With this statement, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel walked back from previous law enforcement guidance asserting that no CDB was legal in Wisconsin at without a physician’s certification. The news release concedes that CBD may be produced and sold through the industrial hemp program.
“With the 2018 Farm Bill now working its way through Congress, it is likely that our current laws will be changed even further to make industrial hemp’s legality clear. Therefore, I am advising law enforcement not to take enforcement action against products made from industrial hemp that is grown under a lawful hemp research pilot program, including CBD, until Congress considers changes to the law, enabling the Wisconsin State Legislature to further clarify the status of these products.”
“Farmers who follow DATCP’s rules and regulations may do the following:
- Grow industrial hemp without fear of criminal prosecution;
- Sell the entire industrial hemp plant or parts of the plant to anyone;
- Process the plant as permitted by DATCP’s rules and regulations, which includes producing CBD.
“It is important to note that the legal protections under DATCP’s program discussed above apply only to farmers who are working in compliance with DATCP authorization and retailers who are selling CBD certified to be in compliance with the provisions of the Farm Bill. Rogue producers and retailers will still be subject to prosecution.”