Source: https://minneapoliscriminallawyer.liberty-lawyer.com/category/drug-laws/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 00:59:35+00:00

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Is CBD legal in Minnesota?
The law could be easier to follow, but the answers are here. CBD sourced from hemp is legal under Minnesota law. And a federal law prohibits spending on federal prosecution of people with state-legal hemp CBD. Here is the breakdown, with the related Minnesota and Federal laws.
Cannabidiol, CBD, is trending strongly. Why?
CBD has desirable health and wellness benefits.
CBD has no psychoactive effect, unlike psychoactive drugs such as alcohol, etc.
It is not now, nor has it ever been, illegal. And, it’s unregulated.
Only the third reason listed — the laws — could change. The biology of the plant and of humans will not change.
Despite the fact that CBD itself is not illegal, its federal legal status is still more complicated in 2018, than that statement seems to imply. We’ll dig into it here.
First though, what is Cannabidiol, or CBD? The second-most researched chemical in cannabis is Cannabidiol. CBD relaxes muscles, has other therapeutic effects, and is non-psychoactive.
Commercially extracted from cannabis plant resin, CBD is then concentrated into an oil high in CBD, low in THC.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of the other 113 cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. THC is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis, giving adult-use users the desired marijuana “high.” In marijuana, CBD and THC balance each other. CBD counters and mitigates (reduces) the psychological effects of THC.
Cannabis with high CBD is specially bred, grown or both with the goal of producing a high CBD-yielding plant. Medical marijuana can contain more than twenty percent CBD, while most adult-use marijuana has one percent CBD or less.
“Cannabis” has generally been a botanical, scientific name for the plant. The word “marijuana” came into common usage mainly because it was used in laws. The definition of marijuana was purely legal, defined by statute – not defined by science. The word “hemp” was in usage apart from its legal definition, but it now has a legal definition embedded in statutes.
As a result, cannabis is primarily a scientific term for the plant. “Marijuana” and “hemp,” on the other hand, are primarily legal terms, defined by statute as two separate categories of cannabis.
Currently under the law in Minnesota, “hemp” is not “marijuana,” and “marijuana” is not hemp.
The cannabis plant has many varieties – high resin varieties as well as low resin varieties.
The resin contains most of the THC and CBD and other, entourage cannabinoids.
This historical, legal development over time has created unintended consequences and legal ambiguities. Such as?
Here is the big problem. People want to be able use CBD products for health and wellness support. No one seems to object to CBD itself, as CBD, after all, it has no intoxicating effects; has no euphoric effect. But, the best CBD comes from “marijuana” not hemp, as legally defined under the federal and Minnesota legal definitions.
CBD from legal hemp is currently legal. But CBD from illegal marijuana is currently illegal.
It’s the source that makes it legal or not, in 2018.
Though CBD can be extracted from a hemp source, hemp has little resin (compared to marijuana); and so has little CBD. CBD, like its sister THC, concentrates in the plants’ resin.
The extract from that sort of plant can be purified to produce crystalline CBD. (Note the difference possible between the THC level of the plant vs that of the end product.) Again, the current laws make CBD legal if from a legal source (i.e., hemp), but illegal if from an illegal source (i.e., illegal “marijuana”).
Plants can be genetically bred and crossbred, as well as specially cultivated to increase the CBD level while decreasing the THC level to less than the legal threshold for hemp.
Marijuana-sourced CBD is not only more efficient, but results in a higher quality and safer end product.
The legal status of CBD products, in Minnesota in 2018, depends upon the THC level in the source plant, not the end product. In other words, a CBD-product with “no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight” would still be illegal if it was sourced from a “marijuana” plant (a cannabis plant with 0.3 percent THC by dry weight). This, even if the product has zero THC. What sense does that make?
It’s not a crime if it’s not listed in the federal or state version of the Controlled Substances Act, CSA schedules.
Both “marijuana” and THC are listed; in both Minnesota and federal CSAs.
CBD is not listed in either the Minnesota or the federal CSA, and so is not illegal as CDB.
The only commercially feasible sources for CBD are “marijuana,” and to a lesser extent “hemp” – both legally-defined categories of the cannabis plant.
CBD sourced from “marijuana” plants, is a crime to possess.
Hemp sourced CBD (or theoretically another non-“marijuana” source) is not a crime to possess. It is unregulated.
Products marketed as CBD may be contaminated due in part to the lack of regulation and the legal push away from “marijuana” as a source. Compared to marijuana, hemp is an inferior source of CBD.
Simple solution: Completely legalize marijuana. Then legally source CBD from “marijuana” – a better source for safe, quality CBD.
Baby step: Increase the THC threshold for hemp from .03 percent to 1.0 percent or more. (For example, West Virginia defines hemp as cannabis with a THC concentration of less than 1 percent.) This would improve the quality of hemp sourced CBD.
