New York City, Maine latest jurisdictions mired in CBD legal confusion

CBD’s legal problems have hit the nation’s largest city, with New York health inspectors seizing CBD-infused baked goods and warning restaurants to stop serving cannabidiol-infused foods.

And in Maine, hemp entrepreneurs are protesting similar plans to take CBD foods off shelves.

New York City officials said they’re not going to allow the sale of CBD-infused edibles until they’re cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to Eater New York, a food blog that first reported the news.

New York’s CBD crackdown follows similar pronouncements from health authorities in California and Maine.

The FDA has long maintained that CBD is an illegal food ingredient, even if it is derived from legal hemp. But CBD enforcement has been spotty.

The agency renewed its call in December to keep CBD out of foods, after the 2018 Farm Bill made hemp products legal but maintained the FDA’s jurisdiction over additives in foods, drugs and cosmetics.

In Maine, the CBD ban attracted dozens of hemp entrepreneurs to the state Capitol in Augusta this week to protest the policy.

A state representative told Maine Public Radio that lawmakers would consider an emergency bill to allow sales to resume.

“We are working to fix this problem as expeditiously and responsibly as possible,” state Rep. Craig Hickman said.