Resources: Understanding Differences Between Cannabis & Hemp

What is hemp, and how is it different than other cannabis products? What are federal and state legal differences that have allowed intoxicating hemp products to proliferate in communities? These resources, created by PHI’s Getting it Right from the Start, were designed to help residents, advocates, local authorities and other stakeholders take action to protect their communities from the potential harms that come with the legalization of hemp and cannabis products.

Cannabis vs. Hemp Factsheet

Hemp is defined as any part of the plant Cannabis sativa L. that contains no more than 0.3% of the intoxicating ingredient Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (D-9-THC). Learn all about what makes hemp and cannabis different, what they have in common, why it matters, what’s legal and what’s not, and what communities can do to create a safer legal cannabis market.

Intoxicating Hemp Products: Policy Brief for California Local Government

This policy brief for California local governments, particularly the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, delves into the unintentional consequences of Bill 45 (AB45), which legalized the manufacture and sale of products intended for human consumption that contain ingredients derived from industrial hemp. While the intent may have been to legalize hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), which is usually non-intoxicating, loopholes have allowed psychoactive hemp products to be sold. This brief also shares key recommendations, including local enforcement of existing law, prohibiting the sale of intoxicating hemp products and all artificially derived cannabinoids, establishing age limits, limiting places of sale, and strengthening restrictions that prevent hemp products from being attractive to children.

Originally published by Getting it Right from the Start