North America

US - Texas: The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s ban on smokable hemp is constitutional, reversing a lower court’s decision. The plaintiffs, producers of smokable hemp products, claimed the ban was unconstitutional because it violated their “due-course rights” to earn a living producing such products. However, the supreme court rejected this argument, essentially on the basis that producing smokable hemp products has never been legal in Texas.

US - federal: The SAFE (Secure and Fair Enforcement) Banking Act has been removed from the America Competes Act, press reports. Provisions to allow financial institutions to deal with state-legal cannabis businesses were included in the version passed earlier by the House of Representatives but have been removed by the Senate and will not make it into the final version of the bill.

US - general: Major League Baseball (MLB) has told teams they can accept sponsorships for CBD companies, press reports. In order to qualify for sponsorship, the CBD brand must receive National Science Foundation (NSF) certification that the products do not contain intoxicating levels of THC and must be approved by the commissioner’s office. MLB joins the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as the only major North American professional sports leagues to allow CBD sponsorships.

US - Virginia: The state budget for 2022-2024 has been signed into law by governor Glenn Youngkin. It includes provisions calling on the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to issue regulations on the labelling of hemp products that contain THC. The labelling requirements should include: that the product contains THC and should not be sold to anyone under 21; all ingredients; what constitutes a single serving; and the percentage and mg of THC per serving.

US - federal: A bipartisan group of 23 state attorneys general have written to congressional leaders about the public health risk posed by copycat THC edibles that resemble popular food brands, press reports. “Congress should immediately enact legislation authorizing trademark holders of well-known and trusted consumer packaged goods to hold accountable those malicious actors who are using those marks to market illicit copycat THC edibles to children,” the group wrote.

US - federal: The House Appropriations Committee has included a few provisions that address hemp and CBD in its 2023 fiscal year spending bill. One provision on hemp extraction states that “Congress intentionally expanded the definition of hemp to include derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids in an effort to avoid the criminalization of hemp processing” and orders the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) “to coordinate directly with the DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency] to present the industry with guidance and information on in-process extracted material”. The committee also expressed concern over cannabis-derived foods and dietary supplements that are being marketed in violation of federal law and notes that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “is considering a public rule-making process or enforcement discretion policy that could permit one compound in cannabis, cannabidiol (‘CBD’), in foods and/or dietary supplements”. These provisions must be approved by Congress and the president before becoming effective.

US - Kentucky: An advisory board on medical cannabis set up by governor Andy Beshear met for the first time yesterday, local media reports. The board plans to hold town hall meetings across the state to gather input and provide feedback on the issue for the governor’s office.