Madison, WI-- Cannabidiol (CBD) that was produced and sold under the hemp pilot program is considered legal, according to our sister station, WISC-TV.
The information comes from a news release by the Wisconsin Department of Justice on Thursday.
Initially, the DOJ issued a memo last month saying the possession and distribution of CBD oil was illegal, angering farmers who participated in the program and who were expecting a big monetary reward from the product.
In total, 350 farmers applies with hopes to grow hemp and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection issued more than 70 licenses.
The memo said only doctors and pharmacies could distribute the oil and possession was only legal with the permission of a doctor's certification.
But a DOJ meeting Wednesday afternoon between bill authors, lawmakers and lobbyists quelled the concerns about the extraction of CBD.
Cannabidiol is inert, containing no psycho-activity, and will not give someone a high.
CBD has been used to stop epileptic seizures and can treat serious neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's.
Officials said Thursday that farmers who follow the DATCP's rules and regulations may grow industrial hemp without fear of criminal prosecution, sell the entire industrial hemp plant or parts of the plant to anyone and process the plant as permitted, including producing CBD.
“We all have always had full confidence in the successful implementation of the industrial hemp program in Wisconsin,” Attorney General Brad Schimel said in the news release. “Industrial hemp has the promise of being an important part of our critical agricultural economy, and Wisconsin farmers who choose to participate in this pilot program deserve and need legislative and regulatory certainty from all parts of government.”
