How US hemp ban could criminalize CBD products – and derail Medicare plan

Lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to delay the hemp ban or replace it with regulation since it first passed. Photograph: Iana Kunitsa/Getty Images

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently started a new pilot to reimburse patients for hemp-derived products – like CBD – but a hemp ban that Congress passed in November could derail the program.

The new program will make certain Medicare and Medicaid recipients eligible for reimbursement for up to $500 worth of hemp products each year and is intended in part to evaluate whether these products could reduce their other health-related costs.