CBD News Roundup: Michigan Bill Will Allow Vets to Discuss CBD With Pet Owners

Here’s the latest CBD news:

• A bill in Michigan that would allow veterinarians to discuss CBD with pet owners has passed both chambers of the house.
• Molson Coors has launched its line of CBD-infused beverages in Colorado.
• A study shows that CBD applied to produce can stave off bacteria and prolong shelf life.

Table of Contents

1. Michigan Bill Will Allow Vets to Discuss CBD with Pet Owners
2. Coors Debuts Non-Alcoholic CBD Beverages in the US
3. CBD Can Extend Strawberry Shelf Life, New Study Says

Michigan Bill Will Allow Vets to Discuss CBD with Pet Owners

A bill originally introduced by Michigan representative Greg Markkanen (R) relating to the discussion of CBD in veterinary practice has made its way through the state legislature and is awaiting signing by governor Gretchen Whitmer.

In October of 2019, Markkanen introduced House Bill 5085 as an opportunity for veterinarians – who were vaguely discouraged from the conversation until this point – to discuss CBD use openly with pet owners, an audience that is continually growing in their fondness of the compound for pet health concerns.

As introduced, the bill read, “A veterinarian may consult with an owner on the use of marijuana or CBD oil on an animal of the owner pursuant to rules promulgated under this section.”

The bill traveled through the Michigan legislature over the ensuing year and was passed by the state house on September 10.

Three months later, the state senate passed the bill, and it appears ready to be signed into law by governor Whitmer.

If this bill becomes active, it will be used as an amendment to Part 188 of the Michigan Public Health Code, which regulates veterinary medicine.

Veterinarians practicing under this legislation would now be free to address the frequently swept-aside issue of CBD’s possible interactions with their animal patients’ medications, so long as the CBD in mention remains within legally defined limits. 

Coors Debuts Non-Alcoholic CBD Beverages In the US

After teasing the lineup for months, beverage industry giant Molson Coors has officially deployed its CBD-infused products in the United States.

On Yahoo Finance Live, Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley explained how the success of the Coors line of THC-infused beverages already being sold in Canada provided a model for how the CBD-infused beverages may perform in the USA, but it’s too early to tell, said Hattersley, having just launched them in Colorado this week.

Coors was a relatively early entrant to the world of legal (in Canada) cannabis-infused drinks, partnering with Hexo Corp and launching their five non-alcoholic CBD drinks after Canada legalized edible cannabis products in October of last year.

In Canada and the USA, both the continued growth of the CBD beverage market and the slow shifting away from conventional beer have driven many of the big names in beer to innovation, whether it’s CBD, hard seltzers, spiked tea, and other avant-garde approaches. 

CBD Can Extend Strawberry Shelf Life, New Study Says

A study by the University of South Florida’s Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular biology examining cannabidiol’s potential as a “postharvest treatment” for strawberries was published in Postharvest Biology and Technology on December 1st.

The authors were looking to determine whether or not the antimicrobial potential of cannabidiol could be applied to produce in a way that would lengthen shelf life after harvesting.

To test this, the experimenters applied CBD oil to freshly harvested strawberries before storing them at 1 ℃ (33.8 ℉) or 10 ℃ (50 ℉) for eight days. 

Before and after this process, the strawberries were visually inspected and tested for “microbial load” to assess the effects of cannabidiol on preservation.

The CBD-treated strawberries outperformed the untreated strawberries across both of these key metrics, confirming the compound’s potential as an “effective antimicrobial treatment” for safely and naturally preserving strawberries after purchase.