CBD — or cannabidiol, the cannabis compound that can relieve your pain without making you feel high — comes from the marijuana plant and will be regulated in accordance with the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, state officials say in a just-issued notice.
The clarification from the state’s marijuana regulatory body comes in response to confusion over the legality of CBD, which on its own does not contain the intoxicant THC.
“We were getting a lot of questions regarding CBDs and what licensees can an can’t do, and do you have to be licensed to sell it or not,” says David Harns, spokesman for the Michigan Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation. “We figured now was as good of a time as any to answer those questions.”
The rationale behind the state’s determination that CBD is to be regulated like marijuana is based on the definitions of marijuana in the Michigan Public Health Code, the BMMR notice says.
Cannabinoids, which include cannabidiol, “are most abundant in the flowering tops, resin, and leaves of the cannabis plant and are not found in parts of the cannabis plant that are excluded from the definition of marihuana,” the guidance says. Exclusions include the stalks of the plant.
The notice also clarifies the legal uses of industrial hemp, from which CBD can be derived.
“The Industrial Hemp Research Act limits industrial hemp to cultivation or research and does not authorize its sale or transfer,” the notice says.
Michigan’s policy seems to differ from that of some other states. According to a High Times report published early this year, some states allow people to freely consume CBD-based products, as long as they contain less than .3 percent THC. The marijuana news publication reports Delaware allows CBD oil to contain up to 5 percent THC.
The guidance from Michigan’s marijuana regulatory body comes a year and a half after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency determined CBD was illegal.
You can read the full BMMR notice here.
