California Pushes to Legalize CBD and Ban Smokable Hemp

With several attempts to legalize CBD in 2020, lawmakers in California are making new moves to see that the bill gets passed in 2021. This bill, when passed, will make CBD edibles and topicals legal in the region. While this will make a lot of CBD enthusiasts happy, there seems to be a new twist to the new bill as the lawmakers seek to ban the use of smokable hemp in the state.

The bill also comes with provisions that will prohibit adding cannabinoids and other hemp extracts to food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, pet food, and beverages. The bill intends to ban smokable hemp flowers and any products containing hemp, tobacco, alcohol, or nicotine.

The bill on CBD has been raised in a time where many states in the country are devising laws to end hemp products, which are cannabinoids and flower. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States considers any product containing CBD as federally illegal. Since the agency has not released any stance on smokable hemp, this makes its intake illegal. Texas followed this step by implementing similar regulations about the ban of smokable hemp. This regulation on smokable hemp is currently challenged in court and has been put on hold for now.

Public health officials have asked state Rep Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who sponsored the bill on the ban of smokable hemp. She stated that this bill, including that of the smokable hemp ban, is subject to legislative debate.

Aguiar-Curry told hemp growers that since the health officials stand for the highest community of concern, they will not want to risk the effort until many people in the industry become passionate enough to engage and successfully stand for them to change that position. Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the US, adds that "there are efforts and discussions in the governor's office and [among] legislators to explore removing that ban."

The ban of smokable hemp was to serve as a compromise to be made to advance the CBD legislation once the state lawmakers fail to reach an agreement before last year's session ended for the legislative. Miller adds that "Perfect is the enemy of the good," the support of compromise has kept the bill hanging. Hence, they will have to wait for the bill to be passed for things to change.

Aguiar-Curry expresses her optimism about the bill being passed soon between August or September. The bill can only take effect when it has been signed by the governor. Farmers, on the other hand, have expressed opposition to the ban of smokable hemp. This for long has been the most profitable and easiest way to market hemp products.

There has been a publication of the US final rule on hemp, which should take effect on March 22, 2021. The new rule will replace the USDA's interim final rule published on October 31st, 2019. The rules are said to be 300 pages outlining the recordkeeping, requirements, procedures for testing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations and procedures involved in disposing of non-complaints plants, and more. The THC limit for hemp remains 0.3%.