The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission will
not allow a local brewer to move forward with plans to roll out a CBD-infused
beer, arguing that the cannabinoid is a Schedule I drug and the infusion would
violate the Food & Drug Administration’s Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the
Boston Business Journal reports.
“Even though retail sales of cannabis are expected to become
lawful starting July 1, 2018, it will remain unlawful to manufacture and/or
sell alcoholic beverages containing any cannabinoid extracts, including
tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) and cannabidiol (“CBD”), regardless of whether it
is derived from the cannabis plant or industrial hemp.” – the ABCC ruling, via
Boston Business Journal
Alex Weaver, marketing director for Down the Road Beer Co. –
the company that planned on creating the beer – said the company was
“disappointed the current laws haven’t caught up with [the company’s] drive to
innovate and continue to push the bounds of what craft beer could be.”
“Down the Road Beer Co. has been focused on innovation since
day one. Our founder and head brewer, Donovan Bailey, loves pushing the bounds
of what craft can be beyond the ordinary or expected. In that vein of
innovation, brewing the first CBD beer in Massachusetts Boston
The company still released a version of the brew, called
Goopmassta Session IPA, but without CBD.
Down the Road is not the first craft brewery interested in
infusing beer with cannabinoids. Last year, California-based Lagunitas Brewing
Company released Supercritical IPA, which infused cannabis terpenes but neither
CBD nor THC. Vermont’s Long Trail Brewing Company announced its own CBD-infused
brew – called Medicator – last August; however, VT Digger reported last week
that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
has not yet issued a certificate of label approval for the brew. Tom Hogue, a
spokesman for the federal agency, said that while products containing hemp can
pass inspection it cannot contain a controlled substance. Hogue said that
approval could take 10 days or more.
TG Branfalt
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