News analysis for professionals in the cannabis industry

Regulatory body in place, Lebanon looks to enter international cannabis market

Written by Anthony Traurig | 29th August 2025

The Lebanese government is looking for an economic boost and believes that cannabis can provide just that by unlocking the potential of hemp and medical cannabis ...

Argentina closes its cannabis regulatory agency less than three years after launch

Written by CannIntelligence | 29th July 2025

Argentina closed its medical cannabis and hemp regulatory agency this month, publishing a decree that justified the move as a way to avoid “administrative redundancies and excessive costs” ...

Texas governor defends veto of THC ban affecting largest US cannabinoid market

Written by Freddie Dawson | 4th July 2025

Texas Republican governor Greg Abbott will call legislators in for a special July session after his surprise veto of a Republican bill that would have effectively eliminated the largest cannabinoid market in the US ...

CBD shops in Italy vow to remain open despite government ban on hemp flower

Written by CannIntelligence | 18th June 2025

A security decree banning the sale of hemp flower in Italy has come into effect, but many business operators say they intend to continue their activities ...

Tariffs to raise costs in US cannabinoid sector, even though core products spared

Written by Freddie Dawson | 7th May 2025

Although no US tariffs have been levied on imports of medical cannabis or hemp-derived cannabinoid products, pretty much anything else used with cannabinoid products will increase in price ...

Italy’s top court rules that oral CBD products are prescription drugs

Written by CannIntelligence | 30th April 2025

Italy’s Regional Administrative Court (TAR) has dismissed an appeal challenging the Ministry of Health’s decree to classify oral CBD products as narcotics ...

Italy’s looming CBD ban triggers fears of a potential shutdown of its hemp industry

Written by CannIntelligence | 9th April 2025

Italy’s government has invoked its emergency powers to issue a decree on security matters, The new decree includes a ban on the import, processing, distribution and sale of CBD flowers, also known as “cannabis light”...

A look at the latest academic studies on cannabinoids and cannabis compounds

Written by Freddie Dawson | 28th February 2025

Knowledge about cannabinoids and other cannabis compounds continues to inch forward, but though most recent major reported studies have been positive, that has not universally been the case ...

How might Trump’s confirmed nominees and his US DEA pick impact the industry?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 18th February 2025

The nomination of Terrance Cole as head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is unlikely to be great overall for either the cannabis or intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid (IHDC) industries ...

Do US cannabis companies need to resort to drastic measures to stay in business?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 31st January 2025

Cannabis companies have been pushing the envelope of acceptable marketing and business practices by insinuating unproven benefits for their products while also looking to create the strongest goods possible ...

Germany’s 2025 elections: cannabis legalisation and coalition scenarios

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 16th January 2025

As Germany heads towards its national elections on 23rd February, cannabis legalisation has emerged as one of the most divisive and closely watched issues on the political stage ...

How Italy’s ban on driving with any THC in the body could affect the hemp industry

Written by CannIntelligence | 13th January 2025

Under a new law, cannabis users driving on Italian roads could find themselves in legal trouble when stopped by the authorities, even if they are not under the influence at the time ...

US rescheduling, Brazil’s hemp hopes, and the status quo for cannabis in 2025

Written by Freddie Dawson | 8th January 2025

Rescheduling of cannabis in the US will headline a somewhat slow slate of regulatory changes in 2025, CannIntelligence predicts, while much of the remaining positivity for cannabis revolves around the status quo being maintained ...

How did we do? CannIntelligence’s predictions for 2024 under review

Written by Freddie Dawson | 31st December 2024

We look back at predictions CannIntelligence published at the start of 2024 to see how well we did in calling events that would occur in the cannabis sector throughout the year ...

On the latest Trump picks for attorney general and to head FDA and agriculture

Written by Freddie Dawson | 12th December 2024

The ever-changing make-up of US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for posts in his administration – still far from set in stone – offers a few new options that will impact on cannabis and hemp ...

How might newly elected US governors approach cannabis laws in their states?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 19th November 2024

Not a single US state governorship flipped parties during the elections held on 5th November despite strong gains in the Senate for the Republican party, as well as the party’s victory in the presidential election...

IHDCs are legal under US federal law, according to appeals court case ruling

Written by Freddie Dawson | 16th September 2024

A US federal circuit appeals court has affirmed the legality of “synthetically derived” hemp cannabinoids, rejecting interpretations by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (IHDCs) in the process ...

Could Italy’s latest attempt at banning hemp be the one that hits its mark?

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 8th August 2024

After a few back-and-forths, Italian authorities may actually kill the country’s CBD sector by simply passing a minor amendment to a major soon-to-be-approved bill, banning hemp flower and its extracts regardless of their THC content...

Italian amendment reintroduced that could leave CBD, hemp sector in ruins

Written by CannIntelligence | 6th August 2024

The proposed and withdrawn amendment to ban CBD products in Italy has reappeared as part of a bill aimed at enhancing public safety and combating crime ...

Florida governor’s veto on IHDC ban bill: good news for hemp or playing politics?

Written by CannIntelligence | 3rd July 2024

Florida’s governor last month vetoed a bill that would have banned most intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid (IHDC) products and limited the amount of total delta-9 THC in hemp products ...

Germany expected to eliminate hemp ‘intoxication clause’ from cannabis law

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 7th June 2024

An announced withdrawal of a law clause stating that the commercial use of industrial hemp must exclude “the abuse of intoxication” could have a significant impact on the German cannabis industry if approved ...

Italy’s right-wing government may end up banning hemp, putting a sector at risk

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 31st May 2024

Italy may soon ban hemp flowers and hemp flower extracts with a THC content of less than 0.2%, as the country’s far-right government takes a conservative stance on cannabis ...

