As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to defy mounting requests from the U.S. Congress and the natural products industry to provide science-based and public health regulations for CBD, more states are rushing in to fill the vacuum. The State of Hawaii recently joined Virginia and Texas in proposing new state regulations for consumable hemp and CBD products.

“While it is good that more states realize the public health risk of completely unregulated products in the marketplace, this is creating the regulatory nightmare and patchwork approach that is the worst of all worlds. This is a federal regulatory issue—FDA needs to do its job, and they need to do it now. Further delay by FDA is not good for public health or for the CBD industry, because the best approach is one uniform national standard based on sound science that is enforceable,” said NPA (Natural Products Association) Director for Government Affairs Kyle Turk.  

Official NPA comments on the Hawaii proposal can be found here.  

The bill, HB 2102, introduced in the Hawaii State Legislature, would: 

• Establish a hemp processor registry for hemp-derived products that consists of labeling and independent laboratory testing to ensure products do not contain contaminants unfit for human consumption

• Prohibit hemp processors, distributors and retailers from making unwarranted health claims of their hemp derived products

• Prohibit the sale or furnish of any hemp product to a person under 21 years of age

• Prohibit the sale, hold, offer or distribution for sale of any hemp-derived products designed to be appealing to children

• Require these products to be properly labeled to be legally allowed for sale in the state

• Require certain warning statements to be placed on the packaging of hemp-derived products 

• Appropriate funds into the Hawaii hemp processing revolving fund

For more information, visit www.npanational.org.