GRAND RAPIDS, MI — CBD products are popping up everywhere in Michigan, from party stores and vape shops to businesses specializing in health and wellness products.

One place you won’t find them: the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids.

Citing a lack of “clear and concise” guidance on how to vet the products, the market’s board of directors has opted against accepting vendors this season who specialize in the products, which are derived from a non-intoxicating chemical found in Hemp and marijuana.

And one West Michigan farmer is crying foul.

“I don’t understand what the problem is,” said Sean Duffy, a White Cloud hemp farmer whose request to sell CBD-infused oil, tea and dried hemp leaves at the market was rejected. He’s launched an online petition urging the farmers market to reverse its decision.

“It’s no different than if I were growing chamomile or peppermint.”

The 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump legalized industrial hemp production in the U.S., and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in April signed a pilot program for the growth, cultivation and marketing of the plant.

But Rori Weston, executive director and market manager of the Fulton Street Farmers Market, says there’s still confusion about the safety and rules surrounding hemp and CBD products.

“We’re not saying never,” Weston said. “We’re just not in a comfortable place to bring this product (to the market) with the regulations being so new.”

She says the farmers market may allow vendors to sell hemp and CBD products in the future. But for now, she and her colleagues need more time to review the matter, because they want to ensure all products sold at the market are “good and safe.”

“We’re going to review it next winter,” Weston said, adding that the farmers market received about 10 applications from vendors looking to sell hemp and CBD products this season. “We’re really not the bad guy here. We’re just trying to get more information.”

Sean Duffy (Courtesy photo)

Duffy, who graduated from East Grand Rapids High School in 2004, is the owner of Rising Moon Farm. He’s growing 1,000 hemp plants at his 10-acre farm in White Cloud, about 45 miles north of Grand Rapids in Newaygo County. He expects to harvest his crop in August and September.

Duffy says he wants to sell his product at the Fulton Street Farmers Market because it’s the most popular farmers market in the Grand Rapids-area. He says he doesn’t have the funding to open his own brick-and-mortar location, and that the farmers market offers the next best thing because it gives him the opportunity to interact with customers.

“We make our products with love, and it’s a lot easier to express our passion and our love when we can interact with people on a face-to-face level,” said Duffy, who left Michigan to work at organic vegetable farms in New York and Oregon and returned to the state in 2013 to work in the medical marijuana industry as a certified caregiver.

Duffy hopes to sell his product at other retailers or farmers markets in the region now that he can’t do so at the Fulton street market.

Hemp and CBD products are booming in Michigan. Businesses market CBD as a treatment for problems ranging from anxiety to muscle pain, and the substance can now be found in malls, video stores and national pharmacy chains. However, there’s little scientific research on the health claims associated with the product.

The federal government has not approved CBD for use in food, drink, animal feed or as a dietary supplement, according to guidance provided in March by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a hearing late last month examining the safety, quality, labeling and sale of products containing CBD.

There are about 300 farmers markets in Michigan, said Amanda Shreve, executive director of the Michigan Farmers Market Association. She said she’s not aware of any that are selling CBD products, but added that she wouldn’t necessarily know if one market had decided to begin doing so.

“It’s just an issue that Farmers Market’s want to make sure they’re doing right,” said Shreve, who added that she received questions from “several” farmers markets about CBD products before the state released its guidance on the matter in March. “They want to make sure they’re reflecting the mission of their market, the needs and wants of their market sponsors and customers.”

She was unsure whether the markets that contacted her decided to allow the sale of hemp and CBD.

When asked about her concern regarding hemp and CBD products, Weston pointed to the fact that the FDA has not approved CBD for use in food or drink.

“We could not in good faith allow products that have not been deemed safe to be sold on our market,” she said. “The health and safety of our patrons is the primary concern of our Board of Directors, our Vendor Committee, and our staff and we are willing to hold off for a year in order to ensure that we handle this new product appropriately and in a safe manner.”

Duffy, who is in the process of getting U.S. Department of Agricultural organic certification for his farm, said he stands behind the safety of his products. He said his hemp is tested for mold, bacteria and other contaminants at a state-certified lab in Kalamazoo.

“I really believe in what we’re doing,” said Duffy, who uses CBD to help with headaches and chronic sinus problems. “It’s a family friendly product.”