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s u m m e r 2 0 1 8 | 6 5 CBD Products Proliferate in Legal States Human utilization of industrial hemp can be traced back 10,000 years. It was one of the earliest crops cultivated by our ancestors, and despite playing a vital role in the economy of the southern U.S.—where it was grown side by side with cotton and used to produce rope, clothing, and canvas—hemp was criminalized by the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Imported hemp, however, has been legal to use in food products since 2000. Hemp-based food brands line the shelves at natural grocers like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's, as well as big-box retailers like Sam's Club, Costco, and Target. Derived from hemp seeds, products like hemp milk, hemp energy bars, and hemp seed oil are high in protein and full of antioxidants, amino acids, and other essen- tial nutrients. But they don't contain CBD, which is derived solely from the flowers, leaves, and stalks of the hemp plant. This means you won't yet find CBD products on the shelf next to the hemp milk at multi-state retailers and national pharmacy chains, even in legal states. Many companies opt out of selling these prod- ucts, as the murky legal status of cannabidiol from state to state makes interstate shipping too risky. But visit any independently owned health food store in one of the nine states (along with Washington, D.C.) where recreational cannabis is legal, and you'll find a wide range of hemp-based CBD products to choose from, including foods, tinctures, salves, lo- tions, beverages, capsules, and patches. A search for hemp products at San Francisco's Rainbow Grocery, a specialty retailer founded in 1975, returns more than 40 hemp-based products, including Charlotte's Web Extra Strength Capsules. Domestic Hemp Makes a Comeback In Colorado, one of the nation's first two states to legalize recreational cannabis, you'll find roughly 100 CBD products on the shelves of the natural health food store Alfalfa's Mar- ket in Boulder. Earlier this year, the retailer introduced its own private-label brand of hemp extracts sourced from a local manufacturer. Colorado is one of several states operating an industrial hemp pilot program, which currently serves as a legal loophole for the production and sale of CBD products. The Agricultural Act of 2014, known as the "Farm Bill," paved the way for hemp cultivation in states that have legalized the production of hemp under state ag- ricultural pilot programs. As of 2017, at least 34 U.S. states have industrial hemp programs in place, and hemp research pilot programs have been launched at several universities in New York. The recently introducedHemp Farming Act of 2018 should also help clarify some of the legal issues suppliers of CBD products have faced since the 2014 Farm Bill opened the door to domestic hemp as a source of CBD. While industrial hemp is once again a legal crop—albeit one regulated by the federal gov- ernment—the U.S. Drug Enforcement Admin- istration (DEA) still ranks CBD as a Schedule 1 drug alongside its THC-based cousins. Improving Accurate Dosing According to a 2017 studyconducted byBrightfield GroupandHelloMD, most of the demand for CBD comes from people seeking relief from anxiety, insomnia/sleep problems, joint pain, inflammation, and depression. A key concern for consumers is the accuracy of dosing, which in most cases is done by trial and error. Most products advise consumers to start treatment with small doses and work their way up to reach their desired outcome. The effects of CBD on the body depend on blood concentration levels. Like alcohol, which acts as a stimulant until blood alcohol levels reach 0.05 percent, CBD's initial effect is stimulating. At low doses, it has been shown to increase wakefulness and alertness, but at higher doses, it has a sedating effect. As manufacturers rush to capitalize on grow- ing consumer interest in CBD, a factor regard- ing efficacy—namely the low bioavailability of oils and extracts—has been conveniently overlooked. Due to the way we process oil, only about 10 percent of a dose of CBD extract is actually viable. That constraint alone makes accurate dosing with oils and extracts incred- ibly difficult, if not technically impossible. The importance of bioavailability is why the vast majority of medication is water-soluble. Water-soluble CBD has been developed that increases its bioavailability to roughly 90 per- cent, helping to enable more accurate dosing. As the regulatory environment eases around the sale and distribution of CBD products, con- sumers can expect to see water-soluble forms of CBD in a broad range of beverages and food products. Historically, hemp has played an important role as a utilitarian plant; widely deemed a "superfood" today, it's also consumed as a nutritional supplement. ■cr

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