Federal and State Law Changes Regarding Cannabidiol (CBD) Products

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The Fargo Police Department would like to inform the public of a recent change with regards to CBD (Cannabidiol) oil products.  With the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) being signed into law on December 20, 2018 there have been some changes to Federal and State Law regarding CBD oil.  The Cass County State’s Attorney’s office has provided a memorandum discussing the changes and the details surrounding CBD products.  The memorandum states the following:

The short answer to whether CBD products are legal to possess in North Dakota is YES, as long as the CBD is extracted from legally produced hemp.  Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring cannabinoid found in cannabis plants.  Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD does not have psychoactive effects.  In other words, it does not cause a “high”.  The 2018 Farm Bill amended 21 U.S.C. § 812 (the Controlled Substances Act) to exempt tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp (as defined under section 1639o of Title 7) from the list of scheduled controlled substances.  The definition of “hemp” under 7 U.S.C. § 1639oas amended in the 2018 Farm Bill, is “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant with a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”

North Dakota House Bill 1113 was introduced during the 2019 legislative session at the request of the State Board of Pharmacy to amend parts of chapter 19-03.1 of the ND Century Code to reflect the aforementioned changes to federal law.  HB 1113 was signed into law by the governor on April 8th, 2019 with an emergency clause.

An analysis of these changes provides that even though CBD is an extract of the cannabis plant and falls under the definition of “marihuana” under the federal Controlled Substances Act, if it is extracted from legally produced hemp and contains less than 0.3 percent THC it is NOT illegal to possess.

Taking this into consideration, citizens are advised to still do their due diligence in selecting the types of products they use, should they decide to utilize CBD products, as there is always the possibility of differences in quality depending on the manufacturer, as there is with all consumer goods.

Article provided by the City of Fargo.