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Dear Colleagues, We forward an alert received today from the U.S. Hemp Roundtable (see below), regarding arrests and felony prosecutions in the Texas county of Tarrant for the simple possession of CBD-containing products. While this is disturbing on the surface, it illustrates the confusion around the legality of these products, especially considering contradictory state regulations, such as what appears to be the case in Texas. While the Hemp Roundtable refers to the products specifically as “hemp-derived,” nowhere in the news report referenced in the first sentence does the reporter do so—all of the products and product images simply show “CBD.” According to the news report, Texas does not participate in the federal farm bill and is not a hemp producer, thus the state does not recognize the federal legalization of hemp. It also has a zero-tolerance for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), claiming that THC in any amount in a product makes that product a controlled substance. The Hemp Roundtable email mentions legislation that is to be voted on soon within the Texas legislature that would legalize hemp products in the state and provides a portal to contact state legislators to support this bill. UNPA has not yet reviewed the language of the bill but encourages all of its Texas-based members with an interest in the hemp category to be aware of it and be a part of the political process that will play out in the state in the near future. NOTE: If your company does not have a representative on the UNPA Hemp Extracts Committee, I urge you to join to keep on top of the news and to participate in all hemp-related activities. For your review, I attach a current copy of the UNPA Hemp Extracts Committee roster. Please contact Heidi Calder (heidi@unpa.com) with any additions. With warm regards, Frank ----- Frank J. Lampe VP, Communications & Industry Relations United Natural Products Alliance 720.398.8172 frank@unpa.com unpa.com  Last week, millions of Texans were sent into a fury by a television news report that suggested that the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office in Ft. Worth was preparing to arrest individuals for the simple possession of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD). Many argue that this would be a miscarriage of justice, and well as a misappropriation of scarce resources needed to fight real criminals.
Roundtable General Counsel Jonathan Miller fired off this letter urging local prosecutors to stand down. But we also need your help. Texas legislators will soon be considering a bill that would make 100% clear that hemp-derived CBD could be sold at retail. If you are a Texas resident or business owner, we urge you to go to our portaltoday which makes it easy for you to fire off your own letter to your legislators in Austin, encouraging them to support hemp farmers and hemp product consumers. Wherever you live, please share this email and our portal with your friends in Lone Star State, as well as all of your social media contacts, helping us keep the pressure on Texas policymakers. As we’ve proven so often in the past, when we share our voices, politicians listen. Comments are closed.
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