Baby step: Law authorizing and regulating the maximum THC-levels of CBD products, regardless of plant source.
As is often the case with the law, the law relevant to the legal status of CBD is the result of history. Metaphorically, lawyers and judges are like archaeologists – digging down through the layers to discover how the past influenced later developments, to arrive at the current state of the law.
The development of laws relating to the cannabis plant strongly influence the legal status of CBD is a because it is a component of the cannabis plant. Those laws have been buffeted by controversy since about the end of the U.S. Alcohol Prohibition era, when the marijuana Prohibition era began.
Since then, the political back-and-forth on marijuana laws over time has resulted in a ragged edge in the laws – legal ambiguities. It’s a bit messy, but lawyers are trained to sort out such messes. So here we go.
Restrictive Federal Hemp Research law (“Farm Bills”), vs.
federal comity or non-enforcement policies (“Appropriations Acts” – no money to enforce; plus local U.S. Attorney discretion).
In Minnesota, the ambiguity seems to come from the federal laws, not our state laws, so we’ll look at the federal laws first.
The 1970 Controlled Substances Act introduced the idea of five “schedules” ostensibly based upon social risk vs. benefit. Schedule 1 drugs are those claimed to have a high potential for abuse; and no currently accepted medical treatment use.
Note that Minnesota adopted its own state version of the federal CSA, with five schedules of listed drugs. It is not identical to the federal version.
Many do not know that Minnesota can remove or re-schedule marijuana out of Schedule 1, without regard to the federal CSA. Others states have. The State of Oregon rescheduled marijuana to its Schedule 2 in 2010.
The federal CSA schedule defines “marihuana,” as the cannabis plant except for the mature stalks and non-germinating seeds. THC is separately scheduled under the federal CSA — the only natural cannabinoid specifically scheduled.
CBD is not a scheduled drug under the CSA. Plant components chlorophyll and CBD share the same legal status. When sourced from marihuana, both chlorophyll and CBD are “schedule 1 drugs.” Nevertheless, CBD itself is not scheduled. You won’t find it listed on the CSA. Go ahead and check. It’s not there.
Despite this welcome clarity in the law, some remain confused about this easily verifiable law. For example, the Wikipedia entry for “Cannabidiol” (as of this writing), incorrectly claimed that Schedule 1 of the federal Controlled Substances Act lists Cannabidiol (CBD). A five-minute online fact-check of the statute proves that CBD is not in Schedule 1 of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
By 2008, state after state had passed laws decriminalizing marijuana, and legalizing medical marijuana; and the trend was clearly accelerating.
2009: “the Ogden memo” in 2009, instructed all U.S. Attorneys to make federal prosecution of marijuana possession a low priority, especially for people complying with a state’s medical marijuana law.
By 2012 in Colorado’s November 2012 general election, marijuana legalization got more votes than the winning Presidential candidate, Barack Obama. Clearly, legalization transcended partisan politics and politicians took note.
The memos identified Controlled Substance Act enforcement priorities. They encouraged federal prosecutors to avoid enforcing federal drug laws against “seriously ill individuals” using marijuana consistent with state laws.
These administrative directives encourage federal comity to the states, and non-enforcement of federal marijuana laws against people legally authorized under state law.
2014 “Farm Bill,” the Agricultural Act of 2014, 7 U.S.C. § 5940: While legal experts insist CBD is already legal under the 2014 Farm Bill, some government agencies claimed the contrary.
Much of this confusion is due to a lack of attention to the importance of the source of the CBD under current law. CBD is not the subject of these laws; hemp is.
Section 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill provided for the legal cultivation by states of “industrial hemp” without a permit from the federal DEA (“Hemp Pilot Programs”). The 2014 Farm Bill protected cultivators registered under a state’s hemp research pilot program, who cultivate cannabis containing no more than 0.3% of THC, and who meet the requirements imposed by their state department of agriculture.
Lawyers for the hemp industry argued that 2014 Farm Bill’s language is broad enough to include market research, including sales of hemp-based CBD products. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had emphasized their view that CBD remains illegal under the Controlled Substances Act, leading to lawsuits by the hemp industry.
The court emphasized that the 2014 US Farm Bill federally legalizing hemp where legal under state law, overrides any conflicting language in the 1970 Controlled Substances Act (such as the definition of “marijuana”). Section 7606 of the 2014 US Farm Bill (the “Farm Bill”) allows states to grow “Industrial Hemp” defined as having less than 0.3% THC on a dry weight basis in states that have implemented agricultural pilot hemp programs. Minnesota has done so.
The Court found that the Farm Bill “contemplates potential conflict between the Controlled Substances Act [CSA] and preempts it.” HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION v. US DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, No. 17-70162, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2018.
