USPS Updates Policies to Allow Hemp Shipping

The U.S. Postal Service has updated its Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail regulations to clarify that hemp – and CBD – products are legal to mail so long as the products comply with local laws and compliance records are maintained.

In April, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, an industry association, sent a letter to the USPS seeking clarification to the agency’s rules regarding hemp. The organization had included proposed criteria for demonstrating the mailing is compliant, including a signed, self-certified statement that indicates the legality of the products, and test results.

“Once the 2018 Farm Bill is fully implemented, and states begin to propose plans, it is expected to further modify the conditions under which hemp and hemp-based products may be transported.” – USPS, Publication 52 Revision: New Mailability Policy for Cannabis and Hemp-Related Products, June 6, 2019

Private delivery services have their own policies in place. According to the UPS website, the company will ship hemp products that are not in plant form, including CBD products, but “will not accept shipments containing hemp products from any location that sells marijuana or marijuana products.”

FedEx includes “hemp plants, hemp leaves, hemp oil, hemp seed oil and CBD derived from hemp” on its prohibited items list.

The USPS changes come as federal agencies begin to reassess their policies in the wake of last year’s Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released guidance for importing hemp seeds, while earlier this month the Food and Drug Administration held its first-ever hearing on CBD products — the agency, however, did not announce any policy updates.