According to PMMI Business Intelligence’s white paper, “Cannabis Market Update: Unique Packaging Challenges for THC and CBD Products,” CBD is one of the more confusing aspects of the cannabis market for consumers. CBD can be produced from either hemp, which contains less than 0.3% THC and is less regulated, or flowering marijuana plants, which have THC levels above 0.3%.
In 2018 the growth, processing, transportation, and sale of hemp became fully legal in all 50 states. In Canada, hemp has been legal for decades. The legality remains confusing, however, as there is currently no legal way to sell ingested hemp-derived CBD products outside of dispensaries. Creams, salves and balms are legal to sell, but CBD as an ingredient in food (including pet food) or beverage technically remains illegal to sell in a retail setting.
It is expected that the FDA will review this process in the US, and in Canada, Health Canada is currently reviewing the use of CBD in food and beverages and is expected to release guidelines legalizing and regulating the practice in the future. “Our greatest concerns are the uncertainty of the FDA regulations on CBD in the United States,” said one Global Product Specialist of a CBD Cultivator and Ingredient Supplier.
