UPDATED: Kentucky Becomes Latest State to Explicitly Permit Sale of Ingestible CBD

UPDATE (12/30/20). After consulting with state hemp stakeholders, including the Kentucky Hemp Association, we have filed supplemental comments to the Cabinet. Click here to review. Please feel free to send your own comments to [email protected]

While Kentucky has long served as Ground Zero for the rebirth of legal hemp, a few months ago, several small businesses received word .from their local health departments that it was illegal for them to sell CBD-infused products in their restaurants.

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a national organization founded in the Bluegrass State, jumped into action, and held numerous meetings with state agencies and Governor Andy Beshear’s office – most notably, Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins, who as a state legislator, helped lead state efforts to legalize hemp in 2013.

From those discussions, we are excited to report that Kentucky has become the latest state to explicitly protect the retail (and restaurant) sale of hemp-derived CBD products as dietary supplement and food and beverage additives.

The new regulation, available here, still has a few kinks in it. Please read the Roundtable’s comments here for our suggested improvements. And if you are a Kentucky citizen, we encourage you to review the draft regulations and submit your own comments by December 31 to [email protected].

UPDATE (10/30/20). We’ve already received some positive feedback from the Kentucky Department of Public Health. As discussed in this email, the final regulations will permit the sale of products using out-of-state hemp, and out-of-state vendors won’t need to apply for an additional Kentucky permit. This is a critical step to ensure reciprocity for Kentucky farmers and businesses who want to sell their products outside of Kentucky.