Andrew Selsky

Associated Press

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing has a new podcast brought to you by the editors of Industrial Media. In each episode, we discuss the five biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward.

This May 24, 2018, file photo shows a marijuana plant in Oregon. In a new ruling, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates both alcoholic products and recreational marijuana, says beer and other alcoholic drinks as of Jan. 1, 2020. may not contain either THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, or CBD, the non-psychoactive part that is said to relieve stress and pain.

Ore. Bans Boozy Cannabis Beverages

The state is known for its craft beer and high-grade marijuana, but it's keeping the two apart, for now.

In this Dec. 5, 2019 photo, workers — most of them from Mexico — load Christmas trees onto a truck at Hupp Farms in Silverton, Ore. On Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, the U.S. House passed a bill that would loosen restrictions on hiring foreign agricultural workers and create a path to citizenship for more than 1 million farm workers estimated to be in the country illegally. The bill's fate in the Senate is unclear, and the White House hasn't said if President Donald Trump would sign it. But the 260-165 vote was a rare stroke of bipartisanship on immigration.

Immigrant Labor in Christmas Trees

Oregon’s immigrant farm workers are the driving force behind the state's $121 million Christmas tree industry.

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Family Shifted Billions from Opioid Company

A lawsuit says the Sackler family realized by 2007 that Purdue faced "catastrophic liability" from criminal and civil investigations.

In this Sept. 30, 2016, file photo, a marijuana harvester examines buds going through a trimming machine near Corvallis, Ore. In an attempt to reduce the marijuana inventory in Oregon, the state is moving toward allowing the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to refuse to issue initial marijuana production licenses, based on supply and demand.

OR to Curb Weed Production

If growing were to stop today, it could take more than six years by one estimate to consume the available legal weed.

This Sept. 12, 2018, file photo shows an Apple iPhone XR on display at the Steve Jobs Theater after an event to announce new products, in Cupertino, Calif. A Chinese national in Oregon sent hundreds of supposedly broken iPhones to Apple over two years, and got replacements under warranty of almost 1,500 devices.

Man Guilty of Defrauding Apple

He would fraudulently submit counterfeit iPhones to Apple in exchange for a replacement device.

Joe Ibrahim, head winemaker at Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Oregon, displays a bottle of rose of pinot noir made from grapes grown in southern Oregon that a California winemaker canceled a contract on purchasing just before harvest, claiming they were tainted by wildfire smoke.

Shutdown Hurts Oregon Winegrowers

First fire made their grapes difficult to sell. The government shutdown then created a backlog for getting wine labels approved.

In this April 24, 2018 file photo, the first rendering from hemp plants is on its' way to becoming fully refined CBD oil in Salem, Oregon.

FDA Asked to Update Hemp-Based Food Rules

Despite a bill passed last month, the FDA Commissioner restated his agency's stance that CBD is illegal to add to food products without FDA consent.

In this April 24, 2018, file photo, the first rendering from hemp plants extracted from a super critical CO2 extraction device on its' way to becoming fully refined CBD oil spurts into a large beaker at New Earth Biosciences in Salem, Ore. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, urged the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to update federal regulations to permit interstate commerce of food products containing a key non-psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.

FDA Urged to Update CBD Regs

CBD is a drug ingredient and therefore illegal to add to food or health products without the FDA's approval.

These pinot noir grapes await harvest at the Benton-Lane Winery in Monroe, Oregon. Officials in Oregon and at a U.S. government agency have told a California winery to back off its claims that it makes an Oregon pinot noir.

Oregon in Dispute with CA Winery

At stake is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and Oregon's reputation for producing a delicate pinot noir in its cool, rainy climate.

This photo shows vines spilling down toward the Willamette Valley in Amity, Oregon.

Vineyards Face Losses From Smoke-Tainted Grapes

A California buyer backed off of buying the grapes, which are valued at about $4 million.

In this Feb. 27, 2018, photo, Anthony Uribes processes a marijuana plant with an attached tracking label at Avitas marijuana production facility in Salem, Ore. The cannabis tracking system used by Avitas, a marijuana company with a production facility in Salem, is the backbone of Oregon's regulatory system to ensure businesses with marijuana licenses obey the rules and don’t divert their product into the black market.

Marijuana Regulators Drowning in Data

A cannabis tracking system ensures businesses with marijuana licenses obey the rules and don't divert their product into the black market.