Note: We published a follow up to this article
Leafly’s Bruce Barcott has uncovered some actions taken by GW Pharma (NASDAQ: GWPH) that appear to be part of an effort to limit competition from suppliers of CBD. The company and its U.S. subsidiary, Greenwich BioSciences, have engaged lobbyists in several states and are supporting legislation in South Dakota and Nebraska that would “effectively give GW/Greenwich a temporary monopoly on legal CBD products” in those states for its Epidiolex, which could be on the market in early 2018 if given FDA approval. The language in legislation advancing in both states suggests that CBD would be permitted only from FDA-approved providers.
Barcott names the lobbyists GW Pharma and Greenwich BioSciences have hired in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin and possibly in California. He reached out to GW Pharma for comment but did not yet hear back. If GW Pharma is able to stifle competition, the impact could be significant not only for potential in-state producers of CBD but also companies that sell imported CBD extracted from industrial hemp as well as the rapidly increasing number of providers who extract CBD from domestically grown hemp.
Read Bruce Barcott’s “Leafly Exclusive: GW Pharma is Moving CBD Bills on the Down Low”: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/leafly-exclusive-gw-pharma-moving-cbd-bills-low
