Louisiana permits hundreds of businesses to sell CBD products

Louisiana has awarded business licenses to 775 companies that want to sell CBD products.

The state’s Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) received more than 1,000 permit applications after passage of a law outlining how retailers can sell products containing CBD. The ATC started the process in June.

Liquor stores, gas stations and CBD-specific shops were among the first businesses cleared to sell CBD.

Sellers must meet a lengthy list of requirements to receive licenses. The CBD products must carry scannable bar codes, QR codes or other information to verify the product’s certificate of analysis.

Smokable hemp products are banned in Louisiana.

Sales of beverages or food containing CBD are prohibited nationwide until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves cannabinoids as an ingredient for human consumption.

The FDA began its scientific review of cannabis-derived products with a public hearing on May 31.

The agency said it will report on its progress by this fall, though it has made no promises about expanding CBD access.

While the Louisiana law ended uncertainty about whether CBD products can be sold in the state, some have said the regulations are overly burdensome.

– Associated Press and Hemp Industry Daily