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Making progress with substrate slabs and jute plugs

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9 months ago

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This summer, some greenhouses in the Netherlands are trying to grow tomatoes, peppers and eggplant: the sheets of organic substrates made with jute. The Holand is an important step for bioproducts, which is a traditional greenhouse. So far, the company has had the greatest success with Jute-based substrates in hydroponics and vertical agriculture.

At Greentech Amsterdam, the Holland Bioproducts presented its range of products, for greenhouse crops, jute pads as well as microgreens and jute plugs. “Right now, our main focus is hydroponics and vertical agriculture,” says sales director Sales de Haan, talking from the company’s office at the World Horti Center.

Holland Bioproducts were founded in 2017, but it brings more than fifteen years of experience to process jute. With this experience, the company develops a high quality compostable alternatives, with traditional substrates like peats and rockwools. Their products are made from a specific part of the jute plant fibers, asian (combined with other European raw materials).

© thijmen tiersma | Mmjdaily.comReinout Broorkers, Rob Teep and Arjen de Haan (Holland bioproducts) Grandech Amsterdam in 2025

Elastic crop
Jute plugs have a unique conical form and sowing sowing, because they are designed to sow and disseminate hydroponic systems. Sometimes, while they need small adjustments, accessing existing configurations, large international customers are widely used, Arjen explained. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Middle East, and Australia are successfully growing in the substrates of Holland bioproducts.

For microphen farms, the Holland bioproducts provides a completely organic blue line series, adapted to the pads, crop types and harvesting method, with or without roots.

The current movement of the more elastic crop is playing in the hands of the company. Piper production, increasingly increasingly changing alternatives from traditional substrates. For this market, Holland Bioproducts has developed a substrate sheet made with jute, mixed with miscthus and other herbs.

“It’s a really mix of organic fibers,” Arjen explained. “Jute gives strength, miscanthus adds aimena and the grass gives the volume. All components are sterilized to ensure safe crop.” Parts are more suitable than peppers, tomatoes and eggplants can also grow in them.

In collaboration with the manufacturers of the system
Holland Bioproducts entered worldwide as a recently participant and became a member of the Dutch Greenhouse Delta, a network that contains many technical suppliers. “It’s very valuable for us,” Arjen says. “We explore how to adapt the system manufacturers together to make sure the systems can operate successfully with our substrates.”

Within the Dutch Delta Greenhouse, it has become an active company in the Middle East module. “We see strong growth there, like the use of peat in the pressure under pressure, is another important region of Scandinavia, where the Middle East is a key sustainability driver.”

Footprint
To measure sustainability, Holand Bioproducts had its substrates evaluated by the universities and research of Wagening. “The results showed that our substrates are very well compared. Our footprint is significantly lower,” Arjen confirmed.

The numbers are very promising, especially for sheets used in fruit vegetables. “These slabs combine the grass and miscanthus. About 70% and 80% of raw materials help maintain a low footprint.”

© Holland Bio ProductsHolland bioproducts also want to provide blocks with labels, but also blocks with juta, soil crops and rock wool plugs and blocks similar to rock wool laboratories.

Scaling with a slab
Holland bioproduces are making continuous progress with its plugs and microgreen substratum, following new tests on the vegetable substrate slab. Soon, they will meet the farms to review the results of the season. “So far, the crops are growing well. Lately in heat containers, the breeders did not need to add more irrigation,” Arjen says. Looking up to 2026, the Netherlands expects to test four growers, that the slabs will be expanded to use a larger scale, and other breeders will begin with smaller rehearsals.

Arjen explained that the initial phase of the farming requires special attention. The growers cannot use the same methods applied with old substrates. However, as they are testing more crops, the growers are beginning to see the benefits of changing alternative materials. An example of jute, after use is completely composting. “This saves money to throw money costs,” Arjen says. Jute has a lower environmental impact, requiring less water than coca, and is certified according to the regulation of fertility products (FPR).

Pre-cultivated slab
To fulfill the growing request and improve local availability, the Holland bioproducts is opening a new facility in the Middle East. Here, Jute will be sterilized and processed from India and Bangladesh, improving logistics and efficiency. In the future, the company also grows the opportunity to produce plugs on the site, helping to reduce costs even more.

“But first, our priority is to know more breeders to grow jute options,” Arjen says. It is an attractive product that can help you, the Holland bioprons has just added to its range. These slabs are aimed at other garden centers and other consumer vendors, but it is the surprise of Arjen, as well as interest in professional producers. “It really wasn’t something I expected,” he admits with a smile.

For more information:
Holland bioproducts
(Protected by email)
https://hollandbioproducts.com/

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Cannabis operators report mixed results as rescheduling reshapes the financial outlook

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14 hours ago

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May 14, 2026

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The rescheduling came mid-quarter and rewrote the tax math for each medical sales operator, but the underlying revenue picture remained uneven in early 2026, with acquisitions driven at one end of the scale and continued top-line compression at the other.

