Yesterday, President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill, paving the way for industrial hemp legalization. Within hours, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, issued a statement clarifying the FDA’s position on industrial hemp. The FDA’s position: Just because industrial hemp is legal doesn’t mean that you can put it in food
Today the US takes a major step forward in cannabis reform! The 2018 Farm Bill legalizes industrial hemp, and was just signed into law by President Trump. Industrial hemp will now be treated like an agricultural commodity, not a controlled substance. Our in-depth look at the hemp provisions in this new Farm Bill is available
Update: The 2018 Farm Bill was just approved by the House. It now heads to President Trump’s Desk. At long last, it’s finally happening: The 2018 Farm Bill has made it out of conference and been approved by the Senate. It currently awaits approval from the House, which is expected this week. If Donald Trump
As readers of this blog know, California is on its way to developing robust laws governing the sale (and all other aspects) of cannabis and cannabis products. So, it’s somewhat surprising that California’s laws concerning the sale of industrial hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (“hemp-CBD”), to the extent they even exist, are all over the map.
On September 30, the Agricultural Act of 2014, more commonly known as the “2014 Farm Bill” (the “Farm Bill” or the “Act”) expired before the enactment of its potential successor, the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”)—it is also unlikely that the 2018 Farm Bill will be revisited before the November elections. The
Our firm’s main practice areas include cannabis, China, trade and immigration. As such, it may not surprise you to learn that we get a lot of questions about the developing international cannabis trade. This is in large part due to the fact that Canada is on the verge of legalizing marijuana nationwide. Importing or exporting
In recent posts, we’ve discussed cases where a neighbor to a cannabis grow sued the grower for nuisance, claiming that growing cannabis interfered with the neighbor’s use of their land. See here, here, here, here, and here. These lawsuits relied on the non-cannabis landowner’s claims that the federally illegal cannabis business caused harm because of odor, disruptive
The legal status of cannabidiol (CBD) has long been complicated. The Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) allowed for the cultivation of “industrial hemp”, defined as the cannabis plant that contains less than .03% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a dry weight basis, as long as that hemp was grown pursuant to a state’s guidelines. The
This past year, the country has witnessed widespread interest in the use of cannabis in its nutraceutical (when added to food or drinks) form. Cannabidiol (“CBD”), the non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant, has gained great popularity among alcohol beverage companies. The growing popularity of CBD-infused products combined with their mainstream nature has
Last week, California’s industrial hemp bill, SB 1409, received a unanimous passing vote from committee. We last wrote about SB 1409 in March, and the legislation has undergone some changes, warranting a new summary of what has been proposed. Currently, California law regulates the cultivation of industrial hemp, and specifies certain procedures and requirements on