The long road to EFSA authorisation for CBD as novel food in the European Union

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 20th May 2024

In June 2022, the European Food Safety Authority broke some very bad news to CBD companies applying for their products to be authorised as novel food in the European Union ...

Malawi’s legalisation of medical cannabis leaves Rasta community ‘disappointed’

Written by CannIntelligence | 13th May 2024

Malawi has legalised the cultivation of a potent local variety of cannabis for industrial and medicinal use but maintained the criminal status of its recreational use – raising concerns among the Rastafarian community ...

The uncertain fate of IHDCs in Europe: could a general ban be on the horizon?

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 12th April 2024

In this part of a series of articles celebrating the tenth anniversary of Tamarind Intelligence, we look at how the landscape of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (IHDCs) across Europe has changed over the years ...

What’s in store for cannabis regulation? Looking at 2024 with cautious optimism

Written by Freddie Dawson | 10th January 2024

Cannabis rather than hemp will see the primary regulatory changes in 2024, CannIntelligence predicts, with moves coming in the US, Thailand, Germany and France, among others ...

Argentina’s cannabis industry hopes Milei won’t swing the policy pendulum

Written by CannIntelligence | 21st December 2023

The election of libertarian Javier Milei is causing as much worry as optimism in Argentina’s cannabis industry, which hopes for a commitment to the continuity of current public policies ...

22nd Century sells its hemp/cannabis business to cut debt and operating costs

Written by Freddie Dawson | 29th November 2023

US-based 22nd Century will sell its hemp/cannabis subsidiary, GVB Biopharma, to an entity affiliated with current GVB employees and will use the sale proceeds to pay off debt and further deleverage its balance sheet ...

Extension of Farm Bill coverage to 2024 means good news for the US hemp sector

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 27th November 2023

US hemp farmers will be able to continue operating under the 2018 Farm Bill framework until the end of September next year, as stopgap funding was approved and signed into law by president Joe Biden...

Weaker demand for hemp and cannabis products impacts 22nd Century’s revenue

Written by Freddie Dawson | 7th November 2023

22nd Century reported decreased revenues for the third quarter of 2023 and blamed demand challenges in its hemp/cannabis product distribution business, although this still represents the biggest part of its net revenue ...

CBD regulatory progress in US Congress grinds to a halt in partisan gridlock

Written by CannIntelligence | 18th October 2023

Partisan gridlock continues to keep Congress from clarifying the regulatory framework for CBD. Even as the Biden administration moves to reschedule cannabis, Congress punts CBD issues back and forth with the FDA ...

EIHA and German hemp organisations urge government to fine-tune legislation

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 3rd October 2023

As the German government pushes ahead with its work creating a new legal framework for cannabis in the country, hemp and cannabis associations are urging politicians to fine-tune the current draft of the legislation ...

Struggling industry blames FDA as Canadian companies leave US market

Written by CannIntelligence | 7th September 2023

Another major Canadian cannabinoid company is leaving the US market amid concerns over the regulatory environment some say the US Food and Drug Administration has caused ...

Argentina paves the way for the long-awaited launch of its hemp industry

Written by Sergi Riudalbàs Clemente | 9th August 2023

The Argentine government has finally put enough flesh on the bones of its laws to allow the development of a hemp industry and expansion of its medical cannabis sector ...

Right wing’s rapid U-turn – government keeps Italy guessing on hemp flowers

Written by CannIntelligence | 5th July 2023

A proposal by Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition to regulate the sale of hemp flowers was met with some surprise – and was withdrawn, without explanation, less than 24 hours after being put forward ...

Revised German cannabis plan triggers black market fears, disappoints firms

Written by CannIntelligence | 30th May 2023

The German government has scaled back its plan to establish a national commercial recreational cannabis market with a two-part reform framework that would legalise possession, home cultivation and cannabis clubs ...

Value of US industrial hemp harvest drops by more than two-thirds in a year

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 23rd May 2023

Hemp production in the US suffered a major decline last year, with the planted area shrinking by 48% against 2021 and the total value of the harvested crop falling by 71% ...

Czech government stops ban on CBD-containing food products before it starts

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 22nd May 2023

The Czech government will no longer go forward with a proposed measure to ban sales of food products containing CBD which was due to come into effect in mid-June ...

Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice takes cannabis decision out of politicians’ hands

Written by CannIntelligence | 3rd May 2023

While politicians leave the question unanswered, the growing and importing of low-THC cannabis for medical and industrial uses could become legal in Brazil through a decision by the country's most senior judges ...

Could the Czech Republic’s major IHDC market end with a ban on HHC sales?

Written by CannIntelligence | 24th April 2023

The Ministry of Health in the Czech Republic has unveiled plans to ban the sale of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) this July, triggering criticism from local industry insiders ...

Has a wording error in a new law just banned hemp in Arkansas?

Written by Anthony Traurig | 20th April 2023

Arkansas may have inadvertently banned hemp with the passage of a bill that was intended to prohibit the production and sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products but went much further ...

Virginia is currently not for cannabis lovers as politics come into play

Written by CannIntelligence | 20th March 2023

A hemp industry under threat, a recreational cannabis market in limbo, and an uncertain political climate have left the future of cannabis in Virginia unclear and many grappling with the fallout of recent legal activity...

Mayhem in Mexico as agency grants firm hemp licence then vows to take it back

Written by CannIntelligence | 16th March 2023

A firm that was granted permission to grow and make products from industrial hemp in Mexico was immediately warned by regulators that they would appeal against their own decision ...

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