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| Hemp Today interview with Bob Hoban founder and Managing Partner Hoban Law Group (HLG) |
HempToday: If we look strictly at the CBD value chain, where in the world would you say the laws are most supportive to full sector development?
Bob Hoban: The Latin American market loves cannabinoid extracts. More importantly, many of the governments in Latin America are supportive of widespread cultivation, processing, and use of hemp as a naturally occurring wellness product. The Latin American markets also have their eyes on the import and export of such products and materials, which creates opportunities in the burgeoning global cannabis economy.
Bob Hoban: The Latin American market loves cannabinoid extracts. More importantly, many of the governments in Latin America are supportive of widespread cultivation, processing, and use of hemp as a naturally occurring wellness product. The Latin American markets also have their eyes on the import and export of such products and materials, which creates opportunities in the burgeoning global cannabis economy.
The EU has been a bit slower to come to the CBD party, but a number of cannabinoid-rich products have been evaluated and approved under FDA-equivalent standards and are making a major push in the EU marketplace. Overall, at present, I believe that Latin America provides the most widespread opportunities; especially considering the extent of various nationalized healthcare systems in that part of the world and government support.
HT: When can we expect full clarity for CBD in the United States? Is that a five- or 10-year proposition? What can we look forward to (or dread) regarding federal agencies’ treatment of CBD in the next 1-2 years?
BH: Unfortunately, I see an interruption in the U.S.-based cannabinoid extract marketplace before there is clarity. Fortunately, however, the debate is beginning to shift away from the baseless claims that CBD (and other naturally occurring cannabinoids) are illegal, controlled substances per se, to how and where these products will be regulated.
BH: Unfortunately, I see an interruption in the U.S.-based cannabinoid extract marketplace before there is clarity. Fortunately, however, the debate is beginning to shift away from the baseless claims that CBD (and other naturally occurring cannabinoids) are illegal, controlled substances per se, to how and where these products will be regulated.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) need to step up and take the issue away from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which readily concedes that it has no jurisdiction over (U.S.) Farm Bill hemp and exempted plant material-based extracts and derivatives. This is a slow and tedious process which could take several years.
