{"id":7758,"date":"2017-09-28T18:57:15","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T18:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2804136&amp;preview_id=2804136"},"modified":"2017-09-28T18:57:15","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T18:57:15","slug":"update-cbd-oil-hits-national-stage-with-target-com-briefly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/update-cbd-oil-hits-national-stage-with-target-com-briefly\/","title":{"rendered":"Update: CBD oil hits national stage with Target.com \u2014 briefly"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/update-cbd-oil-hits-national-stage-with-target-com-briefly\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Sep 28, 2017, 11:19 am \u2022 Updated: Sep 28, 2017, 3:44 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\">Alicia Wallace<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>UPDATE 3:43 P.M. MDT 9\/28\/17:<\/strong> This story has been updated to include a statement from Target.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>UPDATE 1:10 P.M. MDT 9\/28\/17:<\/strong> The story and headline have been updated to reflect that the CW Hemp products appear to be no longer available on Target.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>CBD made it to the big leagues of retail \u2014 albeit briefly.<\/p>\n<p>CW Hemp, the Denver-based company that bottled up \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Web\u201d cannabidiol-rich oil, landed a selection of its hemp-derived extracts on Target.com, CW Hemp announced Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>But by Thursday afternoon, the CW Hemp products were no longer to be found on the Minneapolis-based retail giant\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<p>The Cannabist had verified earlier Thursday that Target\u2019s e-commerce site listed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.target.com\/s?searchTerm=cw+hemp#sneakTo=52761098\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">four CW Hemp products<\/a> \u2014 hemp capsules and oils (see a screenshot below). The products, which could also be accessed with a search for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.target.com\/s?searchTerm=cbd+oil\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cCBD oil,\u201d<\/a> were shown under the herbal supplements category.<\/p>\n<p>However, by the early afternoon, the searches for \u201cCW Hemp\u201d returned with: \u201cno results found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement emailed to The Cannabist on Thursday afternoon, a Target spokeswoman said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe started carrying Charlotte\u2019s Web hemp extract items last week on\u00a0Target.com. After further review, we have decided to remove it from our assortment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Cannabist made multiple attempts to contact officials at CW Hemp, but they have not commented directly about the products\u2019 removal from Target\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>BEFORE<\/h5>\n<figure class=\"figure wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88930\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/update-cbd-oil-hits-national-stage-with-target-com-briefly.png\" alt=\"cw-hemp-products-cbd-oil-target-com\" width=\"1246\" height=\"738\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot Thursday morning of the Target.com website showed some of the CW Hemp supplements available for purchase online. (Screenshot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5>AFTER<\/h5>\n<figure class=\"figure wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88973\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/update-cbd-oil-hits-national-stage-with-target-com-briefly-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1251\" height=\"201\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot Thursday afternoon of the Target.com website showed \u201cno results found\u201d for CW Hemp. (Screenshot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p>While nabbing a spot on Target.com would be considered a win for most fledgling consumer products companies, the move to sell products that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration views as illegal is bold, if not practically brazen, industry and drug policy experts told The Cannabist before Target ceased sales of CW Hemp products.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine a scenario in which this is legal,\u201d said John Hudak, a Brookings Institution senior fellow who specializes in drug policy issues, when reached Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>The DEA has made it clear that CBD and other cannabis-derived extracts are Schedule I substances, Hudak said. Sales of cannabis-derived products could be allowed under certain state-based marijuana programs; however, selling such products across state lines is illegal, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis may be an example of Target, a large corporation, standing up to the federal government and sort of challenging them to push back,\u201d he said. \u201cTarget is not asking for permission here; they may be in a position to ask for forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement issued early Thursday, CW Hemp officials touted Target\u2019s pick-up of the extracts as hemp-derived CBD \u201cgoing mainstream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sale of non-psychoactive, hemp-derived extracts on the mass-market stage comes at a time <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/special-report-cbd-tbd\/\">when the legality of such products has been put into question<\/a>. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/07\/dea-statement-cbd-hemp-farm-bill-cw-hemp-response\/83322\/\">DEA has stated<\/a> that extracts derived from cannabis \u2014 be it industrial hemp or marijuana \u2014 are federally illegal, Schedule I substances.<\/p>\n<p>The position has pitted the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/05\/cbd-hemp-dea-marijuana-extracts-federal-lawsuit\/82623\/\">DEA against the hemp industry<\/a> and, specifically, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/07\/dea-statement-cbd-hemp-farm-bill-cw-hemp-response\/83322\/\">makers of cannabinoid-rich products<\/a> derived from hemp. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/09\/20\/cbd-international-law-who-fda-cannabis\/88429\/\">Hemp industry advocates have argued<\/a> that CBD is not an illegal substance nor something strictly for pharmaceutical use, claiming that the compound should be classified as a food.<\/p>\n<p>Target sells other hemp-derived food and beauty products, including hemp-seed hearts and hemp-based milk, soaps and shampoos.<\/p>\n<p>The sale of CBD-rich oils is significant for the hemp industry, said Rod Kight, a North Carolina-based corporate and bankruptcy attorney who authors the Kight on Cannabis blog on legal marijuana topics. Kight does not represent either Target or CW Hemp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe market for hemp-based products is exploding and it was only a matter of time before one of the big national chains took the plunge to carry them,\u201d Kight wrote in an email to The Cannabist on Thursday morning. \u201cFrankly, I thought that the first chain would be a supplement or health food retailer, and am a little surprised that Target is the one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth Target and CW will likely enjoy a quick first mover window of opportunity, but I think we\u2019re likely to see a large number of national chains begin carrying hemp-based CBD products in the next three to six months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From a legal standpoint, this was a \u201cbold\u201d move by CW Hemp, Kight said, noting the company recently was named directly in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/05\/dea-statement-cbd-hemp-farm-bill-controlled-substances-act\/83100\/\">statement from the DEA about the legality of hemp, cannabis and CBD<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The DEA\u2019s enforcement abilities likely are limited, Kight said, noting ongoing provisions in the current federal appropriations act as they apply to the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed states to institute pilot programs for production of industrial hemp, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpo.gov\/fdsys\/pkg\/PLAW-113publ79\/pdf\/PLAW-113publ79.pdf\">defined as containing less than 0.3 percent THC<\/a>, the intoxicating component of the cannabis plant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe larger issue is how individual states will respond given that state law is the big unknown in this sector. I\u2019ll be keeping a close eye on developments and won\u2019t be surprised if Target either quietly doesn\u2019t stock products in certain states that have been notoriously difficult in this area (such as South Dakota) and\/or if we see a legal challenge in one or more states,\u201d Kight said. \u201cI\u2019m absolutely confident that Target and CW took this into consideration given that, unlike private companies, Target must report to shareholders and steer clear of legal gray areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/update-cbd-oil-hits-national-stage-with-target-com-briefly.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. In her 14 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned topics such as the economy, natural foods, airlines, biotech, retail,&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>CW Hemp announced early Thursday its hemp-derived extracts were available on Target.com, but later in the day, the products were no longer to be found on the retailer\u2019s website. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,531,330,6811,233,55,6813,77,5667,9,6833,5019,6845,1,3,7335,61,1736],"tags":[5063,3105,2908,6816,2811,2635,6818,2655,5673,6835,5022,6846,7336],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}