The uncertainty around the legality of CBD oils in the state of Texes might be getting very clear very soon.
Cannabis advocacy groups are claiming the state will soon go in and seize all hemp cannabidiol food products, making them illegal to sell in Texas.
We wanted to verify if that can actually happen.
Many of you have heard of them, but some maybe not. CBD oils made from hemp plants. People who use them say they relieve stress and can have positive effects on medical conditions.
Right now, they are sold legally at smoke shops in Texas, because the oils don’t contain THC - the part of pot that makes people feel "high."
But what we’re trying to verify is if that will soon change.
Texas Cannabis Industry Association's website lays out its concern, saying don’t let taxes ban CBD sales. Our Verify team went to the Department of State Health Services to find out what this was all about.
They said while this is still draft, it’s a possible protocol to regulate food products that may contain what they call 'harmful' amounts of CBD.
The DSHS says that is what the FDA calls 'harmful' – any amount over .3 percent – they say that’s any CBD that doesn’t occur naturally. So basically any food product that says CBD on the label could be banned.
Obviously, this isn’t sitting well with cannabis advocates.
In a letter to the commissioner, the attorney for the Texas Cannabis Industry Association calls the department’s core assertion “incorrect," saying “the FDA has not determined CBD to be either an 'adulterant' or a 'drug.'” He says in the letter, users will see this as “an attempt to criminalize validated and beneficial products.”
Next, our team went straight to the FDA themselves, and they seem to be pretty much on par with what the state is saying, that hemp seed powders or oils with only trace amounts of CBD are not considered harmful, but anything over that .3 threshold could be.
So what does all this mean?
What we can verify is these CBD oils may now have a shelf life.
They’re on the state’s to-do list, and the FDA does consider them a drug, which is why the food products could be banned.
The Department of State Health Services is currently taking public comments until April 16. After that, the commissioner will decide.
If it does go through, any shop with the CBD food products on their shelves will have to decide if they want to give them up freely or have the state destroy them.
VERIFY: Sources
Department of State Health Services
Texas Cannabis Industry Association