Idaho Department of Agriculture stopping sale of pet CBD and hemp products
BOISE - Starting Nov. 1, all stores will have to stop selling pet CBD and hemp products.
For pet supply store Bark N' Purr, owner Jennifer Willett said this will not only have an impact on her store but also the customers.
"We have had people in the store crying. We have had testimonials on social media. We have had phone calls. Just people saying what do I do now," Willett said.
For five years, the store has been carrying a variety of CBD and hemp products.
"Our products are 0.0% THC, third party tested, so that means there's nothing sliding through here that is going to be dangerous to an animal," Willett said.
According to the ISDA, these products are illegal.
"These products are considered adulterated. They're considered that way at the federal level and the state level," Chanel Tewalt, deputy director of Idaho State of Agriculture.
The big question, why is this happening now?
"These have been growing in popularity. There are more and more of them, and I think it's very easy to see in the same way you've seen the growth of the CBD industry in general. In Idaho, it looks very different than it did just a couple of years ago," Tewalt said.
With these products being taken off the shelves, Willett said she's worried this will create dangerous practices.
"There's going to be unscrupulous suppliers of this who don't know how to dose, who could have THC in their products, or they have to move to a really expensive prescription medication," Willett said.
Logan Newhall has been a long-time customer at Bark N' Purr and uses CBD products for her dogs daily.
"I'm just angry and frustrated more than anything and very sad and concerned for what it could mean for my pets and future pets I could have living in Idaho," Newhall.
Willett is now calling to lawmakers for change.
"We are asking the governor to please put a pause on this. If he could just wait until our legislation opens up in 2023, we can have an actual discussion and maybe work within the ISDA to somehow come to a mutual agreement," Willett said.
