Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined 18 members of Congress in reintroducing the bipartisan Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act, legislation to provide a regulatory pathway for the legal sale of hemp products, including cannabidiol (CBD), as dietary supplements. Hemp production was explicitly legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill, but regulatory uncertainty about the sale of hemp-derived CBD products has hurt the market. 

“The murky regulations that surround the hemp industry have hamstrung our blossoming industry in Maine. I know of many Maine hemp farms that invested considerably in hemp operations after the Farm Bill was passed, but red tape and uncertainty from the federal government has led to limited demand, a decline in hemp prices, and hardship for our farmers,” said Pingree. “It’s beyond time to fix it. I’m joining my colleagues in introducing this bill so we can provide a clear path forward for these products and support a thriving hemp economy. ”

H.R. 481 would ensure that hemp-derived CBD, and other hemp ingredients – that necessarily contain less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis -- could be lawfully marketed as dietary supplements. It would also require CBD and hemp extract product manufacturers to comply with the existing regulatory framework for dietary supplements, so that consumers would be assured that the products they consume are safe, properly labeled and prepared with Good Manufacturing Practices.

Pingree has supported Maine’s hemp farmers and hemp-derived CBD businesses, which have been at the mercy of unclear federal regulations. She led a bipartisan effort in September 2019 urging the Food and Drug Administration to establish a regulatory pathway for food products containing hemp-derived CBD. She also voted to pass the MORE Act in December 2020, which would decriminalize marijuana and remove federal obstacles for Maine’s burgeoning legal marijuana industry. 

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