
Top photo: © SeanPavonePhoto | Adobe Stock
The Maine hemp industry caught a break Wednesday when Gov. Janet Mills signed a law allowing a popular hemp byproduct, cannabidiol, to be added to food products, treating the wildly popular cannabis extract as a food rather than a medicine.
“Happy planting, hemp farmers,” said Rep. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, the bill’s author.
Hickman introduced the emergency bill after state consumer and community health inspectors began warning retailers to pull foods, beverages and tinctures containing cannabidiol, or CBD, off the shelves in January, citing both state and federal laws as the reason.