Only around 20 states have their own USDA-approved plans which align with the Interim Final Rules (IFR) the USDA released in October 2019. Some of the large hemp-producing states which will not meet current requirements include Kentucky, Oregon, and California. States have until August 15, 2020 to submit plans if they want to continue overseeing their own hemp industries instead of using the federal default (when it is developed).

Colorado, another large hemp producing state, also has not received approval for their plan. Brian Koontz, the state’s industrial hemp manager state however, that they submitted their plan tot he USda on June 18th for approval, but have not received a response. Koontz went on to state that the USDA has 60 days to respond, so the Colorado should receive an answer on their plan by August 17 or 18.

Two U.S. senators have already asked the USDA to delay the IFR until “several concerns” from states are addressed. These include:

• More disposal options for non-compliant crops.
• Requiring growers to test plants within 15 days of the anticipated harvest.
• Farmers possibly facing criminal charges if their plants have more than 0.3% THC. The plants would have to be destroyed and if the plants test at 0.5% THC or more, growers can be criminally liable.

“These are things that do not take a legislative fix, but they are things that could be addressed through rule-making. So it’s very important that collectively we are conveying our concerns,” said Courtney Moran, chief legislative director for Agricultural Hemp Solutions.

Government Confusion Regarding Hemp Plans

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer sent a letter on August 7th asking the USDA to delay the new rules until 2022. “Regulating this rapidly-emerging industry is a must, but the timing of new regulations is important and the current economic crisis must be considered,” Schumer said.

Many states have stated that their plans are being delayed by the national COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. House recently passed legislation that would delay the USDA rules until 2022, but the bill still needs Senate approval.

The USDA has openly stated that they have no plans to delay the new rule implimentation.

“The provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill expire on Oct. 31, 2020,” an agency spokesman wrote. “After that time, all domestic hemp must be grown under either an approved state or tribal plan or under a USDA hemp production plan in states or tribes that have chosen not to operate their own plan.”

Oregon’s Concerns With the New Rules

Sunny Summers, the coordinator of cannabis policy and special projects at the Oregon Department of Agriculture said the state was working on a draft plan to submit to the USDA by Saturday’s deadline. She said she hopes the new rules take effect in January, not on Nov. 1.

“Our licenses and registrations are good through the calendar year,” Summers said. “And so making the change Nov. 1st is not a good way to operate a program. So I’m just going to be honest, that’s really confusing for people in the industry when they’re kind of struggling to figure out which end (is) up.”

Summers said she’s also concerned about farmers opening themselves to criminal prosecution if their crops test above the THC limit for hemp.

“There is a large percentage of hemp growers that are new to farming at all, much less, this particular crop with its own specific nuances,” she said. “And so penalizing people, who in all good faith were trying to grow hemp, because they tested at 0.5% or above doesn’t seem reasonable to us.”

The post Half of US States Non-Compliant With USDA Guidelines for Hemp Starting in November appeared first on Logical Green Solutions.

The new advertising restrictions will apply to outdoor advertising, advertising played before some films, and free samples. The new law does not affect THC cannabis products in Germany, as they are considered narcotics and fall under a different set of laws.

With the new law, CBD vape manufacturers will also need to comply with EU guidance which regulates the ingredients that can be used in e-cigarettes. CBD vape manufacturers will also need to notify national authorities of their products’ ingredients and emissions, toxicological data, nicotine content and update, as well as with a description of the device. CBD vape products already on the market will have until July 1, 2021 to submit the needed documents.

Regarding the advertising changes in the law, lawmakers wrote that the new advertising rules were created partially to shield children from their influence. The changes to outdoor advertising state that ads can only be displayed in shop windows or on exterior walls at retail stores that sell CBD vape products. This means that CBD vape products are no longer able to be advertised on sidewalk columns or billboards. (Outdoor advertising restrictions don’t take effect until 2024.)

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This comes shortly after last week’s announcement from the European Union Commission. In the announcement, the European Commission stated that its preliminary view on CBD extracted from flowering tops of Cannabis plants should be considered a narcotic under a 1961 United Nations’ treaty.

In the event the European Commission’s stance is adopted, hemp-derived CBD would no longer be considered a food product. This would make CBD fall outside of the novel food regulation and could lead to CBD products being banned from the European Union market.

