Patchwork of state regulations complicates hemp CBD supplyPatchwork of state regulations complicates hemp CBD supply

States around the country continue to implement a hodgepodge of restrictions on the sale of hemp-derived foods and supplements, causing headaches for both retailers and suppliers of products containing cannabidiol (CBD).

“It really is a game of Whac-A-Mole for us,” says Jonathan Miller, general counsel at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a national organization that advocates on behalf of the hemp industry. “We have some states that pop up and try to ban products, while others are doing very proactive and valuable regulation, and there’s no coordination.”

Several states have stepped in to regulate the sale of CBD products since the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill allowed production of hemp and removed it from the Controlled Substances Act if it contains 0.3% or less THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive compound found in hemp and often found in trace amounts in CBD products). This change opened the door for the sale of a broad array of nutritional supplements and beverages containing CBD.

Although the FDA in 2018 approved one hemp-based product—Epidolex—as a prescribed medication for seizures, the agency says it needs to conduct more research on CBD’s health impacts. It has also cracked down on unscrupulous sellers who violate the limits on THC content or promote them with claims of treating diseases. Brands are allowed to say the products support relaxation, calmness and sleep, for example.

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California effectively bans hemp products

One of the latest states to effectively ban the sale of hemp-based products is California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom in September issued emergency regulations that, effective Oct. 1, prohibited the sale of any hemp-based food, beverage and dietary products that have detectable amounts of THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids. The regulations, which were proposed by the California Department of Public Health, also establish 21 as the minimum age to purchase hemp products and limit the number of servings of hemp products to five per package.

Newsom and the CDPH said the regulations, which are scheduled to remain in effect through March, will help safeguard children from the potential negative effects of consuming products containing THC. In the meantime, products containing THC can still be sold in licensed marijuana dispensaries in California.

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable supports the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act (S. 5243), proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), which would create a federal regulatory framework allowing the sale of hemp products but with increased standardization, quality controls, and age restrictions.

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The group also filed a lawsuit opposing the California action, but the state court denied its request for a temporary restraining order. The Roundtable is not giving up, however. “We’re doing everything we can to try to make sure that what’s currently a complete ban on all hemp products, even non-intoxicating CBD products, is, is overturned,” says Miller.

In addition to the emergency regulations in California, other states that have recently proposed restrictions on hemp products include North Dakota, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. These states join a handful of others that have implemented tight restrictions on CBD products, along with a few that have enacted less restrictive regulations.

Both retailers and suppliers are scrambling to adjust to the California emergency action.

“It’s definitely having a major impact on our hemp supplement sales,” says Celia LoBuono González, an owner-worker At Other Avenues Grocery Cooperative, an independent natural food and supplement retailer in San Francisco. “We basically had to pull most of our products, including our fastest sellers.” The challenges that Other Avenues faces stem not only from the restriction on THC content but also the limits on package sizes. Other Avenues has been able to find a few single-serving, hemp-derived chocolates and gummies, but not nearly enough to meet the expectations of customers who are used to larger pack sizes, she says.

Related:N.J. General Assembly passes bill to restrict supplement sales to minors

“It’s been tricky to replace some of the offerings,” LoBuono González says. “A lot of people rely on the potent medicinal benefits of hemp and CBD items.”

Jim Higdon, left, and Eric Zipperle, co-founders of Cornbread Hemp

CBD suppliers suffer

The California restrictions are also presenting challenges for suppliers of CBD supplements, such as Cornbread Hemp, based in Louisville, Kentucky.

“It’s frustrating for us because California is a great market,” says Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp. Consumers seeking the low-dose, broad-spectrum CBD products that Cornbread offers typically don’t purchase them from dispensaries, he says, but instead from smaller natural retailers. “We would have some more good retail partners in California if these regulations made more sense,” he adds.

The California emergency regulations will also impact a handful of suppliers, including Cornbread, that had been planning to exhibit at 2025 Natural Products Expo West, scheduled for March 4-7 in Anaheim. Higdon says his company has exhibited at the show three times in the past but has canceled plans to attend next year’s event because the state action would prohibit the company from offering samples of its products.

“The twofold impact of these California regulations is, one, we can't reach the retailers that we that we want to partner with, which are the high-end supplement and natural products retail stores,” says Higdon.” We’ve had great success with those retailers in other states, but California is denying us access. And then, by denying us access to Expo West, it’s denying us the ability to talk to buyers and retailers from literally everywhere.”

Shelley Sapsin, vice president of Market Integrity at Informa Markets, notes that many of the exhibiting brands at Natural Products Expo produce topical products and THC-free products, which are not affected by California’s THC prohibition. Informa Markets is New Hope Network’s parent company.

“While a handful of brands with THC-containing edibles will be significantly impacted, we are working with those exhibitors directly to ensure they have alternative exhibition and discovery options,” Sapsin says. “We also have services and resources in place to help all industry brands navigate these changes, whether they exhibit with us or not. Given that the order may be renewed, we will continue to monitor and keep our community informed on any updates.”

In the meantime, Higdon says he supports Wyden’s Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, although he adds that he’d ideally like to see the percentage of THC allowed to be increased to 1%.

“Our primary goal for the next Congress is to get some consensus around how to regulate these products through FDA,” he says.