If you have been exploring options for obtaining therapeutic use of cannabis, then it might interest you to learn about two new bills that seek to legalize the use of CBD in the U.S. Hemp/CBD Law is currently challenging the archaic and obsolete federal marijuana prohibition. At the basic level, CBD and Hemp are challenging the U.S. Federal law at its most fundamental level regarding its definition of Marijuana illegal in the United States. Hemp/CBD is yet another alternative medication option for those who wish to re-discover the benefits of Hemp for chronic pain management, especially with the growing number of deaths from prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Codeine.
In July 2021, Georgia voted to eliminate the state’s ban on medical use of marijuana: Shortly thereafter, the General Assembly of the State of Georgia signed into law House Bill 715 which nullified the previous ban on medical use of cannabis by citizens of the state. House Bill 715 also explicitly permitted the cultivation, possession, and distribution of industrial hemp within the state. In the same bill, the legislature made certain that CBD could not be sold over the counter or acquired by anyone other than registered persons.
In July of this year, Florida voted to legalize medical and recreational use of marijuana: The move was supported by a majority of voters, but the state’s House of Representatives still has yet to take up the measure. Similar Bills have been proposed in the Maryland and Maine delegations, and if passed, will go into effect immediately. Similarly, legislation has been introduced in the New York State Legislature, the California legislature, and Illinois House. Similarly, hemp industrialization promoters throughout the country are banking on the passage of these Bills to make their arguments for legalization of CBD available to the masses when the state legislatures begin debating the issue.
However, some representatives worry: that CBD might become a much bigger issue in the upcoming legislative sessions. Recent polls show that a significant portion of voters continue to hold a distaste for cannabis. Some sources believe that a bill allowing the cultivation of CBD may become a target for advocates of cannabis legalization in the upcoming year. This would mark a sharp turn from the way the issue was handled in Florida where the House of Representatives legalized medical use of CBD, but left the recreational aspect of the drug up to the states’ voters.
Opponents argue: that there is no valid medical need for CBD and that the substance is far too unpredictable. A study conducted in 2021 by an independent agency concluded that there is no concrete evidence linking the CBD with autism, cancer, seizures, or any other impairment in patients who were administered CBD during a trial. The study did not conclude that CBD was not beneficial; it merely stated that further study was needed. The study was not widely publicized because the CBD industry spent millions of dollars in advertising.
According to SB-715: CBD would be included in any product labeled as containing the “occult” ingredient when the substance is obtained from a source that has not been specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. As of July, three different businesses had put forward bids to sell CBD products in California. Only one of them had submitted an actual bid to acquire CBD licensees.
Both bids were rejected by the state’s department of foodiciculture, which regulate the production, processing, holding, and sale of food products containing CBD. The state is expected to complete its review process by the end of July.