The Novel Food Classification

In January of 2019, the European Union Novel Foods Catalogue was updated to include hemp-derived cannabinoids, including CBD. This novel food designation meant that manufactured needed to have their CBD edibles and supplement products evaluated for consumer safety, and to also seek permission from European Union authorities before placing these products on the market.

Since the catalogue update, European Union authorities have received more than 50 applications for novel food authorization of hemp-derived products — most of which contain CBD.

At this time, review of these applications has been suspended. Affected novel food applications should have received a letter containing the European Union’s new preliminary stance on extracted CBD on July 3-10. The letter also invited comments from those affected by the preliminary view through early September. At this time, it is unknown how soon after the September deadline applicants can expect a response to their applications.

The United Kingdom Still Holds Novel Food Status

According to the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency, their Home Office has not changed its viewpoint that CBD extracts themselves are considered narcotics. The office will continue with its current plans of accepting novel food applications starting in January of 2021 after the Brexit transition period ends. Until that point, however, the European Commission remains the sole route for formal submissions.

Confusion on the Timing

According to Paris-based attorney Van Keymeulen, the timing of this position is puzzling.

“What is very surprising is the timing,” said Van Keymeulen. “We’ve had novel food status for two years, and after interacting with so many member states and authorities, and updating the [Novel Food] Catalog several times, what they are doing now is totally backpedaling.”

“No one really knows why the European Union wants to ban hemp extracts at all – which would mean the definitive end of the hemp food industry except for hemp seeds,” said Kai-Friedrich Niermann, an attorney based in Germany who specializes in CBD and cannabis regulations. “That can’t be the solution and that can’t be the future.”

Niermann, a member of the European Industrial Hemp Association, said he believes that the EIHA’s lobbying efforts will persuade the commission to take a stance more favorable to the hemp industry.

Quoted from Hemp Industry Daily

The United Nation’s Stance

The 53 member stations of the United Nation’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs will hold a vote later this year to decide whether to revise how cannabis and other related substances should be scheduled in two international narcotics conventions.

In December of 2019, the European Commission issued a proposal for a united position based on World Health Organization scheduling recommendations. In order to vote, European Uninion member states would need to support three of the six cannabis-related changes, as proposed.

When it comes to the six changes, there were two specificially that the European Commission did not support:

Recommendation 5.4: Removing extracts and tinctures of cannabis from Schedule I of the 1961 convention.

Recommendation 5.5: Adding a footnote saying that “preparations containing predominantly cannabidiol and not more than 0.2% of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol are not under international control.”

On these two issues, the European Commission proposed that EU countries “take the position that the recommendation should not be put to vote and further assessment by WHO should be requested.”

When it came to these two recommendations, the European Commission stated that European Union countries should “take the position that the recommendation should no be put to vote and further assessment by the WHO should be requested.”

While the European Union itself cannot vote in December, 13 of the 53 countries casting ballets are able to vote. As the European Union wants a united stance, it is to be expected that they will vote identically. These countries include:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Croatia
• The Czech Republic
• France
• Germany
• Hungary
• Italy
• The Netherlands
• Poland
• Spain
• Sweden

There is Possibility That CBD Could Be Categorized as a Narcotic Before December

Due to a court case in France, it’s possible that the European market’s CBD fate may not lay with the European Commission. In the court case, two employees from Kavavape were convicted of a criminal offense by a Marseille court on the grounds that the CBD oil in their product, which they were marketing, was extracted from the whole hemp plant. French law prohibits extracting from a whole hemp plant, including the leaves and flowers.

In May, an adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union said France’s ban on the marketing of hemp-derived CBD products contradicts EU law on the free movement of goods. This is because hemp-derived CBD is not classified as a narcotic drug (at this time), and is therefore protected under the European Union’s free movement principle.

The Court of Justice is expected to rule on this case as early as September.

“While such judgment may not directly prevent the Commission to maintain its conservative view, it would be very hard to reconcile this position—which would effectively shut down the EU market for CBD food products—with the principles set forth in the AG’s opinion,” Van Keymeulen said.

