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CBD News Roundup: California Revisits Bill to Allow CBD in Food and Drinks

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Written by The CBD Insider

Here’s the latest CBD news:

  • California is revisiting legislation that would legalize the use of CBD in food and drinks, which stalled late last year.
  • A South Dakota House committee unanimously approved a bill that would legalize the production of hemp and sale of CBD products in the state.

CBD News Stories

  1. California Revisits Bill to Allow CBD in Food and Drinks
  2. South Dakota House Committee Approves Hemp, CBD Legalization Bill

California Revisits Bill to Allow CBD in Food and Drinks

California legislators are revisiting a bill that would legalize the use of CBD in food and drinks after the legislation stalled in the state Senate late last year.

In 2018, the California Department of Public Health stated that CBD oil was not allowed to be added to food or drink because the FDA had not approved CBD for that use.

Legislators, with help from stakeholders in the hemp industry such as the US Hemp Roundtable, drafted the CBD bill in response.

The legislation was approved in the House Appropriations Committee on May 16, 2019, and passed the House less than a week later on May 22.

It then passed two committees in the Senate before the end of June but was shelved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in August.

“We have been asked by the Governor to work with his staff during the interim on the complex issues of food safety related to CBD, as well as the complicated rules associated with selling products in state marijuana dispensaries,” said Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the bill’s sponsor, when the bill stalled.

“Regardless of the action in Senate Appropriations today, I am confident that we will have a bill ready for the Governor to sign at the beginning of next year, so that our California hemp farmers and producers of hemp-CBD can take advantage of this new multi-billion dollar opportunity.”

A new version of the bill will address these changes and put hemp-derived CBD products under the regulation of the California Department of Public Health.

Once the lawmakers finish revamping the legislation, it will be discussed again in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

It may appear on the governor’s desk by March.

If you would like to support the passage of this bill, please go to the US Hemp Roundtable’s State Action Center to find out how you can help.

South Dakota House Committee Approves Hemp, CBD Legalization Bill

A South Dakota House committee has unanimously approved a bill that would legalize the production of hemp and sale of CBD products in The Mount Rushmore State.

However, there are issues with how the hemp program will be funded.

Last year, Governor Kristi Noem vetoed a hemp legalization bill.

In January, Governor Noem said she would not use her veto again this year if legislators stayed within her “guardrails.”

Noem estimates the program will cost $3.5 million and has asked legislations to find room in the state budget for it.

House Majority Leader Lee Qualm believes the funding will work out, and he expects the bill to pass the House.

Qualm also believes farmers will get to start growing hemp this year.

If the bill passes the entire legislative branch and is signed by Noem, the state’s program will have to be approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Currently, the USDA has approved the hemp plans of several tribes and six states: Delaware, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas.

However, states like Kentucky and Colorado have decided to continue with their hemp pilot programs as detailed under the 2014 Farm Bill for one more year to push the USDA to overhaul its Interim Final Rule on hemp.

If you would like to support the passage of this bill, please go to the US Hemp Roundtable’s State Action Center to find out how you can help.


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