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Tag: 2018 Farm Bill

  • Is CBD Next On The Fed’s Hit List

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    Is CBD next on the fed’s hit list amid slow cannabis reform, hemp restrictions, and rising regulatory pressure?

    For more than a decade, cannabis policy in the United States has moved at a glacial pace. Despite widespread public support, state-level legalization, and the emergence of a multibillion-dollar industry, federal reform has remained slow, fragmented, and often contradictory. That pattern has now raised a new and uncomfortable question across the wellness, agriculture, and retail sectors: Is CBD next on the fed’s hit list?

    RELATED: Cannabis Can Help PTSD

    The story begins with cannabis itself. While a majority of states have legalized medical or adult-use marijuana, federal law continues to classify cannabis as a Schedule I substance. Efforts to reschedule or deschedule cannabis have been announced, delayed, studied, and revisited, creating regulatory uncertainty touching everything from banking and research to interstate commerce. This slow walking of cannabis reform from both the current and past president has rippled outward, ensnaring industries once thought to be safely separated from marijuana.

    Hemp was supposed to be different. Federally legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp was championed as an agricultural and economic opportunity, particularly for struggling rural communities. No one played a more visible role in hemp’s return than Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who made the crop a centerpiece of his push to revive farm economies in deeply red regions of the state. For Kentucky farmers, hemp was not a culture-war issue but a pragmatic replacement for declining tobacco revenues and shrinking commodity margins.

    Kentucky quickly became one of the nation’s leading hemp producers, investing in processing facilities, research partnerships, and pilot programs tied to CBD extraction. The political history makes the current regulatory climate especially fraught. As lawmakers debate tightening hemp definitions and closing cannabinoid “loopholes,” the consequences would land not just on coastal wellness brands, but on farmers in conservative states that were encouraged to plant hemp under federal guidance.

    CBD now sits at the center of this tension. Initially promoted as a non-intoxicating compound with potential wellness applications, CBD products flooded the market in everything from oils and capsules to beverages and pet treats. Yet the Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly declined to recognize CBD as a lawful dietary supplement, while also failing to propose a clear alternative regulatory pathway. The result has been a gray market defined by warning letters, uneven enforcement, and growing risk for compliant businesses.

    At the same time, proposed revisions to the Farm Bill have raised alarms across the hemp industry. Efforts to restrict intoxicating hemp-derived products may be politically popular, but critics warn that overly broad language could effectively ban or severely limit CBD itself. For farmers, processors, and retailers, this would represent a dramatic reversal of federal policy—one that undermines years of investment encouraged by Washington.

    RELATED: Is Cannabis Now The #1 Sleep Aid

    What makes this moment particularly striking is the broader landscape of U.S. health policy. Regulators increasingly emphasize harm reduction and data-driven decision-making. Cannabis is widely acknowledged to be less harmful than many legal substances, and CBD has been studied for potential therapeutic uses. Yet instead of clarity, the industry faces contraction and prohibition by attrition.

    And throughout these shifts, one category remains largely untouched. Despite well-documented links between alcohol and chronic disease, addiction, and public safety risks, alcohol continues to enjoy stable federal treatment and powerful political insulation. While cannabis is slow-walked, hemp is narrowed, and CBD faces mounting pressure, alcohol remains fully normalized and aggressively marketed.

    As federal health policies evolve and cannabis reform continues to stall, the question is no longer whether CBD will be regulated, but whether it will be regulated out of existence—leaving behind farmers, including those in Kentucky’s heartland, who answered the call to grow a crop Washington once promised was safe.

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    Terry Hacienda

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  • Bad News for Intoxicating Hemp Products – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    Bad News for Intoxicating Hemp Products – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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  • Amendment killing nationally legal cannabis makes it into House farm bill – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    Amendment killing nationally legal cannabis makes it into House farm bill – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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  • Doctors Join Call To Regulate Intoxicating Hemp Cannabinoids | High Times

    Doctors Join Call To Regulate Intoxicating Hemp Cannabinoids | High Times

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    A professional organization of physicians who support drug policy reform is calling for the regulation of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids including delta-8 THC, arguing that the safety of products containing the compound is unknown. The recommendation was recently made by Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), a group of healthcare professionals formerly known as Doctors for Cannabis Regulation.

    “Our stance at D4DPR is that all intoxicating cannabinoids should be subject to a regulatory framework to ensure public safety,” the group wrote in a policy paper released this month.

