One of the market leaders in CBD products is teaming up with a subsidiary of the world’s biggest tobacco company to seek regulatory approval for a new botanical drug. 

Charlotte’s Web Holdings, a market leader in full-spectrum hemp extract wellness products,  announced on April 6 that it is forming a joint venture with AJNA BioSciences PBC (or “AJNA”), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco billed as “a botanical drug development company focused on mental health and neurological disorders.” 

The companies said that the joint venture “was established to pursue FDA-approval for a novel botanical drug to target a neurological condition identified by the [joint venture] leadership team, which will be comprised of [Charlotte’s Web], AJNA and [British American Tobacco] representatives.” 

“This novel botanical drug will be developed from certain proprietary hemp genetics of [Charlotte’s Web],” the announcement said. “The [joint venture] plans to engage with the FDA to file an Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application and commence Phase I clinical development in 2023.”

The announcement of the approval also added that British American Tobacco is kicking in $10 million to the joint venture as its initial investor.

“This joint venture is a capital efficient way for Charlotte’s Web to unlock the value of its intellectual property to advance development of effective botanical alternatives to current neurological pharmaceuticals,” Jacques Tortoroli, CEO of Charlotte’s Web, said in Thursday’s announcement. 

The joint venture will be helmed by Orrin Devinsky, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist and researcher who will oversee both its clinical and regulatory strategy.

According to the announcement, Devinsky “is an early stakeholder in AJNA and is the Director of New York University (NYU) Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and a Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine,” and “was a principal investigator for the development of the cannabis-based FDA approved drug, Epidiolex,” which is used to treat various seizure disorders. 

“As one of the first clinicians to research novel cannabinoids, I am very excited to work on this project. I believe the properties of cannabis and hemp are well suited for the FDA’s new Botanical Drug Development pathway”, Devinsky said in the announcement.

British American Tobacco has diversified its portfolio in recent years to include holdings focused on both hemp and cannabis. 

Last year, the company acquired  a non-controlling minority stake in the Berlin-based marijuana startup Sanity Group GmbH, a move that a top executive at British American Tobacco described as part of the “ongoing work to explore numerous areas beyond nicotine, positioning BAT for future portfolio growth across a range of categories and geographies.”

“We continue to transform our business, through better understanding of our current and future consumers, as part of our A Better Tomorrow purpose,” Kingsley Wheaton, the chief growth officer at British American Tobacco, said in an announcement at the time.

Finn Age Hänsel, the founder and chief executive officer of Sanity Group, called the funding from British American Tobacco “an important milestone for us and a strong signal towards the future of cannabis in Germany and Europe.”

“I am grateful for the belief shown by both new and existing investors. Our goal is to leverage the full potential of the cannabis plant and to explore and harness the different cannabinoids—with the new capital, we will be able to accelerate our medical and consumer business units whilst preparing accordingly for cannabis legalization in Germany,” Hänsel said in a statement.

On April 7, James Barrett, the commercial director of wellbeing and stimulation at British American Tobacco, said that the new joint venture with Charlotte’s Web and approval “represents another step for BAT in our exploration beyond tobacco and nicotine.”

“We continue to transform our business, through strategic investments in innovative consumer, new sciences and technology businesses, as part of our purpose to build A Better Tomorrow,” Barrett said.

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A new survey studying the consumption habits of participants in the European Union (EU) reveal that cannabis use has increased, and the use of ecstasy has decreased considerably.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) recently found that cannabis and ecstasy saw the strongest changes in consumption habits. The European Web Survey on Drugs was conducted online between March and April 2021 with the intention of illuminating patterns of drug use to consider in future regulation. Throughout 21 EU countries and nine non-EU countries, the survey recorded answers from those who were 18 or older and had used drugs.

The survey results, published on January 20, recorded the drug use breakdown of the 48,469 participants. “Cannabis was the drug used most, with 93 percent of survey respondents reporting to have used it in the previous 12 months and with little variation between countries,” the survey results state. “MDMA/ecstasy (35 percent), cocaine (35 percent) and amphetamine (28 percent) were the next most reported illicit substances, with the order of the three drugs varying by country. Around a third of respondents (32 percent) reported using more (herbal) cannabis and 42 percent using less MDMA/ecstasy.” The results also show that a group of participants had used LSD (20 percent), a new psychoactive substance (16 percent), ketamine (13 percent) and heroin (three percent).

Furthermore, participants from the Western Balkans (which is made up of a Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) also echoed the high consumption of cannabis, and decreased use in other substances—especially ecstasy. “Most respondents (91 percent) reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months, followed by cocaine (38 percent), MDMA/ecstasy (22 percent) and amphetamine (20 percent). Again, around a third of respondents (32 percent) reported using more (herbal) cannabis and 34 percent using less MDMA/ecstasy.”

In terms of where these substances were consumed, 85 percent of participants in the EU and 72 percent of the Western Balkans used these substances at home, rather than at public venues. It also takes into account that the motivation for cannabis use at home was because of a multitude of reasons. Participants wanted to relax, get high in order to improve sleep, but their use of MDMA or ecstasy was used to attain “euphoric and socialising [sic] effects.”

The study result breakdown states that the information shared by the 50,000 people included in the survey is just a small portion of the EU, but still offers a useful glimpse into the changing habits of residents. “While web surveys are not representative of the general population, when carefully conducted and combined with traditional data-collection methods, they can help paint a more detailed, realistic and timely picture of drug use and drug markets in Europe. Over 100 organisations [sic] took part in the initiative, including the Reitox national focal points, universities and NGOs.”

EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel shared a statement regarding the goal of this survey, and the amount of participation needed from organizations to sort and analyze the data. “Web surveys are a key ingredient in our monitoring of Europe’s shifting drugs problem,” Goosdeel said. “They help us reach an important target population through innovative online methods. Today’s results reveal the wide variety of drugs available across Europe and provide valuable information on emerging trends and changing patterns of use during the COVID-19 pandemic. An impressive 100 organisations [sic] joined us this time in building, translating and disseminating the survey, ensuring that this is now an invaluable tool to help tailor our responses and shape future drug policies.”

Other studies in the U.S. have shed light on other topics related to cannabis, such as targeting teens with ads on social media or an updated Gallup survey that shows that a majority of Americans support legalization.

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