Alabama has changed course and authorized hemp-derived CBD production and sales, citing the pending Farm Bill that removes the plant from the Controlled Substances Act.
The state’s attorney general, Steve Marshall, issued the legal interpretation last week as Congress was finishing debate on the 2018 Farm Bill, which now awaits the signature of President Donald Trump and would authorize hemp production in all states and U.S. territories.
Marshall said that CBD derived from marijuana remains illegal in Alabama. He also wrote that “consumables containing CBD will be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”
Alabama does allow for epilepsy patients or their parents to possess CBD medications, and the Alabama health department adopted a new rule in October authorizing physicians to prescribe Epidiolex, an epilepsy treatment derived from marijuana.
Alabama appears to be the first state to formally change its legal interpretation of hemp-derived CBD in response to the 2018 Farm Bill. The change was first reported by The Birmingham News.