“As I do not believe the Commission’s position is sustainable in the long run, and this position will become increasingly difficult to defend the more scientific evidence on CBD becomes available,  I would generally recommend companies to continue preparing their Novel Food applications, and in particular continue the studies that are necessary to prove the safety of CBD in food products,” she said.

“If companies have not yet started the application process, and want to err on the side of caution, they may want to await the CJEU judgment and the vote of the CND in December—hoping the vote will not be postponed once again—to get a better sense of the direction ahead.”

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If the White House Office of Management and Budget approves the policy, a public release of enforcement policy could arrive within a matter of weeks. The White House Office of Management and Budget is required to sign off on any new regulations from any federal agency.

It is believed that the approval of the policy could finally mean some clarity in the CBD industry. Attorney Jonathan Havens, a Washington DC-based partner with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Leh, wrote a LinkedIn post on Thursday. In the post, Havens noted that the enforcement policy could be claims-focused. This means that it could work to control the illegal, unsubstantiated claims that companies have been making about their CBD products. Havens does not, however, believe that this will adjust the FDA’s policy that CBD ingestibles are not permitted.

Havens provided further clarification to Hemp Industry Daily

It could be claims-based, serving size-based, (which is) less likely, product standards-based, some combination of the three, or something else

On the standards front, it’s possible FDA could start to hold ingestible CBD marketers to the agency’s dietary-supplement regulations, for example, good manufacturing practice requirements.

Such standard [sic] are what the supplement-industry trade associations have been pushing for.

It would raise the bar for the industry, push out unsavory firms who are producing unsafe products and allow marketers to say that they comply with FDA requirements, which would hopefully smooth out the true patchwork of state requirements, among other benefits.

This submission to the White House is arriving only a few days after the FDA submitted a guidance draft for clinical research relating to developing cannabis and cannabis-derived drug products.

The post CBD Enforcement Policy Draft Guidance Submitted to White House by FDA appeared first on Logical Green Solutions.

Under the grants, the hemp provisions are minimal and require a valid producer license issued under a USDA-approved plan. Of note, the grants specifically call out for hemp-related projects. While these grants have existed for at least 10 years, the new hemp references mean that federal agencies are anticipating hemp industry participants.

Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant

Deadline: August 10, 2020

Click here to visit the grant page

The Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant has a maximum award of $175,000, and is only eligible to applicants who are:

• Co-Ops
• Groups of Co-Ops
• Cooperative Development Centers

Applicants must be governed by a majority of individuals who are members of Socially Disadvantaged Groups and must also be providing technical assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Groups in rural areas.

Socially Disadvantaged Groups are defined as a “group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.”

Grant funds may be used towards technical-assistance service (which include items such as feasibility studies, leadership training, business planning, and other strategic plans).

Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program

Deadline: August 3, 2020

Click here to visit the grant page

The Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program has a maximum award of $200,000, and also has a 25% fund-matching requirement (which is reduced to 5% for Native American tribally controlled colleges and universities with land-grant status under the 1994 Act of Congress.)

Applicants must be a nonprofit corporation or institution of higher education. The grant must be used to fund the creation, expansion, or continued operation of a cooperative development center that serves businesses and individuals in rural areas.

Some items funding can be used for include:

• Data Collection
• Training
• Feasibility Studies
• Technical Assistance

The post USDA Hemp Grant Deadlines for Co-Ops and Cooperative Center Development appeared first on Logical Green Solutions.

With the ruling, the law banning smokable hemp has been reinstated. Indiana can now enforce the law, which bans the “manufacture, possession, and sale of smokable hemp products”. The case will now return to a lower court to refine the injunction that “sweeps too broadly”, according to the 7th District Court of Appeals in Chicago.

In their initial court case, the hemp companies argued that the federal law guarantees interstate commerce in hemp, which therefore makes it illegal for Indiana to ban the possession of smokable hemp products (which potentially pass through the state). The appeals court ruled that part of the law may be worthy of an injunction due to implications on interstate commerce, but the overall law did not merit an injunction.

Of note, the appeals court noted that Indiana’s smokable hemp ban specifically exempt transporters moving smokable hemp products from another state through Indiana, as long as the products were destined to be sold outside of Indiana. The appeals court also noted that the hemp companies that sued over Indiana’s smokable hemp law may not have the best standing to challenge it, because they’re not transporting hemp from another state through Indiana.

