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At Brew Ha Ha, the colorful cafe located near the Capital Heights neighborhood in Baton Rouge, a pastry case recently featured a special chocolate chip cookie at $ 6.50 – one infused with 40 milligrams of CBD oil .
Gabby Loubiere, owner of Brew Ha Ha, sells since last year tinctures, capsules and even lip balm infused with CBD – made by a local company called Mountain Pure CBD -.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is the non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant, and Loubiere said he tried it after a frustrating episode of mysterious health problems. After three days, she said that she felt "so much better."
Loubiere is not alone in claiming that CBD has beneficial effects on health. In recent years, the popularity of CBD has exploded in the United States, ending up in drinks, lotions, oils, gummies and even dog treats.
The products are so popular that lawmakers in Louisiana could, this year, violate federal agricultural laws to legalize the growth of hemp, plant from which the CBD is extracted. This could open a potentially lucrative market for state farmers.
But a thorny question remains in Louisiana: are people allowed to sell or use CBD here?
This question calls for different answers depending on who is commenting on its legality – and it is not clear that the proposed hemp legislation will do much to clarify the issue.
Hemp and marijuana both belong to the Cannabis sativa plant species, according to the Congressional Research Service, but they are genetically distinct from one another and have different uses and chemical compositions. Hemp does not contain more than 0.3% THC, the component of cannabis that elevates consumers. Unlike marijuana, hemp is used in a range of products ranging from CBD-based products that companies sell to industrial goods. Until recently, US laws have limited the growth of hemp.
In recent months, two government agencies in Louisiana, the Board of Pharmacy and the Louisiana Liquor and Tobacco Control Board, have issued public notices suggesting that the CBD is illegal in Louisiana.
The Board of Pharmacy's notice, which was directed at pharmacies, made it clear that the DBC was illegal, although the agency told its licensees that it did not intend to take coercive action to enforce this. request.
Still, Loubiere saw this notification and said, "I stopped selling immediately."
"I have been in business for 15 years," she said. "I will not risk being arrested for selling CBD oil."
The National Alcohol and Tobacco Board has even announced to its licensees – places like smoke houses and liquor stores – that it will start issuing quotes to those selling CBD basis.
These decrees provoked a wave of confusion and headlines suggesting that the sale of the CBD would be halted in that state. This is likely to be the case for ATC license holders, who may be subject to citations if they do not remove CBD products from their shelves.
However, there is still CBD at retailers across Louisiana and the products are even more abundant at online vendors, including local vendors like Mountain Pure, based in Baton Rouge.
After consulting the local police, Loubiere returned the products to the shelves of his coffee. The forces of order do not seem willing to crack down on something that has little in common with marijuana, except that it comes from the same plant species.
The Louisiana Sheriff's Association and the District Attorneys Association stated that they were unaware of any action taken against those who sold or used CBD until the products contained otherwise banned substances.
But defenders of CBD-based products say nothing is being done to dispel the confusion around their sector, placing it in a legal gray zone, even though CBD supporters say their products are in fact legal according to the legislation in force.
Friends Natalie Ourso and Heather Carter started making CBD products about two years ago in Baton Rouge and have developed a strong list of retailers where they now sell products such as oils, lotions and capsules. . Their company, Mountain Pure, sells products in coffee shops such as Brew Ha Ha, but also in places approved by the Office of the fight against smoking and alcohol, which now remove them from their homes. rays because of the decree of ATC.
Carter said that about one-third of his business is done in ATC-approved stores. "We're fine," said Carter. "We continue to move forward, but it's a blow for a small business when 30% of your stores say," We can not sell that anymore. "
Carter stated that she was trying to tell customers that she was still open to business online and at other retailers.
Louisiana's ATC would not answer several questions clarifying its recent opinion, but spokeswoman Michelle Burks-Augustine said that even CBD products containing 0% THC were illegal in that state.
Chaunda Mitchell, director of drug policy at Governor John Bel Edwards, said under Louisiana law, any product extracted from a marijuana plant is illegal, including CBD. She also said that the CBD extracted from the hemp plant is illegal.
Mitchell also stated that she was not aware of any enforcement action outside of TAC's notification.
Mike Ranatza, president of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, said the association had not examined the issue in depth. And although some sheriffs have had problems with products advertised as CBD for which the screening test for THC (psychoactive component of marijuana) is positive, he said he was unaware of any action taken against pure CBD products.
Ranatza also said that he was concerned about bills legalizing hemp because he wanted to be absolutely sure that the legislation would not loosen the laws governing the human consumption of THC.
"What seems to me is the need for education in this area," Ranatza said.
Pete Adams, president of the State District Attorneys Association, said he had not talked about the CBD problem with state prosecutors and was not aware of the problem. no lawsuits for possession or sale of products containing CBD.
"If it's against the law and the police are arresting, I guess they'll look into it," he said. "It just has not been addressed."
The state representative, Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, has tabled one of the bills that would pave the way for farmers to produce industrial hemp, in accordance with the federal law on the production of industrial hemp. Agriculture.
"Industrial hemp has played a vital role in agriculture throughout America's history," EU Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said in a statement announcing his support for the bill. "The reintroduction of this product will offer new opportunities, especially for our small and medium farmers."
The attitude towards hemp has changed with the 2014 federal farm bill, allowing hemp research, but not commercial distribution. Last year, Congress passed another agricultural bill that differentiated hemp from the federal controlled substances act, paving the way for widespread growth and the sale of hemp products.
That could get up to 1,000 people in Louisiana to engage in hemp cultivation, Strain said, and to enter interstate commerce with this product.
Yet Strain called the hemp situation "complicated".
The state agriculture departments will have to make an agreement with the federal government and be approved by the US Department of Agriculture, which, according to Strain, should provide rules for the program early next spring .
To survive even these hurdles, Louisiana must pass a bill repealing the ban on hemp, Strain said. If this happens, farmers will need to get a license, the seeds have to be approved, and once grown, the Strain office will have to inspect them.
Strain said the ministry will test THC levels in crops shortly after harvest and "seize and destroy" anything that contains a THC content above the 0.3% threshold.
All of this is separate from the state's medical marijuana program, which has been repeatedly delayed. Southern University and LSU have both hired private partners to grow marijuana for sale as dyes in up to 10 state-approved pharmacies in Louisiana.
As for Schexnayder's bill, District Director Gina Duhe said, "For the moment, legislation does not do anything with CBD products."
"Our state has increasingly let me down last month," said Carter of Mountain Pure CBD. "I do not think people understand how much local people are involved in the CBD community."
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