In the face of confusion and scattershot rule-making across state and local governments within the U.S., purveyors of cannabis and hemp products and their advocates have used a variety of strategies to assert themselves and do their business in peace.
From legal action against police that have overstepped their bounds in enforcing mistaken busts against nondescript hemp retailers to marketing techniques that take into account guidelines instituted by the Food and Drug Administration, some CBD and hemp companies have been getting creative to keep up.
In November, New York police seized upward of $60,000 in CBD flower from Green Angel CBD of Brooklyn under the impression that the hemp was marijuana. [1]
This week, prosecutors in New York announced they would drop charges against the operators of that company, but that will not be the end of the matter. [1]
According to the New York Post, Green Angel owners Oren and Ronen Levy hope to sue the city for $10 million of damages after the city refused to return their shipment of 106 pounds of hemp. [4]
You can read more about the seizure at the Nothing But Hemp blog using the link below. [1]
Meanwhile, other CBD and hemp companies have grown frustrated with a lack of clarity from higher-up regulators at the federal government.
The FDA recently sent warning letters to 15 CBD companies impugning their use of bombastic health claims in their marketing and labeling materials for products, claiming the products may be unsafe and casting doubt on their effectiveness.
Those warnings seemingly contradict the World Health Organization, which claimed over the summer that no risks have been associated with CBD use.
In the face of such overreaches, some companies have simply outsourced their more drastic claims to the social media darlings they have on payroll, Vice reports. [2]
Those influencers, who don’t face the same restrictions and liabilities as some of the high-profile companies that might find themselves in the government’s crosshairs, can sometimes act with more freedom in expressing their impressions of CBD. [2]
The Chicago Tribune has also recently written on the general mood of anxiety and frustration felt by many who feel hemmed in by confusing rules and overbearing regulators in the wake of such exciting growth in the CBD market. [3]
Read more about the problems FDA, state, and other rule-makers have laid at the feet of earnest business owners and eager customers with the links below.
Sources
[1] https://www.nothingbuthemp.net/post/new-york-drops-mistaken-charges-against-hemp-retailers
