BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) is asking all retail stores to remove hemp-derived animal food products - including CBD - from the shelf by Nov. 1.
"We rely a lot on our partners at the FDA who have not recognized hemp as an approved ingredient," ISDA Administrator of Plant Industries, Lloyd Knight said. "Once the FDA lists it as an approved ingredient, then we can list it as an approved ingredient. Unless there is some sort of policy move ahead of that at the state level that wants to list it as an approved ingredient."
CBD animal products have already been in the state for five years, according to pet store Bark n' Purr owner Jennifer Willett. She has never seen an adverse reaction to any of the products.
"It just helps to alleviate pain. It helps with anxiety. People use it for the 4th of July. There's just a lot of great benefits to an all-natural product for pets," Willett said. "And before this, our only options were expensive prescription meds that in the long run can be harmful to our animals."
In response, Bark n' Purr is offering a petition in their store to support the legalization of CBD animal products. Bark n' Purr customer Debbie Holleran signed the petition Thursday afternoon.
Holleran puts hemp-enhanced oil in her dog's food. The oil helps her dogs with hip and joint pain, according to Holleran.
"It really did wonders. It probably gave [my German shepherd] another year of her life, probably, pain free," Holleran said. "I don't know what I'm gonna do if this goes away. I've tried the other products that are not hemp enhanced."
Bark n' Purr aims to bring this to Governor Brad Little's attention in hopes of stopping the ISDA's Nov. 1 ban.
“ISDA must administer existing law. The products are not legal, and the agency memorandum to retailers provided guidance for retailers to come into compliance with the law," Governor Brad Little's office wrote KTVB in an email.
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