From L.A. Biz –

Los Angeles cannabis company Vertical Cos. said it’s raised $58 million in a Series A round of financing.

The company said it’s now raised a total of $65 million in the past five years and is getting ready to spin off its hemp-based cannabidiol (“CBD”) assets — Vertical Wellness — later this year.

Investors in the latest round of financing include cannabis industry private equity fund Merida Capital Partners. Other investors, Vertical said, include “numerous global business leaders, including significant players in the alcohol distribution and brand space.”

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By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Business –

The CBD gold rush has begun.

CBD, the chemical found in hemp and marijuana plants, is showing up in shampoos, lattes, body oils, gummy bears and dog treats. It’s being sold in coffee shops and farmer’s markets, mom-and-pops and high-end department stores and most recently, drugstore chain CVS.

“Literally overnight, you’re seeing CBD all around you and in everything,” said Troy Dayton, CEO of The Arcview Group, an Oakland, California-based cannabis investment and research firm. “This is a product that is going from relative obscurity to being on everyone’s mind: producers, consumers and especially entrepreneurs.”

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By Griffin Thorne • Attorney at Harris Bricken

We have been closely following California’s commercial hemp cultivation licensing law since it was proposed last year as Senate Bill 1409 (see here, here, and here). In March, I wrote about some of the roadblocks to implementing SB-1409’s commercial hemp cultivation programs, and the lengthy review process of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (“CDFA”) regulation which would allow hemp cultivators to register with their county agricultural commissioners.

The CDFA’s regulation was recently approved, and as of April 30, 2019, the CDFA posted applications for registration for commercial hemp cultivation and hemp seed breeders (see here and here respectively).  It looks like these respective apps will not be submitted to the CDFA directly, but will instead be provided to county agricultural commissioners in the county in which a cultivator or seed breeder wishes to cultivate hemp.

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By Javier Hasse • Contributor, Forbes Magazine –

As the cannabis industry grows, people and companies from other trades are rapidly migrating toward it. From Fortune 500 execs to former politicians, and from banks to beer makers, smart money seems to want a piece of the green rush.

However, it is not usual to hear that a cannabis-focused company is venturing outside of the cannabis arena. Yet, this is what CannaRegs, co-founded by Amanda Ostrowitz, former regulator at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, is about to do.

As Ostrowitz revealed exclusively today, Regs Technology – or RegsTech for short, the parent company to CannaRegs, which operates a data platform that provides comprehensive cannabis-related legal data, including rules and regulations from municipal, county, state and federal sources, just closed a $2 million funding round. Money will be used to expand the company’s services and features, as well as to take a leap outside the cannabis industry. The raise will be announced later on Tuesday.

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