    In the paper, D4DPR notes that the legalization of hemp with the 2018 Farm Bill “may have inadvertently legalized the chemical conversion of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) and other phytocannabinoids (those derived directly from the plant) into intoxicating minor cannabinoids like delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (∆8-THC, also known as delta-8).” The legislation, however, did not include provisions to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids, leading to a thriving industry of products containing intoxicating compounds that is unregulated in many jurisdictions.

    “Taking advantage of this opportunity, ∆8-THC (chemically synthesized from hemp CBD) quickly became available in various retail outlets such as gas stations, CBD shops, convenience stores, smoke shops, and online platforms,” the group notes in the paper. “Several states have now either banned or imposed regulations on its sale. However, in 22 states (as of November 2023), ∆8-THC remains legal and unregulated, with limited laboratory testing and taxation, lacking warnings about its intoxicating effects, without dosing limits, and easily accessible to minors.”

    To address the issue, D4DPR called on policymakers to develop and enact a regulatory framework for all intoxicating cannabinoids, regardless of their source. The group included several recommendations for the regulations, including a provision that would only allow the sale of intoxicating compounds by licensed dispensaries. The group also called for “appropriate taxation” to fund public health initiatives and regulatory oversight of the cannabinoid market.

    The group also recommended that sales of intoxicating cannabinoids be restricted to adults aged 21 and older. The recommendations call for intoxicating hemp products to be sold only in child-resistant packaging that does not appeal to minors, with clear labeling about the intoxicating effects of the product. Packages should also include the International Intoxication Cannabinoid Product Symbol (the silhouette of a cannabis leaf) to indicate their contents in graphic form.

    The recommendations also call for required lab testing of intoxicating cannabinoid products for purity, potency and safety, with certificates of analysis available to consumers for inspection. The group also recommended that research into the clinical safety and toxicology of minor cannabinoids be conducted, noting that many of the compounds are new to the market 

    D4DPR also recommended that regulations for intoxicating cannabinoids be aligned with those in place in states with medical marijuana or adult-use cannabis programs and that states without regulations develop them as soon as possible. The group also called for the rescheduling of cannabis at the federal level, noting that a ban on intoxicating or minor cannabinoids “will result in a continuation of the drug war, leading to negative outcomes on public health.”

    “This policy stance reflects our commitment to safeguarding public health while ensuring reasonable access to cannabis- and hemp-derived products within a responsible regulatory framework,” the D4DPR concluded in its recent policy paper.

    The policy paper from D4DPR joins a chorus of calls to regulate intoxicating cannabinoids. Last month, 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them “to address the glaring vagueness created in the 2018 Farm Bill.” 

    “The reality is that this law has unleashed on our states a flood of products that are nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis, often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children — with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, no oversight, and a limited capability for our offices to rein them in,” they wrote in the letter.

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    A.J. Herrington

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  • False Dosage Labels on 96% of Tested Amazon Hemp Products, Many With No Hemp or CBD

    False Dosage Labels on 96% of Tested Amazon Hemp Products, Many With No Hemp or CBD

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    In the midst of blossoming cannabis and CBD reform throughout the West, hemp-derived cannabinoid products are increasingly taking center stage as legislators continue to raise red flags surrounding the lack of regulation and intoxicating potential of these products.

    Just in the past several months, a number of states have moved to introduce new policies to limit or ban the sale of psychoactive hemp-derived cannabinoid products, like delta-8 THC. Similarly, many are calling out some of the issues surrounding the regulatory gaps surrounding hemp-derived products in the market.

    Among them is CBD Oracle, a consumer research company aiming to improve safety and transparency surrounding cannabis products. 

    Most recently, it turned its attention to CBD gummies and other hemp products available for purchase on Amazon.com. While the company notes that Amazon will “tell you confidently” that they do not allow CBD gummies on the platform, CBD Oracle’s new independent analysis on such products begs to differ.

    A Look at Amazon’s Approach to Hemp and CBD Products

    While Amazon doesn’t technically allow CBD products, CBD Oracle suggests that sellers on the site largely get around this obstacle by avoiding the term “CBD” and instead using “hemp” on packaging and in product descriptions. 

    Neurogan CEO Jan Brandup said that Amazon’s “hemp products” are not related to actual hemp and rather use the term as a sales tactic.

    “It’s alarming how easily consumers are deceived into trusting these products, just because they are sold on a reputable platform like Amazon,” Brandup said. “The best case is they may drain your wallet.”

    Sunday Scaries CEO Mike Sill agreed, adding that many of the products on Amazon automatically lack credibility and ultimately quality due to the nature of the platform’s regulations.