2015: Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-113, § 763, 129 Stat. 2242, 2285 (2015), limits the Justice Department from spending federal dollars to intervene in, or prosecute state-sanctioned activities involving marijuana or industrial hemp.
The court removed any doubt about the plain language of the federal statute, mandating federal non-intervention in state legal marijuana and hemp rights.
“The Consolidated Appropriations Act forbids the use of federal funds from being used “in contravention of . . . the Agricultural Act” or “to prohibit the transportation, processing, sale, or use of industrial hemp that is grown or cultivated in accordance with subsection section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.” Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-113, § 763, 129 Stat. 2242, 2285 (2015).” HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION v. US DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, No. 17-70162, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2018.
In 2014 and 2015, Congress passed the landmark Rohrabacher-Farr amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act, which prevents the federal Department of Justice from using any funds to interfere in state medical cannabis programs and bars ongoing federal cases. Subsequently, state medical marijuana programs increased from 20 states to 31 states.
“Petitioners Hemp Industries Association, … (collectively “Petitioners”) petition this Court to review a final Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) rule that establishes a new drug code for marijuana extract. We … deny the petition. … The rule went into effect on January 13, 2017, and Petitioners timely filed the instant petition for review that same day. A party may petition a Court of Appeal for review of a final DEA decision, 21 U.S.C. § 877, but if the party fails “to make an argument before the administrative agency in comments on a proposed rule,” they are barred “from raising that argument on judicial review.”… The Final Rule put this question to rest when it rephrased the definition to apply to an “extract containing one or more cannabinoids [.]” 81 Fed. Reg. 90195 (Dec. 14, 2016).” HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION v. US DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, No. 17-70162, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2018.
“Because recent public inquiries that DEA has received following the publication of the Final Rule suggest there may be some misunderstanding about the source of cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, we also note the following botanical considerations.
As the scientific literature indicates, cannabinoids, such as tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), cannabinols (CBN) and cannabidiols (CBD), are found in the parts of the cannabis plant that fall within the CSA definition of marijuana, such as the flowering tops, resin, and leaves.
After all of the above, the conclusion must be that CBD is effectively legal federally if sourced from federally-legal hemp. Hemp is federal-legal if it complies with the federal “Farm Bill” which requires it be state-legal. But CBD from “marijuana” sources remains, in 2018, illegal-federally.
Well, technically illegal. “The Appropriations Act” language prohibits spending funds on federal prosecution where people are in compliance with State laws on marijuana and hemp.
So, though some state-legal hemp might arguably not be federally-legal (due to violating the Farm Bill’s restrictions), the Appropriations Act prohibits federal criminal enforcement.
In other words, CBD is legal if sourced from “Farm Bill”-complaint-hemp.
it is made from “marijuana” and state legal as part of the state’s medical marijuana program.
Beware claims that CBD is from a non-cannabis source and therefore legal. Although theoretically possible, claims of commercially available, non-cannabis sourced CBD lack credibility, proof or factual support. It’s just not commercially feasible, at least to date. Beware claims made to the contrary.
These two key federal laws, often referred to as the “Farm Bill” and the “Appropriations Act,” have been renewed in subsequent laws with some variation in the intervening years since their first enactment. A potential “Farm Bill” successor, the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) appears unlikely to pass in 2018. It would have further improved the U.S. trade and economy from Hemp Agriculture, and included more protections for Hemp-sourced CBD. Given its bipartisan support, it may yet be adopted in 2019.
Under Minnesota law, anything sourced from “marijuana,” is marijuana and as a result criminal to sell or possess in any amount.
Possession or gifting 42.5 grams or less plant-form marijuana, “a small amount,” has been decriminalized.
Marijuana-CBD legally from the Minnesota Medical Marijuana program by a state authorized patient; or medically prescribed, pharmaceutical Epidiolex.
Hemp-sourced-CBD. If from non-“marijuana” sources, it’s legal under Minnesota law.
There is no law that specifically addresses the legal status of CBD itself, in Minnesota. Now, its legal status depends entirely upon its source. If “marijuana” sourced, CBD is “marijuana” even if it contains zero THC. Of course, that could change.
Of course, Minnesota could pass a law clarifying that CBD itself is legal regardless of source, perhaps also regulating production, content, and sale.
“18K.02 DEFINITIONS. Subd. 3. “Industrial hemp” means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Industrial hemp is not marijuana as defined in section 152.01, subdivision 9.
Subd. 4. “Marijuana” has the meaning given in section 152.01, subdivision 9.
18K.03 AGRICULTURAL CROP; POSSESSION AUTHORIZED.
Industrial hemp is an agricultural crop in this state. A person may possess, transport, process, sell, or buy industrial hemp that is grown pursuant to this chapter.
