This webinar is sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific. The webinar was recorded in 2022.

Speaker: Mary A. Celeste Judge (ret.)

Overview and learning objectives:

  • Identify the legal history and status of hemp
  • Distinguish the differences between marijuana and hemp derivatives
  • Identify testing methods and developing issues when testing for hemp derivative
  • Identify developing issues with erroneous testing results

The removal of hemp from the Control Substances Act (CSA) due to the passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, has led to the propagation of CBD and other hemp derivatives such as Delta 8. These products are now widely available to consumers through a variety of channels such as convenience stores, tobacco stores, newsstands, pharmacies, and the internet. CBD is available across the country and although the Farm Bill did not legalize the production of psychoactive material derived from the hemp plant, the Delta 8 extraction continues to be available and unregulated in many states.

The courts, roadside law enforcement and workplace testing are now encountering a confused and ever-changing testing environment and outcomes. Citizens who believed that they were using legal products are testing positive for illegal Delta 9 THC which is impacting them legally.

A “CBD Oracle Lab Study shows some Delta-8 products Are 7700% over the legal Delta-9 THC limit which still remains illegal under the CSA.” Lab tests done on CBD products, by Ellipse Analytics, found more than half of the 200 products tested were inaccurately labeled and lab results showed that a quarter of them -- more than 50 products -- falsely claimed they were “THC-free. Compounding this challenge is the fact that hemp and marijuana smell and look the same.

How should labs test for THC?

Should the requesting entity request specificity with respect to hemp derivatives? This and more will be discussed.

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CE credit not available for this webinar.

Mary A. Celeste Judge (ret.)

Mary A. Celeste
Judge (ret.)

Judge Celeste sat on the Denver County Court bench 2000-2015. She was the Presiding Judge 2009-10 and the co-founder of the Denver County Court Sobriety Court. Former member of the Judicial Advisory Board for the Foundation for the Advancement of Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR), Faculty for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), and the National Judicial College (NJC). Currently a law school professor teaching Marijuana and the Law at California Western School of Law and is considered a national content expert on the topic of cannabis. Judge Celeste was a speaker in 2022 at the Drug & Alcohol Testing Association (DATIA), the Cannabis Symposium (San Diego), and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals ((NADCP). In addition, she is widely published, knowledgeable & respected as an expert and consultant in cannabis law. In 2023 Judge Celeste will be publishing a new book entitled Cannabis Law & Practice. For more information go to judgemaryceleste.com

Mary A. Celeste

Mary A. Celeste
Judge (ret.)