    “When you search for ‘CBD gummies’ on the platform, no reputable brands populate in your search results,” Sill said. “The reason for this is that credible brands like Sunday Scaries, Charlotte’s Web and cbdMD are not allowed to sell on Amazon without being banned.”

    Rather, Sill said these companies engage in “brand burning,” meaning that once they are banned from Amazon, they essentially rebrand with a new name and packaging only to reupload the same products to the site and continue sales.

    “Their business model doesn’t include a focus on building a reputable brand and providing the highest quality and safest products to consumers; they are just looking for a quick sale and will do whatever is necessary to stay ‘live’ on Amazon,” Sill said.

    So what exactly do Amazon “hemp” products contain?

    Investigating the Contents of Amazon’s ‘Hemp’ Products

    In an effort to analyze the specific contents of CBD products on Amazon, the company purchased 56 of the most popular hemp products on the site and tested them through InfiniteCAL Labs. Most of the products (80%) were gummies, with eight tinctures, two topical creams and one pack of mints. A majority (89%) also made specific numerical claims regarding dosage.

    Around 30% (17 of 56) of the products tested contained CBD, averaging 547 mg per package. However, there was a large variance in CBD quantity between products, with a minimum of 28 mg of CBD and a maximum of 1,582 mg. While CBD Oracle notes that this at least shows Amazon isn’t being totally dishonest about some of these products containing hemp and hemp compounds, it still violates Amazon’s policies and may not be legally compliant.

    THC is also banned from Amazon sales, though six (11%) of the tested products contained the cannabinoid with the three containing the most comprised primarily of delta-8 THC. While all of the products were under the THC threshold set by the 2018 Farm Bill, the three delta-8 products “had very high quantities of THC” with 641, 2,507 and 3,028 mg per pack. The product with the highest amount of THC had 76 mg per gummy.

    The majority of tested products (35 of 56 products, or 62.5%) contained no cannabinoids at all with more than a third (24 of 56 products, or 43%) containing no hemp.

    InfiniteCAL Lab Manager Dr. Erik Paulson explains that hemp is typically infused into consumable products through hemp seeds, which contain no cannabinoids, or through extractable material pulled out of leaves, stems or buds — generally to create cannabinoid-infused products.

    “Simply put, if you buy ‘hemp’ from Amazon it is likely that you will actually be buying an expensive jar of gummy bears. Gelatin and sugar, priced at a premium,” CBD Oracle notes in the report.

    The report also confirmed that a whopping 96% of tested products did not advertise an accurate dosage.

    “If we assume the dosage listing refers to cannabinoids (and not just the total mass of hempseed oil), just two products were confirmed by lab testing to have a dosage within 10% of that listed on their labels,” the report states. “They contained an average of just 25% of the advertised dosage. In most cases, this was less than advertised, but one product primarily containing delta-8 THC had twice the promised dosage.”

    In addition, 52% of the products appeared to make an unapproved medical claim, and almost 95% of products did not provide Certificates of Analysis (COA), typically considered an essential for reputable companies selling hemp products.

    A Growing Issue and Potential Solutions

    While the report focused on Amazon products, CBD Oracle notes the prevalence of this trend, as other companies like eBay, Walmart and Alibaba carry similar products — sometimes the exact same options.

    Authors note the potential ramifications of selling these products, beyond safety and health concerns, in that it could undermine the broader hemp and cannabis industries and the reform progress so many are actively pushing for.

    “Amazon has demonstrated that they don’t understand the difference between hemp seed oil and hemp extract that contains cannabinoids,” said Forge Hemp’s Kelly Lombard. “As long as sellers are vague about a product’s contents, Amazon doesn’t seem to care. This is problematic because U.S. consumers need more information about hemp and CBD, not less. Amazon’s convenience and return policy may entice more consumers to try hemp products, but if their experience is negative, that hurts the industry.”

    CBD Oracle also lists some potential solutions to remedy these issues, though they largely fall on Amazon to either adhere to more strict verification and COA guidelines, if not completely remove any products making false claims. They note that customers tend to have limited impact and that individual efforts to combat or report these products may ultimately result in frustration and wasted time. 

    Authors also cite that the current model, a blanket ban on CBD encouraging companies to be dishonest and actively work around it, may not be the answer.

    “Even establishing a bare minimum requirement for hemp sellers — showing an up-to-date lab report — would be enough to send the snake oil sellers running for the hills,” the report concludes. “Will you be able to pretend that CBD isn’t available on your platform? No. But customers who are buying CBD on your platform — who already exist, like it or not — would be much, much more likely to get safe products that offer what they say on the label.”

