Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 12/21/18
 
Genetically modified marijuana could be hugely lucrative one day. Scientists are racing to sequence the cannabis genome, enabling producers to highlight desired traits, make the plant less dependent on pesticides or even develop new medical treatment options, Liz reports this a.m. It's a risky businesses: There are few regulations guiding the budding sector, leaving plenty of uncertainty for growers and consumers alike. Modified marijuana is still in the R&D stage, but the products could jump from labs to farms within a few years.

Regulatory black hole: There's no framework for studying the safety risks of biotech cannabis for humans and other plants. Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, so USDA and FDA can't regulate the products like other GE plants.

Large agribusinesses like Bayer and Syngenta aren't active in the emerging space yet, leaving startups to dominate. That could change quickly: Tobacco giant Altria invested $1.8 billion this month in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group.