A report from ‘Reason’ posited that Texas’ proposed crackdown on CBD products might be harmful to patients who use the substance for their chronic health conditions.
The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) announced Thursday that it will be classifying cannabidiol, a substance frequently sold as CBD oil, under the state’s existing laws for medical marijuana.
According to MLive, the announcement was made on Thursday afternoon in a bulletin, which explained that marijuana-based CBD can be regulated by the same policies that govern the licensing of other marijuana-based products. The publication stressed that CBD oil can be derived from marijuana or hemp, which are two similar forms of cannabis that fall under different regulations under state law; the former is allowed in Michigan for medicinal purposes, while the latter can only be used for research.
Although CBD oil traces its origins from cannabis, advocates have maintained that the substance cannot get users high, as it does not contain the same properties as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive agent found in cannabis that causes the “high” people experience. According to Healthline, CBD can be used for pain relief and to reduce anxiety and depression, and might also be effective in treating a number of other conditions, including certain cancer-related symptoms.
While Michigan is willing to regulate and promote CBD as a safe alternative for medical marijuana patients, a separate report from Reason suggests that the state of Texas might be instituting stricter policies on CBD oil and foods that contain the substance, even if most forms of cannabis-related medical literature stress that it doesn’t produce a high. The Texas Department of State Health Services’ proposed crackdown, should it be passed, might result in retailers surrendering their CBD products to state regulators or destroying these products, possibly affecting “hundreds” of head shops that sell CBD in various forms.
According to Reason, the proposed CBD crackdown is nothing new, as it serves as an enforcement of federal law that currently classifies CBD under the Controlled Substances Act. Further information is scant as of the moment, as it isn’t clear how long it may take for the proposal to be approved or disapproved.
The Reason report also pointed out how Texas is “a long way behind” other states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal and/or recreational purposes. In 2016, the state took up about 12 percent of all cannabis-related arrests in the U.S., despite taking up just 8.6 percent of the country’s population. The publication also opined that cracking down on CBD oil and other similar products won’t bode well for Texans with chronic health conditions, as the Lone Star State continues getting tougher on pot despite how other states are “figuring out how to loosen up” their cannabis regulations.
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