As California’s attorney general from 1999 to 2007, Bill Lockyer was on the inside as the state wrestled with a developing marijuana industry. But these days he’s watching the transformation from the outside, as co-founder of a licensed pot distributor in Lynwood.

On August 19, 2019, the National Credit Union Association (NCUA), a federal agency that regulates, charters, and supervises federal credit unions, released updated guidance on federally-backed credit unions working with hemp-based businesses. The guidelines clarify that credit unions are permitted to offer financial services, including loans, to businesses dealing in the realm of hemp or hemp-based products such as manufacturers, distributors, shippers and retailers, among others. This announcement comes shortly after reports of hemp-based businesses losing access to financial services and credit card processing in recent months.

For more visit Cannabis Business Executive

The legal status of marijuana in a growing number of states poses new challenges for meeting planners.

When Illinois became the 11th state to legalize the recreational use and sale of cannabis this past June, the move was seen by many as a tipping point.

“It’s a major milestone,” said one supporter, predicting that, with the Prairie State on board, this once taboo activity could go mainstream. By January 2020, when the Illinois law goes into effect, 30 percent of the U.S. population will live in a place where it’s legal for adults to possess and consume marijuana for recreational use. It’s also legal in the District of Columbia, and another 22 states permit it for medical purposes only.

Meeting planners were also watching closely. In July, just weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Illinois law, 400 attendees flocked to the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park for the Arcview Investor Forum, a conference designed to bring together aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs and potential investors. Exhibitors displayed everything from CBD “topicals” to cannabis-infused drinks, but no one was there to get high — unless you count the high that comes with nailing a million-dollar deal.

“It’s definitely getting legitimized,” said one attendee from the National Cannabis Industry Association. And when that happens, capital flows in: This nascent industry is already said to be worth more than $10 billion.

Read More at Northstar Meetings Group

LAGUNA HILLS, CA, – Medterra CBD, one of the leading global CBD brands, expands sports and fitness capabilities with major investments in the golf industry by partnering with Worldwide Golf Shops, the parent company to Edwin Watts, Roger Dunn, and some of the most well-known and established golf retail stores in the United States. The growing startup has also signed US Open Major Champion Lucas Glover, 4-time PGA tour winner Charley Hoffman, and Morgan Hoffman as part of their sports ambassadorship program. To further expand their expertise, Medterra hired former Nike Director of Sales, Greg Moore, who has 25 years of golf industry experience to serve as their VP of Sales for the Golf Division.

“We are seeing an increase in the use of CBD in golf athletes and our companies share core values around transparency and are second to none in customer service and expertise,” said Al Morris, CEO of Worldwide Golf. “We’re thrilled that Medterra has found a true partner in Worldwide Golf as CBD becomes more popular and we continue to expand into the golf industry,” said Medterra CBD CEO and co-founder Jay Hartenbach.

Major pharmacy chains were the first national retailers to carry CBD and the industry will start to see more golf and sports-related retailers following suit. Worldwide Golf will be rolling out Medterra products nationwide this month to offer consumers CBD solutions such as Medterra’s MedOil CBD Tinctures, Good Morning CBD Soft-Gels, and CBD Rapid Cooling Cream. A key decision in choosing Medterra was the award of the U.S. Hemp Authority Certification Seal, which recognizes outstanding companies that have met the stringent standards laid out by the hemp industry for quality and safety.

The use of CBD for training and recovery is becoming increasingly popular within the golf community and beyond. Medterra is proud to be represented on the PGA Tour by Lucas Glover, Charley Hoffman, and Morgan Hoffman, all of which have seen the benefit of using Medterra’s CBD Rapid Cooling Cream,  MedOil CBD Tinctures, Good Morning Capsules, and Dissolvable Sleep Tablets as part of their daily regimens.

“The use of Medterra’s high-quality CBD products help get my energy up, stay alert and focused round after round. As a Tour Professional, I can trust Medterra’s THC-free products because they are certified by the U.S. Hemp Authority,” said Charley Hoffman. “We’ve seen fantastic results with these athletes using Medterra products and it’s the next big step for us as a company to move into the golf industry supporting such high caliber athletes,” said Hartenbach.

In addition, Medterra will be participating in their ambassador’s philanthropic initiatives such as Morgan Hoffman’s Foundation, which focuses on leading the race to find a cure for muscular dystrophy (MD).

These initiatives are just the beginning of Medterra CBD’s significant investments in the golf space and sports industry overall. Their mission is to inspire, educate, and enable the golf consumer to perform at their highest potential. For more information, please visit MedterraCBD.com.

ABOUT MEDTERRA CBD, LLC

Medterra provides customers with the highest quality, ultra-pure cannabidiol (CBD) products with zero THC. Medterra’s CBD is extracted from industrial hemp grown in accordance with the strict guidelines of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Hemp Pilot Research Program. Each product is third-party tested to ensure consistency and quality. Medterra is proud to legally provide quality CBD products to customers in all 50 states. For Medterra, follow @medterracbd on Instagram and like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MedterraCBD

By Paul R. La Monica • CNN Business –

April 20 has become the unofficial holiday for marijuana users. So now’s a good time to look at the red hot sector. Cannabis stocks are soaring as the business goes legit.

For decades, though nobody was really sure why, April 20 has been the unofficial holiday for marijuana users and a joke by and about them. Now, though, it’s also a reminder of how quickly marijuana is moving from illegal and a joke to a multi-billion dollar legal business — and a good time for us to take another look at how well cannabis stocks have been doing.

Publicly traded cannabis companies have reported strong sales since Canada legalized pot last October and several U.S. states voted to approve recreational and medical marijuana use.

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U.S. News & World Report –

March 30, 2019 –

COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP) — The Ohio Senate has passed a bill to legalize hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol oil, a move that could create an industrial hemp industry in the state.

The bill, which was unanimously approved on March 28, would allow for cultivation of hemp as long as it contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive active ingredient in marijuana that makes users high. The legislation comes after a 2018 federal farm law reclassified hemp as a commodity rather than a drug.

“It is important to understand that hemp is not marijuana, it is much more versatile and lacks an appreciable amount of THC to cause any psychotropic effects,” Republican Sen. Steve Huffman, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement Thursday. “This is an incredible opportunity for our farmers to help diversify their crops by allowing them to grow legal hemp.”

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