Is the marijuana industry against hemp? If so, Why?
A non-profit advocacy organization committed to promoting policies and legislation that lead the way forward for hemp and CBD, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable is warning about the legislative efforts across several states that are endangering the hemp industry.
“There’s a war on hemp being waged in state capitols across the nation by some big names in the marijuana industry,” the organization wrote.
The question is, why? Don’t these two industries go hand-in-hand? While cannabis and hemp belong to the same plant species, the important difference between the two lies in their THC content and therefore the legal status of each. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp became legal and defined as containing 0.3% or less THC (the compound that makes you high) by dry weight.
Shortly thereafter, the hemp or CBD industry kind of exploded. CBD, a different cannabinoid found both in cannabis and hemp, is viewed as providing various health benefits.
With that being the case, why would the cannabis industry attempt to limit the CBD space? The U.S. Hemp Roundtable says to minimize competition. It is well known that the cannabis industry has had a rough several years, with the current one marked by plummeting stocks, numerous layoffs and a drop in sales.
While cannabis-focused businesses and organizations are fighting for their survival and pushing for legal changes such as banking reforml enabling financial institutions to provide them with services or for the FDA to fairly regulate marijuana, apparently there are others focused on eliminating the competition, which they view as the hemp retail marketplace.
While there are definitively people behind these efforts who believe their efforts will ultimately improve consumers' safety, the question is – are they right?
Kentucky Is Going About It The Right Way
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable uses Kentucky as an example of how to reasonably regulate the industry in a way that actually puts consumers' safety first while strictly regulating intoxicating cannabinoids and keeping them away from children.
The House of Representatives in the Bluegrass state overwhelmingly approved a bill last week regulating hemp-derived delta-8 THC products, sending it to the state Senate. House …