Alaska’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office have seized thousands of dollars’ worth of imported CBD oil from the state’s licensed retail cannabis shops over confusion about their place in the state’s adult-use regulatory structure, the Alaska Journal reports.
Sara Chambers, acting director of the office, said that the agency is “managing this developing situation with the utmost care and concern.”
“Specific details cannot be released at this time because of the ongoing investigation,” she said in the report. “Further details will be released as they become available to ensure that licensees and the public are fully educated and informed as to what the law requires concerning sale of marijuana products.”
According to the report, much of Alaska’s CBD products come from the Alaska Cannabis Exchange and owner Aaron Ralph indicated that they receive their products from industrial hemp pilot program approved in the Lower 48 under the 2014 federal Farm Bill, which are classified as industrial hemp products.
Harriet Milks, legal counsel for the AMCO, said she was aware of potential issues with the products as retail shops started selling them in recent weeks.
“What is this product? We need to find out what it is,” she said. “If it’s a marijuana product under our law I think we have a problem because it doesn’t seem to be packaged or tested or tracked according to Alaska regulations…if it’s not marijuana under our law, that’s a different story.”