Vireo Growth: Back on $106 million deal
Vireo Growth Inc. reported Q1 GAAP revenue of $106.2 million, up 333.5% year-over-year, driven almost entirely by recent acquisitions rather than organic growth. The company completed the Schwazze acquisition in March, adding 45 dispensaries and two manufacturing facilities in Colorado and New Mexico. At the end of the quarter, it closed Eaze and Hawthorne Gardening, FLUENT Corp. announced an acquisition agreement and executed a California dispensary joint venture with Glass House Brands. Treating all acquisitions as closed on January 1, 2025 on a pro forma basis, revenue was $210.2 million and adjusted EBITDA was $42.2 million. The company ended the quarter with $137.8 million in cash.

John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo, said: “Performance in the first quarter met our expectations and we are excited to welcome Schwazze, Eaze and Hawthorne to Vireo. We are focused on integration and optimization across the platform, while remaining opportunistic regarding growth opportunities associated with further acquisitions.”

Cresco Labs: $151 million, 280E relief and Texas license
Cresco Labs reported Q1 revenue of $151 million, down from $165.8 million in Q1 2025. Adjusted gross margin was 50.7% and adjusted EBITDA margin of $33 million was 21.7%. Cash at the end of the quarter was $67 million against a $310 million secured term loan. The company was conditionally granted a Texas Compassionate Use Program license after the quarter ended and opened two new dispensaries in Ohio.

Management said, “Moving the state’s legal medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III is the most impactful reform this industry has seen, and it validates the work we’ve been executing for years. We’ve built the operational foundation and balance sheet discipline to reap the immediate benefits of rescheduling, and position Cresco to take advantage of the broader path to normalization.”

Jushi Holdings: 4% growth, 460 basis point margin expansion
Jushi Holdings reported first-quarter revenue of $66.4 million, up 4% year-over-year, with gross profit margin up 460 basis points to 45%. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.4 million, up 17.2%. The margin improvement was driven by higher production volumes in Ohio, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and the performance of grower processors. Jushi brand products accounted for 58% of retail revenue in vertical markets. The company refinanced $132.3 million in debt during the quarter, providing $160 million in new debt through 2029.

Jim Cacioppo, president and CEO, said: “The recent scheduling of state-licensed medical marijuana for Schedule III is an important milestone for the industry, eliminating 280E tax limitations for medical operations and supporting a more favorable long-term operating environment.” Medical sales accounted for about 60% of Jushi’s 2025 revenue, making this material relief.

iAnthus Capital: Revenue falls to $33.5 million
iAnthus Capital reported first-quarter revenue of $33.5 million, down $4.6 million from 2025’s first quarter. Gross margin was 47.5%, up 477 basis points from the 2025 quarter. The company did not provide a management comment in the press release.

Country farms: international export record, fourth consecutive quarter of net income
Village Farms International reported first quarter consolidated net sales of $50.2 million, up 27% year-over-year, with net income of $2.9 million and adjusted EBITDA of $9.9 million, up 118% year-over-year. International export sales increased 171% to a record $14.6 million, driven by demand for EU-GMP compliant products in Germany. Pure Sunfarms had the top Canadian market share in dried flowers for the 15th consecutive month. The company started planting the first half of its Delta 2 greenhouse expansion and expects its Phase II facility in the Netherlands to reach full capacity by the end of 2026, which would quadruple Dutch production.

Michael DeGiglio, President and CEO, said: “Our first quarter results reflect a strong start to the year and continued momentum in our largest markets, with adjusted EBITDA growth of 118% year-over-year, significantly outpacing revenue growth of 27%, driven by our international business and continued leadership in Canada.

Cronos Group: Record revenue, $822 million in cash
Cronos Group reported Q1 net income of $45.2 million, up 40% year-over-year and a record quarter, with net income of $15.7 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5.1 million. Israel led growth PEACE NATURALS grew 53% for ninth consecutive record quarter. In Canada, the Spinach brand took first place in vapes with a 9.8% share of the national market, and maintained its top spot in edibles at 20.8%. The company ended the quarter with $821.9 million in cash and authorized a new $50 million stock repurchase program. The deadline to close the acquisition of CanAdelaar, one of the ten licensed growers in the Dutch Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment, has been extended to September 9, 2026 to allow time for regulatory approvals.

Mike Gorenstein, chairman, president and CEO, said, “Cronos achieved net earnings and gross profit in the first quarter as we continue to execute against our unlimited product strategy and the additional supply from Cronos GrowCo’s expansion fuels the next phase of our growth.”

Org chart: Revenue down 9%, Sanity Group acquisition closes after quarter
Organigram Global reported fiscal second quarter net income of $59.8 million, down 9% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA of $0.9 million, down 82%. Lower vape and pre-infusion sales drove the decline, along with a $5.8 billion dent in the U.S. hemp business. The company achieved a record quarterly harvest of over 32,000kg at its Moncton facility, up 56% year-on-year, and launched 10 SKUs in Australia targeting over 4,000 pharmacies. At the end of the quarter, Organigram acquired Sanity Group, one of Germany’s leading cannabis companies, and updated its 2026 guidance to net revenue of more than $350 million.

