Under current Massachusetts law, food products containing CBD cannot be wholesaled in the state, and non-food products containing CBD such as lotions and soaps cannot make therapeutic or medicinal claims on the label, unless it has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"All these products are coming from out of state... particularly Vermont and Maine and then nationally, we're looking at states like Oregon and Colorado. Massachusetts hemp farmers are at a severe disadvantage to regional hemp farmers," said Matthew Wendorf, a hemp farmer at Windy Village Cooperative in Sherborn."The Massachusetts hemp industry may not survive another harvest with the status quo.
"Hemp has already been deemed agriculture at the federal level. It is inequitable policy for hemp to be considered an agricultural crop and not higher THC cannabis, since they are the same plant," said Eric Schwartz, co-founder of Farm Bug Co-Op."The high regulatory barriers that are often put in place at the local level do not help farmers and do not help small business entrepreneurs.
"This is not good for our environment. It is estimated that indoor cannabis cultivation can consume up to 2,000 watts of electricity per square meter -- which is 40 times the energy consumption of leafy greens grown indoors," Schwartz said.