Curaleaf under fire from FDA after mislabelling CBD products 

Curaleaf Holdings, the largest cannabis company based in the U.S., is under fire from regulators over the labelling of its various CBD products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent the company a letter on Mondaywarning that its lotions, pain-relief patches, tinctures and disposable vape pens are considered drugs and shouldn’t be marketed as a way to treat conditions like pain, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Curaleaf’s shares fell as much as 14 per cent in trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange after the FDA published the letter, although the company’s stock pared back losses in prior to the end of Tuesday’s session. Curaleaf said in a statement it “will work collaboratively with the FDA to resolve all issues addressed” by the agency in its letter.

U.S. Senate committee debates liberalization of federal law to allow for more cannabis-related banking

A U.S. Senate committee met on Tuesday to discuss the passage of legislation that, if passed, would allow cannabis companies operating in the States to do banking or financial service activities without the risk of getting penalized by federal authorities. The chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee concluded that “a case has been made pretty strongly here” to proceed with a vote on the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and that the issue must get resolved, according to Marijuana Moment. However, the chair added that it’s a “very important and complex issue that we need to get right.” Proponents of the legislation say it is much needed to bolster the cannabis industry, mitigate safety risks and help draw U.S.-based banks into the sector.

WeedMD launches new extraction-focused subsidiary 

WeedMD launched a new subsidiary on Tuesday aimed at specializing in extracting, processing and third-party product formulation of next-generation cannabis products. The subsidiary, dubbed CX Industries, will have the capacity to process more than 200,000 kilograms of cannabis when it hits peak production in 2020, and will be based Aylmer, Ont. WeedMD added that the facility will be renovated to meet global standards for manufacturing practices to support compliance for both domestic and international markets.

Y Combinator start-up raises US$2.8M to become “Costco of cannabis”  

One start-up thinks it has a way of enticing black market cannabis growers to move to the light. Flower Co., a graduate of the vaunted Y Combinator program, announced it raised US$2.8 million in early-stage financing to get its “Costco of cannabis” business model off the ground, according to TechCrunch. The startup says its customers could get better deals by working directly with pot growers, cutting out the middle-man and shipping directly to users via a predetermined schedule. “We understand that we’re in the first inning of what’s probably a pretty long game,” the company’s CEO Ted Lichtenberger told the website.