Bluebird Botanical’s Founder Brandon Beatty Explains New CBD Hemp DEA Updates
October 21, 2020 • Health & Wellness •
Image Credit: Bluebird Botanicals
Bluebird Botanicals CEO and founder Brandon Beatty has always maintained a commitment to driving the future of hemp forward. As a passionate hemp advocate, he has worked hard with legislative groups to make a lasting impact in the industry.
Over the past couple of years, Beatty and the Bluebird Botanicals team have been heavily involved with the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable is a 501(c)(4) non-profit lobbying organization consisting of dozens of hemp companies and the industry’s major national grassroots organizations.
Their mission includes focused lobbying efforts in state capitals to fully legalize hemp and hemp-derived products, facilitating information exchange with law enforcement and federal agency officials, and continued long-term legislative advocacy on other major policy issues. We reached out to Brandon Beatty, the longest-standing CEO of a CBD company at Bluebird Botanicals.
Brandon and other hemp leaders are now working on one of the biggest projects yet - trying to solidify CBD’s place as a federally approved ingredient in dietary supplements. And, they’ve just been able to take a major step forward with the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020. This bill, which was just introduced to Congress, proposes to explicitly make CBD and other hemp-derived compounds lawful for use in dietary supplements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This bill would also require CBD products and hemp extract product manufacturers to comply with the entire existing comprehensive regulatory framework for dietary supplements.
On August 20, 2020, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued an Interim Final Rule on their proposed regulatory purview of cannabis and hemp. Their proposed rules were intended to align the agency’s policies with the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the domestic production and commerce of hemp and its derivatives. However, many hemp industry leaders believe that some of the proposed rules overstep the bounds of the DEA and could potentially have a negative impact on the hemp and CBD industry.
We asked Brandon J. Beatty, CEO and founder of Bluebird Botanicals, what he thought the implications of the ruling on the CBD and hemp industries could be.
“The DEA’s Interim Final Rule includes a revised definition of cannabis which specifies that any derivative, extract, or product that exceeds the 0.3% Δ9-THC limit is a schedule I controlled substance. According to the DEA, this applies even if the plant from which it was derived contained 0.3% or less Δ9-THC on a dry weight basis,” explains Brandon.
He further added, “This language poses a threat to the CBD industry, namely extractors and manufacturers. There’s typically at least one stage in the manufacturing process of hemp extracts in which THC temporarily exceeds 0.3% prior to processing.”
“With the DEA’s proposed rule, these products could in effect be prohibited even if they were derived from hemp with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight. This would have a big impact on the CBD industry, including companies making CBD products for pets. If this rule were to go into effect, manufacturers would have to drastically change their operational practices and purchase new equipment. This would be an extremely costly endeavor and could result in hemp companies going out of business,” explains Brandon.
“Likewise the DEA’s proposed rules include the removal of restrictions on importing and exporting hemp and its derivatives. This rule would actually have a positive impact and hopefully open the borders to a more global market. However, this is not a decision that the DEA should be making since hemp should no longer be within their jurisdiction. As long as products and the hemp they’re made with are below .3% THC, many industry leaders are of the opinion that the DEA should not have any say in importing and exporting guidelines.”
The DEA’s interim rule is now proceeding through a public comment period, and hopefully with enough feedback, the agency will adjust its proposed definition of cannabis to allow hemp products to temporarily exceed the THC limit at certain points during the manufacturing process. If not, CBD manufacturers producing products for the pet industry could be facing enormous setbacks that may ultimately limit the amount of pet CBD available on the market.
• The revised definition of THC and cannabis extracts under the Controlled Substances Act to exclude things considered legal hemp
“The revised definition classifies a cannabis derivative, extract, or product that exceeds the 0.3% Δ9-THC limit as a schedule I controlled substance, even if the plant from which it was derived contained 0.3% or less Δ9-THC on a dry weight basis. This language poses a threat to the CBD industry, namely extractors and manufacturers. There’s typically at least one stage in the manufacturing process of hemp extracts in which THC temporarily exceeds 0.3% prior to processing. With the DEA’s proposed rule, these products could in effect be prohibited even if they were derived from hemp with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight. This would have a big impact on the CBD industry, including companies making CBD products for pets. If this rule were to go into effect, manufacturers would have to drastically change their operational practices and purchase new equipment. This would be an extremely costly endeavor and could result in hemp companies going out of business,” says Brandon Beatty, Bluebird Botanicals.
• The removal of CBD-based drugs approved by the FDA (Epidiolex) from Schedule V
Brandon explains that “This clause will not have much of an impact on the CBD industry. It simply reiterates that once pharmaceutical drugs containing CBD are approved by the FDA to go to market, they’re no longer the concern of the DEA. Most CBD companies are producing dietary supplements, food, and beverages with hemp extract, so this new stipulation wouldn't necessarily change any operational practices.”
• The removal of restrictions on importing and exporting hemp and its derivatives
“Removing the restrictions on importing and exporting hemp and its derivatives will hopefully open the borders to a more global market. However, I don’t believe this is a decision that the DEA should be making since hemp should no longer be within their jurisdiction. As long as products and the hemp they’re made with are below .3% THC. I’m of the opinion that the DEA should not have any say in importing/exporting guidelines,” adds Brandon J. Beatty, Bluebird Botanicals.
Bluebird Botanicals for Pets
Bluebird Botanicals has sought out and obtained numerous industry certifications that speak to this, including most recently their Vegan and Leaping Bunny Approved cruelty-free certification. Bluebird also took the lead on radically ensuring quality to our customers by becoming the very first CBD company to be recognized as Glyphosate Residue Free, a chemical most known for its presence in the pesticide Roundup.
Bluebird Botanicals is also certified by the U.S. Hemp Authority program, which serves to educate hemp farmers and processors about Good Manufacturing Practices established by the FDA and Good Agricultural Practices. The U.S. Hemp Authority Seal also indicates to consumers and law enforcers which hemp products they can trust.
Bluebird’s Companion CBD products are beneficial for dogs and cats in the same way that their pet parents benefit from them. Whether you’re looking for a great CBD product to help relieve your dog’s joint pain, anxiety, or just want to provide a natural pet CBD supplement to provide optimal everyday health, Bluebird has some of the best and safest pet CBD products around.
Besides having a vast product line for pet parents, Bluebird offers The Bluebird Companion CBD product line for dogs, its best seller. Bluebird not only offers vast transparency in all its products, but also features different hemp blends, and concentrated capsules for pets. The Companion Bluebird CBD oil feature 250mg of cannabidiol compound per ounce.
Brandon J. Beatty is the CEO and founder of Bluebird Botanicals. He founded the company in 2012 as Gaia Botanicals, at which time he specialized in herbal supplements. Gaia Botanicals sold its first hemp CBD product in 2013 and became Bluebird Botanicals shortly afterward.
Since founding the company, Brandon’s most notable career accomplishment has been contributing to the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. He assisted in drafting the language that defines hemp as separate from marijuana, which was instrumental in removing hemp and CBD from the Controlled Substances Act.
He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, an influential hemp-focused lobbying association that represents dozens of hemp firms and associations. He is chairman of the Roundtable’s Policy and Messaging Committee and also serves on its Membership Committee. Additionally, he serves on the American Herbal Product Association’s Board of Trustees as well as its Government Relations and Cannabis committees.
For more on Bluebird Botanicals, visit: https://bluebirdbotanicals.com
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