An Illinois lawmaker has put forward a bill to introduce lab testing for CBD products.
CBD products are a murky legal area in the US and the confusion is compounded by clashing state and federal laws.
Now the Democrat representative for Deerfield – Bob Morgan – has introduced legislation to force all CBD goods sold in the state to meet testing requirements developed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
“This legislation would give the Department of Agriculture the ability to step in to make sure we are selling products that are safe for people to use,” Morgan told the Chicago Tribune.
Safe
And he tweeted: “We need to make sure all CBD products sold in Illinois are safe.
“My CBD Safety Act bill will make sure these products coming in from out of state are not filled with pesticides, heavy metals, or worse.”
The bill would force producers that fail to meet the criteria to withdraw it from shelves and face fines starting at $1,000.
Even CBD producers are alarmed at the current lack of regulation.
Chicago-based LeafyQuick only sells products which have been tested, but co-founder Rahul Easwar says customers rarely ask about safety.
He said: “When we tell them, ‘Hey, this is third-party tested,’ it’s more like, ‘OK great, but tell me what flavour you have.
“It’s more of an afterthought or it’s not a thought at all.”
Most cannabidiol products were made legal by December’s ‘Farm Bill’, which legalised the cultivation of industrial hemp, from which CBD can be derived.
Chicago-based cannabis research firm Brightfield Group reports that sales of CBD products are expected to reach $5 billion this year.