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    Keegan Williams

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  • Kids are buying pot-like drugs from corner stores. Lawmakers want to stop it. – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    Kids are buying pot-like drugs from corner stores. Lawmakers want to stop it. – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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  • Avoid ‘Diet Weed,’ Johns Hopkins Expert Says | High Times

    Avoid ‘Diet Weed,’ Johns Hopkins Expert Says | High Times

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    The hemp-derived cannabinoid market is hotter than ever but experts warn that people should educate themselves about the fundamental differences between delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC products. High Times previously reported that delta-8 THC was first partially synthesized in 1941, yet there’s still a lot of controversy surrounding the ingredient, due to the way it’s extracted and converted. 

    Nextar reports that a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor and other experts want to educate people about the choices they should make with cannabis.

    “Chemically, they’re almost identical. But that one little difference in that chemical structure results in a different way that it interacts with your body … with your [cannabinoid] receptors,” explains Ryan Vandrey, Ph.D., a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who specializes in the behavior pharmacology of cannabis.

    The majority of delta-8 on the market is converted from CBD, using a natural solvent and an acid as a catalyst, but people inside and out of the cannabis industry cannot seem to agree whether delta-8 should be defined as synthetic or natural. 

    Vandrey also added that delta-9 THC is stronger, so why would consumers go to delta-8?

    “The reason people call delta-8-THC ‘diet weed’ [is because] that chemical difference is a little less potent at what it does at the receptor,” Vandrey said, adding that delta-8 is “about half as effective” at producing the same high as delta-9.

    “Does delta-8 THC get you high or is it a scam?” a popular Reddit thread in r/weed asked. The consensus appears to confirm that it has fewer psychedelic effects compared to delta-9 THC.

    Sales of hemp-derived cannabinoids like CBD outpace adult-use cannabis and are comparable to the craft beer industry, Whitney Economics found. There are no signs that the industry is going to slow down.

    Representatives from NORML have told High Times that delta-8 is not a primary concern, but it’s more about residual chemicals and other byproducts in gas station hemp products you should be worried about most. Dale Gieringer of Cal NORML specifically warned about THCO, which he thinks is instead one of the more particularly problematic compounds with the potential for real injuries.

    Peter Grinspoon, M.D.,a primary care doctor at Mass General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, supports medical cannabis but says state medical cannabis programs do a much better job at vetting ingredients than shops selling delta-8 products.

    Grinspoon clarified that the confusion caused by the federal government itself makes it hard to distinguish what’s safe and what’s not regarding hemp-derived cannabinoids.

    “In addition to lack of regulation, we have regulatory incoherence from different branches and levels of government. … That’s going to make it even harder to get any coherent regulation on things,” he told Nexstar.

    Legal experts noted that the FDA had no intention of legalizing delta-8 when the 2018 Farm Bill was passed, so time’s ticking for the hemp-derived cannabinoids industry. But sellers have it practically everywhere.

    “Delta-8 is so close to delta-9, it’s probably relatively safe,” Grinspoon said. “But even if we figured out that delta-8 is safe—the delta-8 you’re buying at your local smoke shop, we have no idea what’s in it.”

    The 2018 Farm Bill paved the way for the Ninth Circuit Court to rule that certain low-THC cannabis derivatives were exempt from the Controlled Substances Act. This left a loophole for hemp-derived products that produce a psychoactive effect, but the feds never intended to do so.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that delta-8 and similar cannabinoid derivatives, have “psychoactive and intoxicating effects that may be dangerous to consumers” and urged Congress to act and set up regulations. These hemp-derived cannabinoids leave room for the potential of harmful contaminants, the FDA says.

    How is Delta-8 THC Made?

    Delta-8 THC is only found in minute amounts in the wild, therefore in order to get enough to infuse products, it must be converted from CBD. Roger Adams and a team of researchers at the University of Illinois were the first to report partial synthesis of delta-8 in 1941.

    High Times reported on exactly how it’s done:

    The publication Chemical and Engineering News (CEN) described the process as “refluxing CBD in an organic solvent, such as toluene or heptane, with p-toluenesulfonic acid or another acid that serves as a catalyst.” In a controlled, regulated environment, these reactions would be done by PhD chemists to ensure there are no harmful by-products left in products sold to consumers, but the hemp industry is notoriously under-regulated with no requirements for lab testing.

    CEN also described the rise of delta-8 THC “a concern.”

    It’s up to every consumer to adhere to “buyer beware,” or at least know the differences between delta-8 and delta-9 THC, which are significant.

