Last June, Hong Kong officials had announced a nationwide ban on CBD products by the end of the year, and will be cracking down on all CBD producers and consumers. As of now, the CBD market is unregulated, but will soon change as CBD will be added to the list of First Schedule drugs under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. What is the reason for the sudden ban? What are the consequences for possessing or trafficking CBD in Hong Kong? In this article, our goal is to attempt to answer all of those questions to keep you up to date with everything regarding hemp and CBD in Hong Kong.
CBD Consequences
All CBD activities at every part of the supply chain will be regulated, and will require a license issued by the Department of Health. The only exception to CBD entering Hong Kong, would be CBD exclusively for pharmaceutical use. Any activities conducted after the ban would be punishable by imprisonment. For instance, possession of CBD will be liable for up to seven years and an estimated $127,000 USD fine, while trafficking CBD will be liable for about $637,000 USD and life imprisonment. From the heights of these fines and prison times, it is evident that Hong Kong is leaving no room for tolerating CBD.
The reason for the severity of this ban is filled with a ton of speculation. One reason for the harsh consequences may be due to the zero tolerance policies the country has set on THC. Why would CBD be illegal with THC when CBD is known to be non-psychoactive and may provide countless health benefits? Despite THC being illegal, CBD was at one point widely accepted by Hong Kong, and was quickly introduced into the market. CBD is now leaving the market just as quickly as it arrived. authorities claim that CBD can be purposefully converted into THC and vise versa. Additionally, it is also claimed that the technology to remove and isolate THC from CBD is not possible, and further claim that CBD can naturally break down into THC. Knowing how the hemp market has evolved in the United States, it is interesting to hear these claims. At Mints, we lab test all of our products to make sure they do not change or alter their composition over time.
Another reason why CBD may be receiving a sudden ban is due to following China’s footsteps to crack down on CBD. Although China is the world’s top hemp producer, it is now banning the production of CBD in cosmetics. Knowing that Hong Kong and China are intertwined politically, there may have been some influence from China to have Hong Kong change its policies.
Actions Taken to Curve CBD Regulations
An outright ban to CBD across Hong Kong is a devastating blow to any participating business owner. As a result, CBD businesses have proposed conducting tests at government-authorized laboratories to ensure that there is no THC in their products in order to prevent a recall on wholesalers.
In any case, Hong Kong authorities are giving stakeholders a grace period to dispose or consume their remaining CBD products.
We hope to have given you a greater understanding of how the legalities behind CBD are changing in Hong Kong. If you would like to learn more about CBD, hemp, or the cannabis industry, please be sure to check out our blog!
