LATEST ALERTS
16th September 2024
Hemp
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Daily regulatory updates of legal changes in the cannabis sector, including monthly compilations
16th October 2024
- Panama: A bill to regulate the production, marketing and export of hemp with a maximum of 1% THC was approved in the first debate. The bill will now be discussed in a second debate in the National Assembly.
15th October 2024
- Lithuania: Today, the Seimas (parliament) approved the amendments to the Fibre Hemp Law that would make it easier to import hemp products from other EU countries and would also simplify the requirements for suppliers and allow the import of a limited amount of seeds of non-legalised EU fibre hemp varieties from third countries for scientific experimental or breeding purposes without an import licence, media reports. Next, the amendments should be signed by the president.
15th October 2024
- Italy: European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides responded on behalf of the European Commission (EC) to a parliamentary enquiry regarding the compliance of the Italian security bill – which seeks to limit hemp to industrial uses and ban the cultivation and sale of hemp flowers, regardless of THC content – with European legislation and jurisprudence. Kyriakides said the EC had received multiple complaints on the issue and is currently assessing the compliance of these measures.
14th October 2024
- US - California: Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected an attempt by industry stakeholders to block new California regulations banning ingestible hemp products with any detectable amount of THC. The decision upholds California’s restrictions, which prohibit selling any industrial hemp food, beverage, or dietary product intended for human consumption if there is any detectable THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids per serving. In the ruling, judge Stephen Goorvitch found that the plaintiffs had failed to show that the new rules “will cause widespread and catastrophic destruction of the hemp industry”, noting that manufacturers can still sell “THC through the legal cannabis system in California, i.e., with a license”.
11th October 2024
- EU: The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has published a preliminary ruling confirming that states may prohibit the cultivation of hemp using hydroponic systems in indoor environments if based and justified on public health grounds. The case was brought by a company to whom the Romanian authorities had partially refused a permit to cultivate hemp. The authorities had given the permit for the cultivation in 0.50 hectares but claimed that the remaining 0.04 ha destined for hydroponic indoor cultivation belonged to a building that had a different land use and that, according to scientific analyses, that cultivation system carried the risk of the THC content limit being exceeded in hemp plants cultivated in that way. According to the court, the prohibition does not go beyond what is necessary to attain the objective of protecting public health.
11th October 2024
- US - New Jersey: A New Jersey Federal District Court entered an order largely granting a request to invalidate New Jersey’s recent amendments to its hemp laws, which banned sales of the hemp products to minors and also put restrictions on how intoxicating hemp products were defined and could be sold throughout the state, including in liquor stores. While the court upheld the part of the law banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products to minors, it found that the other provisions violated federal laws. Specifically, the amendments criminalised intoxicating hemp products made outside New Jersey while allowing in-state products to be sold under new regulations controlled by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The court found that the amendments violated both the “Dormant Commerce Clause” under the US Constitution and a provision of the Federal Farm Act that prohibits states from preventing the shipment of hemp products through any state.
10th October 2024
- Czech Republic: The Senate has passed the proposal to regulate hemp extracts with HHC and with a THC content of up to 1%, among other psychoactive substances, media reports. The proposal would restrict sales, prohibit advertising, and introduce registration requirements for such substances. It will now need to be signed by the president.
8th October 2024
- US - Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has published final rules on hemp products that will make one popular hemp product illegal at the end of the year. Most notably, the rules include a total THC calculation for hemp products that would also account for tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), thereby banning THCA flower. The rules take effect on 26th December.
4th October 2024
- Panama: A bill to regulate the production, marketing and export of hemp with a maximum of 1% THC was discussed in the first debate in the National Assembly. The bill was suspended due to the need for amendments and will be brought back for first debate next week.
3rd October 2024
- Lithuania: Yesterday, 2nd October, the Rural Affairs Committee of the Seimas (parliament) approved the amendments to the Fibre Hemp Law that would make it easier to import hemp products from other EU countries and would also simplify the requirements for suppliers and introduce new conditions for the cultivation of fibre hemp in closed ground, media reports. Next, it should be approved by the plenary.
3rd October 2024
- Germany: According to the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE), industrial hemp cultivation reached a record high of 7,116 hectares in 2024, an increase of 1,282 ha over the previous year. However, the number of farms fell to 623, meaning there are 40 fewer than in 2023. The largest areas per farm are in Brandenburg (38 ha), Saxony-Anhalt (32 ha) and Thuringia (22 ha).
26th September 2024
- US - Federal: The Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act (CSRA) has been introduced in the US Senate by senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. The bill would set a federal age limit of 21 for buying hemp products, establish testing and labelling requirements for hemp products, and allow hemp-derived cannabinoid products of various formats if they are tested and registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bill would also ban synthetic cannabinoid products but allow semi-synthetic cannabinoids like delta-8 THC if certain conditions are met. The CSRA has wide support from hemp industry stakeholders.
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