Rush on at Indiana shops to snatch up CBD oil products before they’re pulled

Published: Dec 5, 2017, 2:38 pm • Updated: Dec 5, 2017, 3:24 pm

By The Associated Press

KOKOMO, Ind. — Stores selling cannabis-derived oils in central Indiana are seeing a spike in sales after the state’s attorney general declared the products illegal with one limited exception.

Kokomo store owner Joan Johnson said sales and interest in products containing cannabidiol, or CBD, increased after Attorney General Curtis Hill issued his opinion last month, the Kokomo Tribune reported.

Hill said CBD products are illegal to possess, make or sell in Indiana, with the only exemption extending to people with epilepsy on a new state registry.

“There’s been a lot of interest because so many people are in pain, and they have not had success with the prescription pain medicine,” said Johnson, who sells several lines of marijuana-derived oils that customers often use to treat pain and stress.

Many such oils have less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. Many advocates argue that oils with 0.3 percent THC or less should be considered legal. Gov. Eric Holcomb directed stores on Nov. 28 to pull CBD products containing THC within 60 days.

“We try to assure people that everything we do here is legal,” Johnson said. “It’s a gray area as far as the state and the definition, and they need to clarify that because that’s what’s causing the panic.”

Another Kokomo business owner, Mike Wilson, said there’s confusion about whether CBD products contain THC. Johnson and Wilson sell products from a local company, Dreem Nutrition, which makes CBD drops and patches without THC.

Owner Austin Rhodus said his products are in high demand after the attorney general’s announcement.

Businesses selling Dreem Nutrition products have said they’re difficult to keep on their shelves.

Rhodus said he doesn’t expect any raids on his products because they don’t contain THC.

Information from: Kokomo Tribune

Cannabist Special Report: CBD, TBD

Part I – Forbidden medicine: Caught between a doctor’s CBD advice and federal laws

Part II – How advocates are inspiring congressional action on CBD legalization

Part III – With DEA digging in its heels on “marijuana extracts,” legality of CBD oil on trial in federal courts

Part IV – CBD research is going to the dogs in quest to legitimize pet products

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Topics: cannabidiol, cbd, cbd oil, Curtis Hill, hemp, hemp extracts, Indiana