis is now Maine’s most valuable crop, besting the state’s signature agricultural products such as potatoes, milk and blueberries.

Medical marijuana sales totaled $221.8 million from January through October, more than double what had been sold by this time last year, according to state sales tax figures. That puts the industry on pace to hit $266 million in sales this year despite a global pandemic that has put many Mainers out of work and depressed consumer spending nationwide.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, social equity in the cannabis industry is a hot-button topic. Efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in New York broke down last year primarily over a lack of provisions in pending legislation that gave members of underrepresented communities a clear path into the industry.

Getting a cannabis license and building a brand in the industry can be incredibly complex and daunting – which has many producers utilizing a practice known as white labeling.

White labeling, or white-label branding, is a common practice in mainstream industries in which a company removes their own brand and logo from the end product and uses another company’s brand, usually a more established one with a wider client base. This is common with many well-known brands such as 365 brand from Whole Foods Market, Costco’s Kirkland brand, and Walmart’s Great Value products – all of which are manufactured by numerous other smaller companies.

The cost of cannabis flower has fluctuated throughout the years. 

For many decades the standard cannabis flower that was available in most parts of the world originated in third-world countries, was compressed into bricks, and then distributed to various markets.

The cannabis flower was often low-quality and not that potent, and it was priced accordingly. 

Cannabis was more expensive than other crops due to the illegalities involved, but for the most part it was affordable for many consumers.

The executive in charge of Canopy Growth Corp.'s global beverage unit is leaving less than a year after he joined the company, a high-level departure that comes as the pot giant looks to ramp up sales of cannabis-infused drinks to the Canadian recreational market. 

Andrew Rapsey joined Canopy in January and took on the role of global head of beverages in August. He announced in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday he is leaving the company and plans to return to Alphabet Inc.'s Google in 2021. 

"As I gear up for 2021, I have decided to head back to Google Canada for some unfinished business with a marketing team I adore," Rapsey said in the post. 

California is on pace to collect $1 billion in taxes from licensed cannabis sales in 2020, even amid challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and a still thriving black market for it, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s senior adviser on cannabis business said Thursday.

The rate of legal sales has increased this year, and in the third quarter the state fetched $306.7 million in excise, cultivation and sales taxes, bringing the overall year-to-date total to $777 million, said Nicole Elliot, who delivered the keynote during a virtual regional cannabis conference sponsored by the North Bay Business Journal.

“This puts the industry on track to generate closer to $1 billion this year, which is quite impressive,” Elliot said.