b'CANNABIS CHRONICLES4/19: A RED-LETTER DAY FOR HEMPWith its latest list of approved cultivars, Health Canada has opened the door to a new era.Marc ZienkiewiczFOR JAN SLASKI,April 19, 2021, will forever be the day thatNow, the Canadian hemp industry has access to varie-changed the hemp industry in Canada for the better. ties that produce as much as 14 per cent CBD, many times It was that day Health Canada released its updated listhigher than the varieties they previously had to work of approved hemp cultivars, and the new additions arewith, which were in the 2 per cent range.significant. This is extremely important because now, finally, we Its a game changer. For years farmers have beencan fully take advantage of what is a multipurpose crop, able to grow hemp for food and cosmetics and fibre, butSlaski says.these other opportunities have been missing. Its really the dawn of a new era for us, says Slaski, principalCannabinoid Crazeresearcher at InnoTech Alberta.Since the new Health Canada list was issued on April 19, That other opportunity, of course, is cannabidiolAlberta-based Tritium 3H announced two major deals that (CBD) production. will allow them to bring significant new CBD genetics to For nearly 20 years, Slaski has been leading researchthe Canadian market.aimed at introduction and breeding of hemp varietiesSpecializing in hemp variety testing and commerciali-that suit the needs of the fibre and food industries on thezation of industrial hemp varieties, Tritium 3H announced Prairies. Now, his breeding program is able to work in aan exclusive three-year license agreement with Colorado-space that holds much promise for breeders, growers, seedbased CW Hemp Supply Co., a division of American CBD companies, patients, recreational cannabis users and more. product brand Charlottes Web. The brand made head-The CBD market is exploding in Canada. A 2020lines in 2013 when news network CNN profiled Charlotte report conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies andFigi, who in 2006 was only months old when she was Democracy at the University of Ottawa estimated the CBDdiagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy market in Canada at $1.9 billion. that starts in infancy.Hemp plants, which are a different strain of cannabis,By the time she was five, she was having 300 seizures can produce CBD without a high THC content. Cannabisa day. Her parents tried a CBD product manufactured containing 0.3 per cent or less of THC is considered hempby Colorado hemp growers the Stanley brotherswho in Canada. would go on to found Charlottes Weband her seizures 8GERMINATION.CASEPTEMBER 2021'