Here’s the guidance
Source: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/cbd-in-food-manufactured-or-sold-in-massachusetts
CBD in Food Manufactured or Sold in Massachusetts
Frequently Asked Questions
If I have a Massachusetts license or permit under 105 CMR 500 (Regulations for Good Manufacturing Practices for Food) to manufacture food, is it legal to add cannabidiol (CBD) to that food?
No. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) regulates food manufacturing in the Commonwealth (see 105 CMR 500). These regulations require that all food must be from approved sources that comply with federal, state, and local law and must not contain any prohibited ingredients. The FDA has concluded that federal law prohibits the addition of CBD to food products because CBD is an active ingredient in FDA-approved drugs. Since CBD is not an approved ingredient under federal law, it may not be added to manufactured foods.
If I have a Massachusetts permit under 105 CMR 590 (Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food Establishments) as a Food Establishment, is it legal to add CBD to food I distribute at retail?
No. The DPH sets minimum sanitary standards for food establishments in the Commonwealth. These regulations are enforced by local boards of health in partnership with the state (see 105 CMR 590). The regulations incorporate the FDA’s Food Code, which requires that food be obtained from sources that comply with federal, state, and local laws and must not contain any prohibited ingredients. As noted above, the FDA has concluded that federal law prohibits the addition of CBD to food products because CBD is an active ingredient in FDA-approved drugs. Since CBD is not an approved ingredient under federal law, it may not be added to foods distributed at retail.
If I am licensed or permitted as a food manufacturer or retailer in Massachusetts, is it legal to add hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein, and/or hemp seed oil to food I manufacture and/or sell at retail?
Yes. The FDA has completed its evaluation of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notices for hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein and hemp seed oil. These products can be legally added to human food, provided they comply with all other requirements.
I have a license issued by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) under its Interim Commercial Industrial Hemp Program Policy. Is it legal for me to add CBD to manufactured or retail food?
No. The MDAR Hemp Program does not provide an exception to the federal prohibition against adding CBD into food products.
May I market my hemp products (e.g., hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein and hemp seed oil) by making therapeutic claims without FDA approval?
No. The FDA has reiterated that cannabis products (hemp-derived or otherwise) that are marketed with claims of therapeutic benefit or any other disease claim must be approved by the FDA.
May I sell cosmetic products containing hemp or CBD at retail in Massachusetts?
DPH does not regulate cosmetics. The FDA has issued Frequently Asked Questions that address cannabis and cannabis-derived ingredients in cosmetics.
What can I do if I had an adverse reaction to a cosmetic product labeled as containing CBD?
You can report a cosmetic related complaint directly to the FDA.
Additional Resources
Massachusetts: H.3535191st (Current)
An Act expanding agriculture preservation restrictions for hemp cultivation
By Mr. Pignatelli of Lee, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3535) of Smitty Pignatelli and others relative to expanding agriculture preservation restrictions for hemp cultivation. Cannabis Policy.
H3535
Here’s the report on Masslive.com
The opportunity to grow hemp and process it into CBD products could be closing in Massachusetts. The Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), which regulates the growing of hemp, this month issued guidance that effectively outlawed the sale of food products containing CBD, any product containing CBD that makes therapeutic claims, any product with hemp as a dietary supplement and any animal feed with hemp products.
On Monday afternoon, a recently-formed coalition of Massachusetts hemp farmers, businesses, advocates and consumers rallied outside the State House to call on MDAR to clarify its guidance and to push for the state to clear up the legality of their products.
Julia Agron, a hemp farmer and organizer of the Mass. Hemp Coalition, told the crowd about the process she and her family went through to get an MDAR license to grow and process hemp, only to then find out that MDAR’s new guidance effectively made her plans illegal.
“We were going to make tinctures, we were going to make infused edible products, we were going to infuse directly into coconut oil, we were going to make topicals — the whole range of it. That artisinal product is what we feel we have to offer,” Agron said. “Within two months of getting our license approved, I happened to get an email from MDAR basically saying that every single product that we need to be able to sell in order for our farm to grow and succeed was suddenly off the table.”
The MDAR guidance came on the heels of an opinion from the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationthat CBD cannot be added to food and dietary supplements, and state Department of Public Health guidance also prohibiting the sale of any product containing CBD oils derived from hemp.
A variety of products made from hemp — hemp seed, protein, clothing and other items made from hemp fiber — are approved for sale in Massachusetts.
On Monday, CBD supporters decried what they said is the unfair treatment of the hemp-based product by a state that licenses stores to sell products infused with THC, the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
“An absurd dichotomy exists in the state today where you can legally produce and sell cannabis consumables, but you cannot legally produce and sell hemp consumables,” Jim Borghesani, who served as spokesman of the 2016 ballot initiative that legalized marijuana, said.
Borghesani said he wanted to remind Gov. Charlie Baker, who oversees MDAR, that about 54 percent of Massachusetts voters were in favor of legal access to marijuana products and “probably a lot more want access to hemp consumables.”
And because it is up to local officials to police what’s offered behind the counter at corner stores, where CBD products have become commonplace alongside tobacco and rolling papers, hemp supporters said MDAR’s guidance is only going to harm the local small hemp farmers who hoped to sell CBD products in order to turn a profit.