Minnesota law on hemp is cleaner than federal law in that it avoids the convoluted federal “notwithstanding …” layered definitions and non-enforcement laws.
Though, as discussed above, Minnesota should consider increasing the THC threshold to one percent, as West Virginia has done. This compromise would allow for safer, quality hemp-derived CBD, and help solve some of the problems we are seeing today with unregulated CBD products.
Recommendations. What solutions make the most sense?
Minnesota: Legalize marijuana for responsible adult use, including small batch home-production commensurate with home-production of beer and wine.
Federal: Repeal all laws criminalizing marijuana, resume federalism by leaving it to the States. Carve out federal recognition of legal hemp and hemp products, and their free trade in interstate commerce.
Baby step solutions – detailed above.
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this article, comments, or this blog is legal advice.
Author Thomas C. Gallagher is a Marijuana Lawyer with a criminal defense practice in Minneapolis; and is a Minnesota NORML Board Member.
Remove Marijuana from Schedule 1 in Minnesota?
Has the time come to remove marijuana from Minnesota’s Schedule 1 of the Minnesota Controlled Substances Act? Yes, the time has come. Here is an explanation of why; and how you can help make it happen before more lives are destroyed by this irrational and unjust law.
The Minnesota Controlled Substances Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 152) is similar to the Federal Controlled Substances Act (21 United States Code Sections 801 et seq) in that it creates lists, or “schedules” of drugs, numbered one through five.
Drugs listed in Schedule 1 are supposed to be a drug or other substance that has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, or lacks accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. Examples of Schedule 1 drugs include the opiates, such as heroin, morphine, etc.
A “Schedule 2” drug is meant to include drugs with a high potential for abuse, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions, and, abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Examples of Schedule 2 drugs include cocaine, methamphetamine, and phenobarbital.
Schedules 3 and 4 are thought to include drugs less harmful or prone to abuse than those the government has listed in Schedule 1 and 2. Schedule 5 includes drug or concentrations of drugs the government thinks are less dangerous or prone to abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV, has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, or abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV.
Where has the government seen fit to categorize marijuana within this scheme? Currently, they still list marijuana as a “Schedule 1” category drug, right in there with heroin. Apparently the government views marijuana as more dangerous than methamphetamine, which is only a Schedule 2 drug.
What difference does it make? Lots. But here are two big ways it makes a difference where the government categorizes marijuana within its laws: harming people and public safety with criminalization, and harming people and public health by creating a legal barrier to legal medical marijuana treatment.
As the Minnesota Controlled Substances Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 152) is currently written, removing marijuana from all “schedules” listed (sometimes called “descheduling”) would have limited impact since most controlled substance crimes specifically list marijuana by name. Moving it from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 would appear to make no difference at all, as far as criminalization is concerned.
How can there be a legal medical marijuana program under Minnesota law, and yet still have marijuana listed as a “Schedule 1 drug,” which is defined as having no currently accepted medical use in treatment? Is Schedule 1 marijuana really more dangerous than Schedule 2’s methamphetamine? After all, at least 23 of the 50 states now have legal medical marijuana programs and nearly half the U.S. population lives in states where medical marijuana is legal today. “No currently accepted medical use in treatment?” Really? To the contrary, marijuana is currently accepted medical treatment, across the United States.
Allowing inertia to continue marijuana in Schedule 1 has harmful implications for public health of the people of Minnesota. It creates innumerable difficulties for sick people who are just trying to treat their illness, including insurance issues. This in turn creates unfairness for the ill and disabled who have a low-income, or could be driven into the underground market for medicine.
We ought to take our laws seriously and change them to reflect reality and truth, as best we can. We need to amend Minnesota law to remove marijuana from Schedule 1, either into Schedule 2 or complete descheduling (remove from all Minnesota Controlled Substances Act schedules).
A bipartisan Bill recently introduced into the United States Senate would move marijuana from the federal Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 (titled the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States or “CARERS” Act.) We should get this done in Minnesota at our state legislature, first. The Minnesota State Senate now has a Bill pending to amend the Minnesota Controlled Substances Act to add various drugs and substances to the various Schedules.
This is a perfect opportunity for us to urge the Minnesota Senate and Minnesota House to amend that Bill to either deschedule marijuana, or at least move it down to Schedule 2. In 2011, the Minnesota law was changed so that the Minnesota Pharmacy Board no longer has authority to move drugs or other substances out of Schedule 1. Only the Minnesota legislature can do it now.
So pick up the phone, send a letter, or otherwise contact your Minnesota State Senator and House Representative and ask them to support an amendment to SF 1219 and HF1376 to deschedule marijuana or reschedule it to Schedule 2.
Thomas C. Gallagher is a Minneapolis Defense Attorney representing people accused of marijuana crimes, and serves on the Board of Minnesota NORML.

References: § 5940
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 § 877
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