Marijuana Business Magazine September 2018

FROM THE CEO'S DESK T his edition of Marijuana Business Magazine is dedicated to three letters that are increas- ingly important to everyone working in the cannabis industry: C-B-D. Through fate and fortune, through Charlotte Figi and Sanjay Gupta, through the labs of GW Pharmaceuticals, and through lots and lots of public education and lobbying by countless advocates, CBD has been effectively separated in the minds of the general population from its psychoactive sister cannabinoid, THC. Now that CBD has been legitimized in the minds of the mainstream populace, both in the United States and abroad, the question becomes: When will the uncertainty surrounding its legality be fully resolved? Hopefully, that will happen by the time you read this letter. As I write, the 2018 Farm Bill is in the reconciliation process to resolve the differences between the U.S. House of Representa- tives version and the Senate version. The Senate version includes an amendment fully clarify- ing the status of hemp and its extracted products, including CBD. Concurrently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put the ball in the court of the Drug Enforcement Administration with regard to resolving the legal status of CBD, and the DEA has a clock ticking. The agency has until mid-September to announce how it will schedule the seizure medication Epidiolex. Both developments provide clear paths forward – not only for CBD but also for further research into the other cannabinoids derived from cannabis strains with low THC levels. If the DEA opts to reschedule CBD, then CBG, CBN and scores of other cannabinoids will become eligible for much more robust funding to explore what these compounds truly can (and can’t) do. It remains unclear precisely how cannabinoids work, how we can use them more effectively, who specifically they help for what ailments and why they work for some and not others. As cannabis industry professionals have known for a long time: Research is what will move the ball forward toward full legal- ization of the plant. That, at last, will be the next frontier. As you look to chart your own path in the cannabis indus- try, CBD issues will continue to loom large and be a driving force. This edition of the magazine is a great place to learn more – as is The Business of Hemp Summit, to be pre- sented by our sister publication Hemp Industry Daily at the MJBizCon event in Las Vegas on Nov. 13. Consider joining us there or sending a new team member for their crash course in what makes this market so incredibly compelling! Hope to see you there! CBD: The Next Frontier Cassandra Farrington President & CEO, MJBizDaily 8 • Marijuana Business Magazine • September 2018