The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) legalized hemp by removing the crop and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and by providing a detailed framework for the cultivation of hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill gives the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulatory authority over hemp
The House Appropriations Committee (the “Committee”) publishes reports to accompany annual spending bills. One such report, released on June 3, provided insight on hemp-derived CBD (“Hemp-CBD”). The Committee’s report on didn’t get much coverage in the media, outside of some ace reporting from the folks at Marijuana Moment. Despite that, it’s kind of a big
Last Friday, May 31, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) held its first public meeting during which stakeholders shared their perspective on how to regulate cannabidiol (“CBD”)-infused products. The objective of the meeting was to gather scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling and sale of these products. As we
In the past few months, our team has been quoted in several magazines and online publications on the risks of traveling with CBD products. These media inquiries resulted from repeated arrests of travelers in possession of CBD oil at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (“DFW”). At the time of these arrests, the Transportation Security Administration
Washington lawmakers were busy this last legislative session. Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the Governor’s Office. This means some minor and major changes to Washington marijuana laws. Below is a list of marijuana bills that made it through the legislative session, and some commentary. Senate Bill 5298 “Regarding labeling of marijuana products.” This bill allows
Marijuana and hemp companies should not ignore the US-China trade war. Numerous products and components in these industries might be subject to increased tariffs of 25 percent. If cannabis companies can’t find new suppliers, those are costs that they will have to bear, or will have to pass on to their consumers. The Office of
Last week, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco and Trade Bureau (“TTB”), which regulates the alcohol industry, released new information regarding the use of hemp-derived ingredients in the formulation of alcoholic beverages. The industry circular came as a response to numerous inquiries from the alcohol industry about whether alcoholic beverages containing cannabidiol (“CBD”) derived from hemp
As we previously explained, under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), any substance that is intentionally added to food (including drinks) is a food additive. A food additive is subject to premarket review and approval by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), unless the substance is generally recognized as safe (“GRAS”) by qualified experts
As everyone knows by now the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production by de-scheduling the crop under the Controlled Substance Act. We’ve written extensively about federal hemp rules and regulations as well as those in California, Oregon and Washington. We’ve also addressed hemp in terms of USDA Organic Certification, international trade issues, and the FDA stance on
Last week, the departing Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, released a statement in which he announced that the agency, in collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), had issued warning letters to three CBD manufacturers: Advanced Spine and Pain LLC (d/b/a Relievus), Nutra Pure LLC and PotNetwork Holdings Inc.. The letters were sent “in response to