The case will now return to federal court in Indianapolis, which has been instructed to weigh Indiana’s right to regulate hemp against language in federal law. Federal law prevents states from blocking interstate commerce in the hemp industry. This ruling continues the confusion in the United States when it comes to smokable hemp. Several states have already banned its production including Iowa, Texas, and Louisiana.

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Luis Armendáriz, an attorney in Chihuahua, Mexico, who is affiliated with Denver’s Hoban Law Group said that there have already been “big steps that have been taken” towards the legalization of hemp and marijuana in the country. Before the COVID-19 delay, a majority of Mexico’s senators had approved the legalization bill in committee. This is an important step, as there has to be a consensus from all political parties. Armendáriz believes that the delay could even improve the measure.

However, it is important to note that if legislation is passed, it could still take years for Mexico to set up regulations for hemp and marijuana businesses to grow and sell cannabis products.

Before the coronavirus stopped lawmakers’ work, a majority of senators approved a legalization bill in committee – an important step because there had to be a consensus from all the political parties. He said the delay could even be an opportunity to improve the measure.

Whenever the legislation is passed, it could still take years for Mexico to set up regulations for how hemp and marijuana business can grow and sell cannabis products. The attitude in the industry feels that the country is very supportive of the measure, as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also supports legalization.

During the last session, lawmakers had a list of legislative priorities they wanted to pass; the Legalization of marijuana and hemp was number four on the list, and amnesty for non-violent drug offenses was number one.

The post Mexico Advancing Towards Legalized Hemp and Marijuana appeared first on Logical Green Solutions.

Fluent Beverage Co. (a partnership between Anheuser-Busch InBev and cannabis company Tilray) launched its line of CBD beverages in December. The product was Everie — tea bags with less than 0.05 milligrams of THC. In early March, Everie also began selling a CBD-infused sparkling beverage.

The joint venture between Molson Coors and the HEXO cannabis company, called Truss Beverage Co., has stated that their line of CBD drinks “will be coming soon”. Their line will be called Flow Glow.

Both launches were slower than the ventures expected and didn’t meet their company projections. The delay was caused partially by Canadian law, which, while they legalized marijuana in October of 2018, delayed the sale of THC and CBD beverages for a year. December of 2019 was the earliest date that those products could go on sale, and companies were required to partake in a two-month application process.

Challenges for New Products

Matt Maurer, a cannabis attorney with the Toronto firm Torkin Mane, stated that the packaging of the new beverages was one of the first challenges that were discovered. Traditional aluminum cans have thin liners that can draw cannabinoids out of suspension.

“The cans that were proposed to be used would basically take the potency away from the drink,” he told Hemp Industry Daily. “So they had to sort of reformulate their packaging, figure out how they were going to deal with that challenge.”

Other challenges the companies face including getting the flavor right, as well as trying to find a way for the product to not separate after being stored over a long period of time. If the products were stored too long, the separation would sink to the bottom of the beverage.

It’s not impossible, however, to launch a successful cannabis drinks business, said Scott Van Rixel, founder and former CEO of Bhang! Chocolate, a cannabis company that sells various CBD products. “Look, there are some cannabis beverages in the marketplace already in Canada, that’s a fact. I think that people had this assumption that it was a very simple process to just put THC into a beverage and away you go. And there’s a little more complexity from a chemistry standpoint.”

After some delays, cannabis giant Canopy Growth began shipping its own marijuana-infused drinks throughout Canada last month.

According to Maurer and Rixel, more companies were interested in the THC side of the industry as opposed to CBD. Due to this, CBD-only drinks have not taken off on a mass scale. “If you wanted to buy CBD only or edibles, almost none of the companies had them; they were all producing THC,” Maurer said.

The Future of the Industry

At present, CBD-only products can only be sold through marijuana retailers. This means that CBD products cannot be sold at convenience stores or grocery stores. However, Canadian health regulators have begun considering whether beverages with CBD (as they cause no impairment like marijuana), should be allowed to be sold as health products in conventional stores such as pharmacies. The decision is expected to happen within the next few months.“If that happens, demand will go way up, because you’ll be able to get it everywhere,” he said.

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