Dozens of people involved with the state’s burgeoning hemp industry urged lawmakers on Tuesday to support a bill that will allow retailers to resume selling edible products containing cannabidiol, or CBD.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Craig Hickman, is a response to a recent state order directing retailers to remove edible CBD products from their shelves because the federal Food and Drug Administration announced in December that the hemp derivative is not an approved food additive.
The state’s directive blindsided hemp producers for whom edible CBD comprises a considerable share of an exploding hemp market.
Hickman’s bill would allow retailers to resume selling edible CBD, but not outside of Maine.
Retailers, patients and farmers support the bill, which received initial approval on Tuesday from the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.
Also on Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree asked the FDA to provide guidance on possible legal ways that edible CBD can be sold across state lines.
Originally posted 5:00 p.m. Feb. 19, 2019.
