click to enlarge

Simone / Adobe Stock

Federal law uniquely allows hemp-derived products.

Just the other day, a cashier at the neighborhood grocery store asked to see my ID. I wasn’t buying alcohol or tobacco, I was buying a CBD-infused seltzer water.

Think La Croix but instead of passionfruit or pamplemousse, it’s weed.

But just like La Croix, this seltzer is sold anywhere that wants to sell it. Unlike most cannabis products, it isn’t restricted to state-licenced dispensaries.

So, why are CBD-infused products available on grocery store shelves when other cannabis products are more regulated?

It comes down to semantics.

As far as the federal government is concerned, as far as the law says, cannabis isn’t just one plant. It’s two.

Hemp is the legal version of the plant biologically known as cannabis sativa. Cannabis, on the other hand, is federally illegal even though it also is cannabis sativa.

This distinction came about in 2018, when the federal government decided to define cannabis as any version of the cannabis sativa plant that contains more than 0.3% THC by dry weight.

If it has less, it’s classified as hemp.

Hemp is legal in the eyes of the federal government. Cannabis isn’t. Even though they’re the same thing.

Cannabis is cannabis no matter how much THC it contains. It’s the same plant. But the federal government carved out a special exemption for hemp, despite the reality that it’s the same biological species.

And that’s why you can buy CBD products at the grocery store, but you can’t buy ones containing THC. Because the federal government treats the same plant as different plants.

This might seem like a simple loophole, but it creates some serious regulatory issues. Because cannabis, as defined by both the federal and state government, is regulated very differently than hemp. The hemp-based products sold at grocery stores and gas stations aren’t subject to the same rules as cannabis sold at licensed dispensaries.

Hemp-based products can be sold without undergoing testing for pesticides, toxins or even general quality control.

That’s not the case with cannabis products sold at dispensaries. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s the more illegal of the two products that consumers can have more faith in. When you buy cannabis from a licensed dispensary, you know what you’re getting. When you buy a hemp-based product, you have to trust the company that made it.