Holcomb: Excise Police To Issue Warnings To Stores Selling CBD

Gov. Eric Holcomb is directing Indiana Excise Police to issue warnings to stores selling cannabidiol, or CBD, for the next 60 days.

The guidance comes after Attorney General Curtis Hill issued an opinion last week saying the possession, sale and manufacture of CBD is illegal, with an exception for those suffering from treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Holcomb says in a statement stores in Indiana have sold CBD for years, so the excise police will issue warnings over the next two months to give stores a chance to remove the products that contain THC from their shelves.

Rick Montieth owns Georgetown Natural Foods Market in Indianapolis and sells CBD to several customers suffering from various medical issues. He says he will only be able to sell one type of CBD oil that contains no THC after the warning period expires.

“I just think it’s more examples of our politicians not understanding industrial hemp,” Montieth says. “The CBD products that retail stores are carrying contain only a trace amount or no THC.”

Legislators passed a bill in 2014 that legalized industrial hemp that contains 0.3 percent or less THC, which made it legal for stores to sell CBD.

Montieth says his store isn’t licensed through the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, so he questions whether excise police have jurisdiction to do a regulatory check at Georgetown Market.

“My big question is will the excise police be visiting retail stores that are not licensed by the ATC?” he says.

Holcomb signed a bill earlier this year allowing the use of CBD for those suffering from epilepsy.