The Future of Arizona CBD Oil: The Public Speaks And The Department Of Agriculture Listens

Hot on the heels of rumors circulating about the Arizona Department of Health Service's potential ban on out-of-state CBD (potentially prohibiting Arizona dispensaries from purchasing CBD from out-of-state suppliers,) the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) held their second official session of the Industrial Hemp Program Rules Committee (IHPRC).  The meeting was called to order at high noon on Friday, August 31st at the State Capitol and again saw a sizable turn-out from the public -- the committee meeting was even moved to a large auditorium likely in response to the packed standing-room-only conditions at the first meeting on August 1st... Arizonans are once again making it clear -- we want to be a part of shaping Arizona's hemp laws!

Perhaps the most highly anticipated item discussed was the hot topic of CBD Oil and whether or not Arizona will be legally permitted to make truly effective and highly medicinal CBD oil. Unfortunately, the short answer is "no" under the current verbiage written in the Arizona Industrial Hemp Pilot Program (IHPP) -- which states that CBD Oil in Arizona may only be made from hemp seed, and not made from the whole plant (mainly the flower buds and the leaves.)  CBD Oil made from hemp seed is arguably not as medicinally effective as whole-plant full-spectrum CBD Oil derived from the flower buds and the leaves.  The public comments made at the August 1st IHPRC meeting made it abundantly clear that Arizonans are aware of and concerned with this provision in the law.

For Arizona to be a formidable force in the local, national and international Hemp & CBD markets it is imperative that our CBD Oil is derived from the whole plant, and not just from hemp seed. The promisingly good news is that the AZDA has listened to the comments made by the public at the first IHPRC meeting and are looking into amending the IHPP law to allow CBD Oil to be made from the whole plant.  Although the AZDA (in conjunction with the Attorney General's office) is looking into this possible change to the legal verbiage in the IHPP, nothing is official as of yet... for now, the verbiage remains the same.  However, we applaud the AZDA for being very receptive and engaging with the public; We want to thank AZDA Industrial Hemp Program Manager Brian McGrew, AZDA Plant Services Division Staff and the IHPRC for doing a great job at serving their community and listening to the comments and concerns made by the public.