Minnesota’s Struggling CBD Industry Gets Backing From Top Regulators

Minnesota regulators on Wednesday put a stop to a legal limbo that threatened the state’s CBD and hemp industry, which had been mostly booming since the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill passed in December of that year.

The Board of Pharmacy voted to clarify that cannabis products containing less than 0.3 percent Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol do not violate the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. Minnesota allows for medical marijuana, but still bans adult-use sales.

Thursday’s ruling came as a huge relief for CBD industry advocates and business owners, who saw recent policy changes in the Gopher State as a sign that state officials were equating hemp and CBD products with adult-use cannabis.

A state appeals court last summer ruled that Minnesota residents selling or possessing CBD products were violating state law, and a pair of bills in this year’s legislative session threatened to double down on the court’s ruling. As a result, the state’s hemp industry has been in total turmoil for the past few months.

Hemp-based Delta-8 THC — known as ‘marijuana-lite’ or ‘diet weed’ because it offers slightly milder versions of the typical cannabis buzz of energy, euphoria, relaxation, and sleepiness — was also on the chopping block this session via House Bill 3595. According to the Star Tribune, cease-and-desist letters had increasingly targeted retailers and producers selling Minnesota-made CBD products.

“This is a step in the right direction,” industry lawyer Susan Burns commented to the Minneapolis-based newspaper on Wednesday’s decision.

Steven Brown, founder of the Minnesota Cannabis Association, went a step further — contending the Board of Pharmacy’s ruling “saved” the hemp industry.

Before voting on Wednesday, pharmacy board members also voiced their support for legalizing CBD edibles as well as setting up a state cannabis office. The future legality of Delta-8 will likely still be in the legislature’s hands. Products containing Delta-8 are still unregulated and widely available, according to the Star Tribune.

Democrat Gov. Tim Walz earlier this year also called on lawmakers to pass adult-use legalization during the 2022 legislative session. Walz said his state budget would include $25 million to create a new Cannabis Management Office, tasked with developing a framework for legal cannabis in Minnesota and regulating the industry.