CBD Bills to Support in Hawaii, Kentucky and Maine

As FDA continues to drag its feet on regulating hemp-derived CBD, state legislatures are filling the vacuum with their own measures to provide access to safe and legal CBD products. This week, we share three good bills to follow, and encourage our Hemp Supporters in Hawaii, Kentucky and Maine to use our State Action Center portal to urge their legislators to support CBD:

HAWAII: It’s the best of times and the worst of times in the Aloha State. A really good bill, SB 2050, establishes a CBD-friendly regulatory framework for consumable hemp products, including products sold as human or animal food or dietary supplements. A not-so-good bill, HB 2102, on the other hand, is a step in the wrong direction. The bill outright bans the use of CBD from any food products, limits the sale of any hemp-derived products to individuals under the age of 21 and gives very broad authority to the Department of Health to regulate all industrial hemp-derived products. Given the current position of the Department of Health, which has misinterpreted the FDA’s position on CBD products, we believe delegating such authority to the DOH will send Hawaii in the wrong direction and deter Hawaii growers, processors and manufacturers from investing and distributing hemp products in the state. Hawaii Hemp Supporters are encouraged to use our State Action Center to urge state legislators to support SB2050 and oppose HB2102.

KENTUCKY: The Bluegrass State was ground zero for hemp legislation, but until now, there has never been any proposal to regulate the sale of hemp products. That’s changed with HB 593 which was recently introduced in the Kentucky House. It directs the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish consumer-friendly labeling requirements for ingestible or cosmetic CBD products. At minimum, CBD products’ labels must contain a scannable bar code, QR code, or URL that directs to product-specific information, including a certificate of analysis. Like the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, HB 593 prohibits health-related claims. The bill also allows CBD product manufacturers to be permitted as food or cosmetic manufacturers. Kentucky Hemp Supporters are encouraged to use our State Action Center to urge state legislators to support HB 593.

MAINE: To date, bureaucrats in Maine have misread state law to prohibit CBD products that were derived from out-of-state hemp. LD 2129 would fix that, by making clear that a food product is not adulterated based solely on the place of origin of hemp or CBD in the product, or based solely on where the hemp or CBD in the product was manufactured, marketed, previously sold, or distributed. Maine Hemp Supporters are encouraged to use our State Action Center to urge state legislators to support LD 2129.