Maine’s Hemp Policies Remain Turbulent as the Legislature Reconvenes

The legislature is reconvening on hemp issues this coming Thursday, January 9. The Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is considering a simple resolve "Directing the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to Submit to the United States Secretary of Agriculture a Plan for Continued Implementation of the Maine Industrial Hemp Program." This resolve is self-explanatory; it will direct the Department to submit a plan to the USDA for hemp production which would finally bring Maine’s program in line with federal law. 

What this resolve doesn’t do is address a more pressing issue with Maine’s hemp policies at the moment: the continued crackdown on CBD products manufactured out-of-state. We’ve heard multiple reports of state inspectors telling retailers to sell whatever is on their shelves, but not to buy any more CBD products from outside Maine. The policy formally took effect on January 1 (though the original guidance issued by the State said December 1), and it remains to be seen how aggressive the crackdown will be, especially since a large portion of current CBD ingestible products on the shelves in Maine are from elsewhere.