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    Benjamin M. Adams

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  • Access to CBD Leads to Decrease in Opioid Prescriptions, Study Shows | High Times

    Access to CBD Leads to Decrease in Opioid Prescriptions, Study Shows | High Times

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    A recent report published in the Southern Economic Journal on Oct. 26 found evidence that legal access to CBD has helped lead to a decrease in opioid prescriptions.

    A study called “CBD as a cure-all? The impacts of state-level legalization of prescription cannabidiol (CBD) on opioid prescriptions,” was authored by economists associated with South Carolina-based Wofford College, and California State University Bakersfield. “We find that the ability to purchase CBD legally leads to 6.6% to 8.1% fewer opioid prescriptions,” the authors stated.

    Researchers make it clear that it wasn’t just CBD legalization that led to opioid prescription reduction, but that of legal access to CBD products. “In general, we find that state level legalization of CBD products only leads to a statistically significant reduction in opioid prescriptions when states also allow for open and legal dispensaries, suggesting that adequate supply-side access is necessary to realize the potential benefits of legalization,” authors wrote.

    The report stated that stores selling CBD help decrease opioid prescriptions by 3.5% just two years after legalization goes into effect. It’s not the same for every state though, as this statistic varied for states with stricter regulations on CBD sales, including the requirement that people provide their ID or submit their personal info to a registry. “…(i) state legalization of prescription CBD alone does not reduce opioid usage; (ii) regulations limited purchasing, such as ID laws, negate nearly all of the benefits of demand-side legalization; and (iii) supply-side access, either via interstate purchasing or legal and open dispensaries, are vital in using pain-management substances to fully combat the opioid epidemic.”

    “Our paper provides important preliminary evidence that CBD may in fact reduce opioid prescription rates,” the authors said. “While CBD products may not necessarily be the cure-all they are marketed as, they do appear to be net substitutes for opioids.”

    The authors examined individual state laws and regulations specifically focused on CBD, such as Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas, between 2010-2019. During that window, there was a significant shift in CBD as an accepted and mainstream product. “Although the fastest growing segment of the CBD market is over-the-counter [OTC] usage, the vast majority of states that have established industrial hemp programs did not do so until 2016, meaning that OTC CBD products were largely unavailable until later in our study period.”

    They also examined Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data for opioid prescriptions on a county level, but noted that it suggests “…that further research on the impacts of CBD is warranted.”

    The 2018 Farm Bill transformed the hemp industry in the U.S. Prior to the passage of the bill though, access was more limited. As time passed, states such as Tennessee decided to permit legal importation of CBD products from outside the state in 2016.

    The authors explained that while opioid prescriptions were reduced in those CBD-only states, the states that also allowed medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and/or recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) still made more of an impact on opioid prescription reduction. “Compared to states with no legal usage of marijuana, those who have adopted MMLs or RMLs prescribe fewer opioids per 100 population. However, these areas tend to be healthier and have more doctors, suggesting it is possible difference in opioid usage rates are not due to the presence of legal marijuana.”

    A state with a variety of CBD-only dispensaries appears to lead to the most significant drops in opioid prescriptions though. “Importantly, we see that [states with] CBD laws have lower opioid prescribing rates than states with no laws, though still higher than in states with MMLs or RMLs,” However, when we look at states that have allowed CBD dispensaries, we see that opioid prescribing rates are lower than those found in states with MMLs or RMLs, even with similar objective health measures (obesity and diabetes) to states with CBD laws.”

    Medical cannabis states experienced a 35% decrease in opioid prescriptions, but states that have not yet legalized still saw a decrease of 33%.

    Researchers concluded that their study is just a glimpse into the positive benefits of CBD and its effect on opioid prescriptions. “While further work is needed to understand the degree to which our results are generalizable to the over-the-counter market for CBD, our results suggest policy makers should consider the costs of regulation and carefully balance the tradeoffs between ensuring the quality of and restricting access to CBD,” authors said in their conclusion.

    In 2020, a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, Anthony Armour, who tried to swap opioids with CBD was fired from his position. Most recently in September 2023, the DEA defended its decision to fire the individual. “Mr. Armour argues that he ‘displayed negligence or poor decision-making,’ and DEA properly held him accountable for his poor decisions when they resulted in a verified positive drug test. DEA lost trust in Mr. Armour and properly removed him.”

    Separately, the DEA is currently considering recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services. It’s uncertain if the agency will move forward to reschedule cannabis into a less restrictive category that shows medical value of the plant.

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    Nicole Potter

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