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The company that owns the UK’s biggest cannabis production site for use in pharmaceuticals has called for changes to immigration policy following labour shortages after it was excluded from a visa scheme for farm workers.

Peter Watson, agriculture director of British Sugar — which grows cannabis for use in epilepsy medicines at Wissington in Norfolk — blamed the recruitment problems on the rules of the seasonal agricultural workers’ scheme.

The labour problems come as investments in cannabis companies soar after several countries, including the UK, legalised the use of medicines using extracts from the plant.

For cannabis operators, being compliant and efficient at the same time often feels like an impossible feat.

This is especially true for cultivators, who must go to great lengths to ensure their cannabis is both high-quality and produced within the constructs of the laws of their individual state. 

In 2017, Matt Mayberry, Karen Mayberry, and Benjamin Wong (all passionate cannabis advocates) were exploring a foray into the legal market when they discovered the multitude of issues producers were facing.

One of the main challenges was the archaic systems being used for the vast amount of data needing to be collected for regulators.

The implementation of a seed-to-sale tracking system for medical marijuana products in Oklahoma has been delayed by a lawsuit that seeks to transfer the costs of the program to the state. In April, the rollout of the program was postponed until the end of June by a Okmulgee County judge in the case brought by a group of medical marijuana businesses.

Despite most states legalizing cannabis in some form, it is still federally illegal. So many banks, credit unions, and lenders refuse to conduct business with licensed cannabis companies out of fear of federal retaliation.

On a farm in southeastern Kentucky, inside a pristine greenhouse, you’ll find row after row of hemp, or "Cannabis sativa L.” 

It has a high level of cannabidiol, or CBD, and a very low level of the compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, this is the compound that makes people high. 

David Jaggers is the director of cultivation for Buffalo Skull Ranch Greenhouse, which started operating in March of 2020.

"Kentucky law allows for hemp to be grown up to 0.3% THC," he said. "After that, it’s considered marijuana and it gets destroyed." 

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture tests the hemp grown there, he said. 

Since the eruption of altcoins, the crypto space has experienced a wide variety of wonders and unexpected events. Smart contracts, Lighting network, DeFi, scams, bubbles and failed projects to name some of the most obvious. In the midst of this frenzy, a fascinating concept appeared: Cannabis Crypto. 

Some view these tokens as a possible solution to the cannabis industry’s banking problem that stems from the DEA's outdated Schedule I status of marijuana as a controlled substance thus making it impossible for the entire industry to access banking institutions, essentially forcing cannabis companies to operate outside of insured banking systems.

The regulatory body currently overseeing Ohio’s medical marijuana program has now instituted new rules governing the use of Delta-8 THC, the popular, yet controversial, compound that has been known to yield similar effects to regular weed.

The rules, via the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program, are intended to provide “guidance to licensees regarding the production, distribution and sale of medical marijuana products containing Delta-8 THC,” the agency said.

2 Top Marijuana Stocks To Add To Your June 2021 Watchlist

The current trading for marijuana stocks has started to look better over the last month. At the start of May, cannabis stocks were still trading down. However, towards the second week of trading marijuana stocks started to show signs of volatility.

Will The Cannabis Banking Bill Pass In 2021

A big push from those who are sponsoring a Senate bill to defend banks is pressing a key chairman to put the SAFE Act to a vote. The purpose of the cannabis banking bill is to allow financial institutions the ability to work with marijuana businesses. This would be done without the fear of dealing with federal regulators

Investors weren't impressed by the company's latest earnings, to put it mildly.

What happened

Canadian cannabis purveyor HEXO (NYSE:HEXO) has been a dud over the last few days, with its shares falling by 12% week to date as of Thursday's market close. Marijuana stocks are generally volatile, and HEXO's latest earnings report wasn't its greatest.

So what

HEXO published its third-quarter results on Monday. It booked 22.7 million Canadian dollars ($18.4 million) in total revenue. This was only 2% higher on a year-over-year basis; worse, it was 31% lower quarter over quarter.

Experts and business say it's still too difficult to access.

Five years after landmark legal changes, Australian companies say the market is finally reaching a point where providing people safe and easy access to cannabis is actually possible.

In the US, where the legal frameworks around production and sale differ by state, the projected market value for medical cannabis is estimated to exceed US$13 billion by 2025.

While Australia has progressed — albeit slowly — since medical cannabis products became legal, experts believe there’s a fine line between a well-regulated market and one that’s keeping a now-legal product from those for whom it could benefit.

2 Marijuana Stocks That Investors Are Keeping An Eye On

Marijuana stocks over the last few days have displayed a bit more volatility. This has led the sector to face a pullback in trading. Yet even with a slight dip in trading overall more momentum is entering the market for marijuana stocks. As for those who have watched the market close you know the last 3 and a half months have been a rough period. This is because the entire sector essentially began to drop significantly in trading.

If you're looking for a top pot stock to invest in, your search needs to start in the U.S. cannabis market, which boasts many fast-growing companies that are performing incredibly well and that could be excellent buys for years to come.

While The Hemp Mine’s annual field day usually puts the company’s latest genetic offerings on display, this year’s field day will have a twist. 

The Hemp Mine, a vertically integrated hemp CBD business in South Carolina, and Davis Hemp Farms, a seed breeding and producing company based in Oregon, are partnering to create a pheno-hunting process during The Hemp Mine’s field day to help growers pick the best genetics based on appearance, growth structure, hardiness, terpene profile, trichomes and peak maturity, according to SiraNaturals.

Industrial hemp growers in Tennessee are required to renew their licenses with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) by June 30, 2021.

“Hemp continues to be an important crop in Tennessee,” Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “The marketplace is evolving and growers are finding new ways to use and market their crop. We want to see the industry flourish, and TDA has abundant resources to make sure growers have what they need.”

New applications are accepted year-round and expire June 30. New applicants and renewing applicants must submit an application, license fees, and required documentation. If a renewal application and payment are not received by the deadline, the grower’s license will expire June 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

Hemp has a bright future in Ireland, but government obstacles are reportedly standing in the way.

Sinn Féin is a republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, says hemp cultivation can help farmers supplement their income in a more environmentally way.

“Uses for hemp include building material for houses, paper, clothes, heating oil and as a plastic alternative,” he said. “There is also an increasing demand for CBD health products, extracted by various approved methods from Hemp, both in Ireland and internationally.”

Just as the summer travel season kicks off, at the tail end of pandemic isolation no less, states and countries that allow recreational marijuana use are vying to be the next hotbed for cannabis tourism.