James Yamanaka, CEO, said: “Q2 reflected our poor performance in vaporizers and temporary challenges in pre-infusion production, compounded by slower industry growth. We have acted quickly to address these issues, and the operational changes and product improvements we have implemented are already beginning to stabilize performance.”

Greg Guyatt, Chief Financial Officer, said: “The financial impact of the competitive and operational challenges encountered earlier in fiscal 2026 is believed to have materialized in the first half of the year, and we are now beginning to stabilize performance. We expect to resume a trajectory of margin expansion and improved profitability during the second half of the year, supported by positive revenue and international sales growth. The Sanity Group.”

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Medical Marijuana Helps Pain Patients Reduce Use Of Opioids, New Study Shows

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14 hours ago

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May 14, 2026

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As opioids continue to cause overdose deaths, a new study suggests that making medical cannabis available and affordable could help patients reduce their use of prescription painkillers.

“Although cannabis has historically been characterized as a potential ‘gateway drug,’ it may also serve as a harm reduction tool for some patients seeking to reduce their reliance on higher-risk opioid medications,” researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine found.

The study, a prospective observational trial at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed 29 adults over five months. All had been living with chronic pain for years—an average of 11 years—and were already taking opioid medications, but struggled to taper off of them despite other treatments.

The study is unique in its focus on cost as a factor in access to medical marijuana, with the researchers describing their work as “the first prospective observational study evaluating medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids in a setting where cost was removed as a major barrier.”

Participants were recruited from a university outpatient chronic pain clinic and then completed monthly pain assessments using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS). The researchers measured daily opioid use, measured in milligrams of morphine equivalents (MME).

“Seven patients (24%) were able to completely discontinue opioid therapy at the end of the study, five of whom did so by the second month. Pain levels also decreased over time,” the authors wrote.

Notably, “there was a statistically significant reduction in mean pain scores experienced over the five-month study period,” says the paper published in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science.

“There was also a reduction in average opioid consumption of about 32 MME per day, which remained the same throughout the follow-up. In addition, seven patients were able to completely discontinue opioid therapy during the study.”

“Mean daily opioid consumption decreased from 46.8 MME/day at baseline to 16.2 MME/day at one month and remained low during the five-month follow-up period,” the researchers found.

What set the new study apart was not just the inclusion of medical cannabis, but the deliberate removal of cost as a barrier. Participants “consistently identified cost as a major barrier to initiating medical cannabis” before enrolling in the study, the document says.

Noting the novelty of the study, they added their hypothesis: “Improving access to medical cannabis will allow a subset of patients, especially those with a high cost barrier, to reduce or discontinue opioid use while maintaining adequate pain control.”

“These results suggest that medical cannabis may be a useful adjunctive therapy to reduce opioid use, relieve chronic pain, and improve health-related quality of life,” they concluded.

“The findings of this study add to the body of literature supporting the safety profile and potential therapeutic role of cannabis.”

The studies the authors are cautious in their conclusions, warning of limitations and the need for further research. “The sample size was small and derived from a single clinical site, and there was no control group.” And because “patients self-titrate cannabis products, leading to variability in dosage and frequency of use,” the findings are not standardized.

But the authors concluded that “when used under appropriate medical supervision, medical cannabis may be an effective adjunctive strategy to reduce opioid use among patients receiving long-term opioid therapy.”

This study follows a Recent research shows that using medical marijuana helps people reduce their use of other drugs, including opioids.sleep aids and antidepressants. They also experience fewer negative side effects after switching from prescription drugs to cannabis, according to a study involving more than 3,500 patients.

It also comes from behind President Donald Trump says marijuana ‘can make people feel a lot better’ and serves as a “substitute for addictive and potentially lethal opioids.”

Last month, the Trump administration announced it moving forward with federal reclassification of marijuana medicinal cannabis is classified under Schedule I to III of the Controlled Substances Act.

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Livermore Falls debates cannabis licensing fees

Published

2 days ago

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May 13, 2026

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Existing medical cannabis licensing fees will be temporarily applied to recreational marijuana businesses, the Select Committee decided on May 5. Board members agreed 4-1 to the temporary change, as long as officials say the fees are higher than necessary and accurately reflect the town’s oversight costs.

Bryce Cobb, Livermore Falls’ code enforcement officer, plumbing inspector, health officer and E-911 dispatcher, said voters approved the amended cannabis ordinance on April 28. Cobb said the amended ordinance allows recreational marijuana businesses and the next step was to establish a fee schedule. Recreational cannabis businesses operating in town would require local licensing approval under the ordinance.

Asked if he had fee schedules from other towns to compare, Cobb said he did not. Additionally, the town’s fee schedule specifically mentions medicinal cannabis.

“So it could be medical and adult use,” Cobb said when discussing whether the existing fee structure could apply to recreational businesses.

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