On Tuesday morning, the Hemporium Boutique in Rapid City, South Dakota received a visit from detectives with a drug task force, who told the store’s owners that they had 24 hours to remove all CBD products from their shelves.
That’s because in 2017, South Dakota passed legislation classifying CBD oil as a Schedule IV substance. That means that under the law it’s in the same category as pharmaceuticals like Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium.
After being denied access to CBD products for a short time, store owner Leonard Vandermate says that his customers are already suffering.
“These people are going to go back to abusing alcohol or opioids or the crap we’re trying to get rid of to deal with this pain,” he said.
After a federal prosecutor targeted a West Virginia hemp farm last week, the hemp industry is pushing back.
The lawsuit alleges that CAMO Hemp WV, operated by Matthew Mallory, and Grassy Run Farms, operated by Gary Kale, did not comply with the regulations of West Virginia’s hemp pilot program. Specifically, the issue is that they allegedly acquired hemp seeds from a Kentucky pilot program, and the law says that seeds must be purchased from overseas.
But according to the US Hemp Roundtable, Mallory and Kale did not break the law. They say that the FY18 Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Rural Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations law makes it clear that federal agencies cannot interfere with the interstate transportation or sale of hemp seeds grown under the 2014 Farm Bill.
While Canadian citizens who work in the legal cannabis industry are facing the threat of being banned from the US for life, scientists at the University of San Diego just won government approval to import Canadian cannabis for an upcoming clinical trial.
The study will investigate using CBD and THC to treat tremors, and researchers needed the cannabis extracts in capsule form so that they could accurately monitor doses.
The University of Mississippi is currently the only legal grower of cannabis for research, and they don’t offer capsules. So, the US government approved the plan to import cannabis capsules from British Columbia-based Tilray.
Coca-Cola is investigating CBD-infused beverages, in a development that surprises no one. After all, the beverage giant is known for reinventing itself every few years (remember Coca-Cola BlāK?), and cannabis is booming.
Bloomberg Television reported that the company is talking to the Canadian company Aurora Cannabis, but no decisions have yet been made.
Licenses to grow industrial hemp in Kansas may be available by spring of 2019. The state’s department of agriculture is preparing to start issuing the licenses for research only. But the state is looking ahead to commercial production in the future.
The hemp industry is keeping the pressure on Congress to pass the 2018 Farm Bill with provisions that will legalize hemp agriculture nationwide.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Bluebird Botanicals, the Hemp Industry Association (HIA), the National Hemp Association (NHA), and Vote Hemp asked lawmakers to remove provisions that will bar anyone with a controlled-substance related felony from working in the hemp industry. They also asked for a process to be established for state and tribal entities to begin producing hemp.
CBD Deals and Promos
Palmetto Harmony has resumed operations after closing temporarily during Hurricane Florence. And they’re back with a big sale: 30% off CBD capsules and transdermal patches. You don’t need a code, just shop the site before October 1st to get the discount.
Pure Hemp Botanicals is offering 20% off tinctures. No code is necessary to get the deal; the sale prices are applied throughout the website.
