(27 Jan 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hong Kong – 27 January 2023
1. Pan of news conference by Hong Kong Customs
2. Pan of products containing cannabidiol, or CBD
3. Close of CBD products
3. Photographer taking photos of CBD products
4. Wide of news conference
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Chan Kai-ho, Divisional Commander, Customs Airport Command:
“I mean, for the long run, we have to conduct education, to let the people know that CBD is kind of like dangerous drug, like heroin or cocaine. So, I mean, on the one hand we have to conduct enforcement actions, and on the other hand we have to conduct education, publicity, to let all the people know that some products in other parts of the world is not under control, but in Hong Kong, yes, CBD is under control.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Hong Kong – 13 September 2020
6. Pan of customers in Hong Kong’s first CBD cafe
7. Sign outside cafe reading (English): “free CBD coffee with any CBD product purchase”
8. Various of CBD products on sale inside cafe
9. Wide of pan of exterior of cafe
10. Customers sitting outside Hong Kong’s first CBD cafe
STORYLINE:
Hong Kong will ban CBD starting Wednesday, categorizing it as a “dangerous drug” and mandating harsh penalties for its smuggling, production and possession.
Customs authorities made the announcement Friday.
“CBD is kind of like a dangerous drug, like heroin, or cocaine,” airport customs official Chan Kai-ho told the media at press conference held on Friday organised to highlight the new regulation.
Supporters say CBD can treat a range of ailments including anxiety and that, unlike its more famous cousin THC — which is already illegal in Hong Kong — CBD doesn’t get users high.
Cannabidiol, derived from the cannabis plant, was previously legal in Hong Kong, where bars and shops sold products containing it.
Hong Kong authorities decided last year to prohibit the marijuana-derived substance — a change that will soon go into effect.
Residents were given three months from October 27 to dispose of their CBD products in special boxes set up around the city.
Anyone travelling into Hong Kong with any CBD product can be prosecuted.
Customs officials say they are trying to place advisories on planes to make travellers to Hong Kong aware of the new rule.
Penalties include up to life in prison and Hong Kong $5 million ($638,000) in fines for importing, exporting or producing CBD.
Possession of the substance can result in a sentence of up to seven years and Hong Kong $1 million ($128,000) in fines.
In announcing the ban last year, the Hong Kong government cited the difficulty of isolating pure CBD from cannabis, the possibility of contamination with THC during the production process and the relative ease by which CBD can be converted to THC.
Hong Kong’s first CBD cafe opened in 2020 and the ban will force scores of businesses to remove CBD-infused gummies, drinks and other products, or shut down altogether.
The ban is in keeping with a zero-tolerance policy toward drugs in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous southern Chinese business hub, as well as on mainland China, where CBD was banned in 2022.
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