Roundtable Roundup – December 31st, 2018

The Roundtable Roundup is a semi-regular update for Hemp Supporters — breaking or interesting news affecting the industry – brought to you by the US Hemp Roundtable.

NEBRASKA

While the wind is at the back of the hemp-derived CBD industry, with states like Alabama and Michigan recently reversing prohibitive decrees, Nebraska has become the latest state to be put on the Roundtable’s watch list. Just weeks after Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson reissued an opinion that CBD was illegal in the Cornhusker State, two Scottsbluff, Nebraska store owners were arrested and jailed for selling hemp products. Shortly thereafter, a Bellevue, Nebraska American Shaman store was put on notice that it too could face police action. On the other side, the Douglas County (Omaha) Attorney announced that he would NOT be going after CBD sellers, citing far more important law enforcement priorities, and urging state lawmakers to clarify the law. The Roundtable is in the middle of the debate, exploring legislative options in the upcoming 2019 session

FACEBOOK

Despite the recent passage of the 2018 Farm Bill removing hemp and hemp products from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act, the good folks at Facebook apparently didn’t get the memo. The social media giant turned its attention away from Russian hackers to shut down at least a handful of hemp company Facebook pages in a number of states. Katie Moyer of Kentucky Hemp Works fought back with her own social media campaign, including a funny parody site, and Facebook mysteriously and quietly restored her company page within a few days. Still others remain under the unexplained Facebook ban. Hemp Supporters are encouraged to keep up social media efforts to shine a light on corporate misbehavior.

CBD: TOO BIG TO FAIL?

Is CBD too big to fail? That’s what our General Counsel, Jonathan Miller thinks, as reflected in this Quartz piece. While FDA statements and misguided state and local law enforcement actions (see Nebraska, above) continue to place obstacles in the way, Miller believes that the momentum is clearly toward the inevitable full legality of hemp-derived CBD.