August 20, 2020
In today’s top cannabis news last year’s temporary vape ban continues to create chaos for Massachusetts companies, Pepsi is dipping its toes into the CBD beverage market, and New York State throws up its hands over federal hemp regulations.
The Morning Buzz presented by TRICHOMES brings you late-breaking news that tells you what’s happening within the cannabis industry.
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First today, and this one hurts guys, a Massachusetts Cannabis Company Plans to Destroy $2.6 Million Worth of Vape Products
MJ Biz Daily reports, Massachusetts-based cannabis business Temescal Wellness plans to destroy more than 40,000 vape cartridges, worth $2.6 million, that have sat unused after the state temporarily banned cannabis vaping during the 2019 health crisis linked to vape cartridges.
“People are just not comfortable with these products, and they’re not comfortable with any company that would sell these products,” Temescal chief executive Ted Rebholz told The Boston Globe.
Other cannabis companies in the state might also be destroying product, but the trend is not clear yet. According to the Globe, more than 600,000 cannabis vape pens were taken off retail shelves and held by regulators last September, when Gov. Charlie Baker banned them in response to the health crisis.
Newly made vapes were allowed to be sold in December, under stricter regulations, but the previously held vapes were finally released in August by the state after cannabis companies expressed financial concerns.
State regulators then allowed cannabis companies to either dispose of the products, retest and resell them or dump the oil out of the cartridges and reprocess it.
One of the main concerns pertains to levels of lead, even though lead wasn’t connected to the vape health crisis.
A bigger concern is keeping oil in the hardware too long, which could cause the oil to leach lead from the devices. Tests on that have proved inconclusive.
Do you agree? Would you use one of those vape cartridges if it were re-tested? Comment on this story on TRICHOMES.com
** Pepsi is Teaming up with a CBD Beverage Maker to get Product to the NYC Market
According to Hemp Industry Daily, a New Jersey company that makes CBD-infused seltzers has an agreement with the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York Inc. to get the product in New York City grocery stores and bodegas.
Hillview, a hemp and cannabis producer based in Pequannock (PA-KWON-ACK), New Jersey, says the deal lands it in all five boroughs of New York, plus Long Island and Westchester.
The Kaló branded seltzers contain hemp-derived CBD and retail for $40 per eight-pack.
“Plant-based beverages are extremely innovative and growing fast,” said Reginald Goins, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York’s president and COO.
The distributor is privately held and also distributes Keurig, Dr. Pepper, and Danone products.
** And last up today another story from the Empire State, New York Calls USDA Hemp Rules “Unreasonable” Prompting the State to Not Plan on Regulating the Crop
Calling the federal rules for regulating hemp “unrealistic” and “unreasonable,” New York agriculture authorities say they won’t try to regulate the crop, telling hemp farmers they’ll have to rely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s looming rules on hemp production.
In a letter to farmers, New York Agriculture & Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said that the state is giving up on regulating hemp because the USDA hasn’t changed the regulations to make them easier to administer.
The result is that the USDA, not in-state authorities, will be charged with regulating hemp production in New York after Nov. 1st, when the national rule is set to take effect.
“Many of the requirements concerning the scope and timing of sampling and testing, the disposal of non-compliant plants, and reporting are unrealistic and impose unreasonable burdens on growers and any state interested in administering a compliant program,” Ball wrote in a letter dated Aug. 14.
“Unless the 2014 Farm Bill is extended or the USDA otherwise agrees to change its requirements for the 2021 grow season, it appears that growers interested in cultivating an industrial hemp crop in 2021 will need to apply to USDA for a producer license,” Ball wrote.
The USDA is coming under increasing pressure from state agriculture departments to delay or change the looming hemp rules.
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