New York just legalized cannabis. However, its new marijuana law comes with a massive overhaul of state regulations for the hemp industry. So big, in fact, it might well send a horde of hemp companies to the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, market instead. Certainly, it leaves some rather large questions about the future of hemp and all of its extracts, including cannabidiol, or CBD. Could you still buy CBD online?
Signed last week by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the law is pioneering. A first for the nation. It seeks to regulate hemp companies the same way it does those working with marijuana. It designates a new grouping entirely, for “cannabinoid hemp,” and includes companies working with hemp or its derivatives. Think flower and cannabinoid products, such as oils, tinctures, even CBD capsules for sale.
Oversight will go to a new Office of Cannabis Management, which will govern the industry. Its new control board is tasked with setting rules for cannabinoids too, whether derived from hemp or marijuana. The goal is to centralize the regulation of all cannabinoid extracts, including both THC and CBD. “It is one-stop shopping,” explained Geoff Whaling of the National Hemp Association.
“We all have to currently deal with departments of health and departments of agriculture and departments of justice and attorneys general, on and on and on,” said Whaling. Grain and fiber farmers will still fall under the authority of New York agriculture authorities, just as they have been ever since the state legalized the cultivation of hemp back in 2015.
Hemp cultivators could easily decide to grow marijuana after implementation of this new bill. It makes little sense for anyone to grow low-THC hemp if taxes and regulations are the same as for marijuana. This is what the president of the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association, Kaelan Castetter says.
“I think most of them are looking to enter the high-THC space,” Castetter said of hemp growers. For Castetter personally, he is also considering turning his business, CSG Hemp, THC. This would mean his company would no longer grow and sell hemp anywhere in New York. “It is all cannabis, right?” he said. “There is so much similarity between growing hemp for its cannabinoid content and growing for THC.”
Experienced hemp cultivators might find easier access to the marijuana industry than their peers might from the niche medical and illicit markets. Illegal growers seldom have experience of growing several hundred plants. They do not understand such production and many find the transition overwhelming. Niche growers also struggle to manage hundreds of plants after just growing a few.
Opportunities seemingly abound for hemp growers in the marijuana industry. However, other concerns exist too. A potential fallout of the new weed law might see ambitious companies flooding the market with THC in a bid to make wholesale prices in the hemp sector fall. This could prove similar to how the overproduction of CBD did the same not so long ago.
As the marijuana industry explodes, many folks are going to involve themselves in it. Most will not really know how the whole process works, how to grow plants to acceptable standard. The lesson is extremely valuable, one already learned by those from the hemp fields. For them, a transition to marijuana might prove too tempting to refuse, especially as estimates suggest a $2.3 billion market within four years.
Last year, the New York Department of Health proposed banning smokable hemp products. This law puts that to rest, but it still imposes limits on flower sales to dispensaries and consumers alike. The new board for cannabis oversight will likely find additional safety protocols to force on smokable hemp products, provided they do not “unduly restrict the availability of cannabinoid hemp flower.”
Many are now wondering the effect New York’s new marijuana law will have on the journey of CBD and other hemp-derived extracts to market. The health department also proposed a list of rules for supplements, drinks, and foods, such as CBD edibles for pain and others. These, which include the ban on smokable hemp, are now under Office of Cannabis Management review. They were not yet in effect.
The new agency will still need to work out the final regulations, which means anybody producing hemp-derived CBD might have a wait ahead yet. If hemp-based cannabinoids can reach market easily without restricting outlets, then its future shines bright still. The bigger question really is what exactly all the rules will entail. CBD sales are sure to remain steadfast, provided the state can keep its path there easy.
Fortunately, you can still buy CBD oil online. In California, CBD is freely and widely available, as it should be. You can find edibles for pain and CBD capsules for sale seemingly everywhere. One hopes that New York will not limit the hemp market with its new law and instead learn from states experienced at managing this industry. Health benefits of hemp-derived CBD are too many, since not everybody wants THC.
