With no end in sight to state-by-state efforts to ban intoxicating hemp products and the resulting slew of lawsuits, a U.S. senator is now proposing to regulate the rapidly growing hemp market.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced the Cannabinoid Safety Act on Sept. 25 in hopes of establishing federal guidelines to protect public health and safety regarding products similar to but often different from cannabis. introduced the Regulation Act (CSRA). Adhere to the same regulatory standards, including age restrictions, packaging and labeling requirements, and testing compliance.
More specifically, the CSRA amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit persons under the age of 21 from purchasing products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids and to require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to: It will require the recall or ban of products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids. “Dangerous chemicals or additives.”
Wyden said one of the main focuses of the 80-page bill is to keep intoxicating products out of the hands of children.
“Just like the tobacco industry sells cigarettes to young people, we shouldn't be slapping fun cartoons or gaudy candy packaging on cannabis products aimed at adults,” he said in a press release. “The federal floor for regulating hemp products is non-negotiable to ensure that consumers are not put at risk by untested and products of unknown origin. We guarantee you know what you are getting and that our hemp products are never sold or promoted to children.”
CSRA does not preclude states from issuing their own laws and regulations containing prohibitions regarding cannabinoid products. In other words, the law would go beyond the bill's provisions and “explicitly authorize states to prohibit, limit, or regulate cannabis-derived products,” Wyden said.
However, this law establishes national standards for the manufacture, packaging, labeling, testing, and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Additionally, states could not interfere with the transportation or shipment of cannabinoid products across their borders.
The law is intended to provide a regulatory framework for products that meet the legal definition of hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill, but the proposal does not include products that use synthetic or artificially derived cannabinoids. Prohibits manufactured products or products manufactured therefrom. However, the law distinguishes between fully synthetic cannabinoid products (prohibited) and semi-synthetic cannabinoid products (permitted).
“Cannabinoid products that convert cannabinoids extracted from the cannabis plant into other cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant through a single chemical process are semi-synthetic, meaning that the products are free of harmful ingredients such as chemical byproducts and chemicals. Permitted as long as it does not contain “residues,” according to the proposed bill. This means that cannabinoids produced by the conversion of CBD, such as delta-8 THC, are allowed under the CSRA.
The law also prohibits adulterated or misbranded cannabinoid products by requiring products to:
Produced in a regulatory-registered facility that allows FDA testing; Tested for contamination and potency by a nationally licensed and certified laboratory; Meets heavy metal and by-product safety levels as established by the FDA be free of false or misleading labels or advertising; do not imitate or reproduce products that are appealing to children, such as snacks or candies with cartoon characters; It includes labels that include the internationally recognized cannabis symbol and other general labeling requirements for food and beverage products.
The CSRA includes $1.125 billion in public health funding over five years, including $200 million annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for research and data collection; Includes $25 million annually for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Provides grants to states and nonprofit organizations to reduce underage use.
The legislation also includes $350 million in Cannabis Impaired Driving Prevention Fund over five years, including $40 million annually to the U.S. Department of Transportation and its state-level peers to improve impaired driving standards. It also includes $30 a year in research funding to enable development. under the influence of cannabis.
Wyden's introduction of the CSRA comes after the governors of California and Missouri have taken executive action to ban cannabis-derived cannabinoid products that are intoxicating even if they contain traceable amounts of THC, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy This comes after the signing of a bill restricting the sale of these products. And we aim to move them into regulated markets.
While many cannabis industry stakeholders oppose these state actions, Wyden's CRSA has been joined by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable (USHR), the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the National Industrial Hemp Council, and California, Colorado, and Arizona. , garnered support from Michigan hemp industry groups. , Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, South Dakota, Virginia, and Texas.
“The hemp industry is united behind a simple, common-sense proposition: Hemp products should be well regulated, not subject to false prohibitions,” USHR General Counsel Jonathan Miller said in an official statement. mentioned in. “Senator Wyden’s important bill does just that: impose strong health and safety standards on hemp products while keeping them out of the hands of minors.”
Wyden's proposal appears to have found a middle ground in the recent dispute between cannabis and cannabis operators, even though both groups share a common interest in the plant.
Unregulated cannabinoid products can compete with the cannabis industry without incurring similarly large financial burdens, but prohibition continues to threaten the entire hemp industry's existence in recent years.
“For too long, federal inaction has fostered an unregulated market for cannabis THC products, putting the public at risk and creating inequities in regulated cannabis businesses,” said NCIA CEO Aaron Smith. It has created a lot of competition.” “We look forward to working with Senator Wyden to pass the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, as this legislation will create a pathway for manufacturers to pass the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, while ensuring that hemp that causes intoxication We solve this problem by implementing common-sense safeguards to ensure products are tested, properly labeled, and not available to minors.'' “Safe through a regulated framework.'' Providing hemp products to adults. ”
