When it comes to global cannabis policy, the United States has set the tone for many decades.

Cannabis was first prohibited in the United States in 1937, and since that time the U.S. has imposed its reefer madness will on the rest of the global community.

Many countries have willingly gone along with the U.S.’s push for continued prohibition, however, it’s a safe assumption that some nations would have preferred to take a more sensible approach, yet refrained from doing so out of fear of backlash from the U.S.

A House of Representatives committee voted on Wednesday to approve a bill that would allow researchers to conduct studies using marijuana produced in compliance with regulations in states with legal cannabis. The vote marks the first time a congressional committee has approved a measure to allow scientists to use marijuana produced from sources other than those authorized by the federal government.

A new U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) interim rule about CBD and hemp manufacturing has sown distress and confusion in the federally legal industry.

Operators say the rule makes it effectively impossible to produce CBD products legally. On his blog, North Carolina cannabis lawyer Rod Kight wrote that the new rule “threatens to destroy” the industry.

ARTICLE BY: HILARY BRICKEN

Comments from a top Biden-Harris aide show how the Democratic presidential ticket has prioritized cannabis reform ahead of the 2020 election. The potential administration wants to establish pre-emptive criminal justice reform and that includes cannabis records, senior advisor to Biden Symone Sanders said in a recent interview.

Two congressmen have introduced a bill that would allow cannabidiol (CBD) and other hemp-derived products to be sold as dietary supplements in the U.S. as manufacturers still await federal regulation regarding the use of CBD in food. 

The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 was announced by Representatives Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Morgan Griffith of Virginia last week. 

The USDA has decided it wants to hear from those in the industry with regards to proposed regulations now that they have gone through the 2020 growing season. The comment period for the interim final rule published on October 31, 2019, at 84 FR 58522, has been reopened. Comments must be received by October 8, 2020. The agency noted that people who were dealt with the regulatory requirements during 2020 could now comment on those requirements.

Researchers at Kansas State University have recently earned a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to study hemp in cattle feed.

The $200,000 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will help the researchers determine the concentrations of cannabinoids in livestock after exposure to industrial hemp.

While hemp is federally legal, it needs approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA-CVM) as well as the Association of American Feed Control.

Canada and the U.S. currently generate a majority of the cannabis industry’s revenue. While both countries are significant factors as the market matures, other nations will take up a share as well.

For example, Mexico, New Zealand and several other countries are considering adult use legalization, and could assume their place in the global market.

Several cannabis industry experts told Benzinga that several regions and nations are already ones to keep an eye on when tracking the global marijuana growth.

Pesticides can be found on pretty much anything that’s grown these days. There’s an ongoing battle brewing regarding the dangers of these sprays to human health, with a growing collection of evidence in the negative category. Where does cannabis fit into all this? And what can you expect to have sprayed on your buds?