Pet products return to shelves at local CBD business
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IDAHO FALLS — CBD pet products have made a comeback at a local shop, and the owner is thrilled about it.
James Rupp is the owner of Nugget CBD in Idaho Falls and Pocatello. In July 2022, he received a letter from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture explaining that legislation passed in 2021 legalizing the licensed production and handling of industrial hemp did not apply to hemp-derived animal feed products.
Two products classified as treats or remedies for pets were sold in Rupp’s store, but the ISDA applied the law to these items as well.
“There was a lot of confusion. They didn’t know what the difference was, how to interpret the law or what the requirements should be,” Rupp tells EastIdahoNews.com.
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As a result, Rupp was required to remove pet products from store shelves by Nov. 1 and quit selling them.
The sale of animal treats made up 25-30% of his business, and one of the products — a pet calming chew — was the No. 1 selling item in his store. Not being able to sell them has had a significant impact on Rupp’s business.
“It was rough. We were barely able to get by,” Rupp says.
Nugget CBD in Meridian, which Rupp doesn’t own, was also impacted.
Though there are other businesses in eastern Idaho that sell similar products, Rupp says his shop is the only one that sells this particular product.
The ability for customers to order the products online has also been challenging because many out of state companies were restricted from shipping it to Idaho.
Over the last eight months, Rupp and his team have worked with the department to get further clarification of the law. As of July 7, Rupp says his business was approved for an exemption, meaning he can sell pet products again with certain conditions.
“It comes down to how it’s labeled, making sure that … you’re not making any of the claims that food products and medical products are making. It goes as far as making sure the website doesn’t make any of those claims, either,” Rupp explains.
Nugget CBD now has labels on its pet products that identifies it as a “quality seal” from the National Animal Supplement Council. This label clearly distinguishes it from other CBD products meant for human consumption, Rupp explains.
“The FDA only approves pet food or medicine, but they don’t have any regulations on pet remedies, which is where the exemption fits in,” Rupp says. “We can’t include any FDA disclaimer on pet products because then it would classify as a pet food.”
The business is still working with the ISDA to make sure this distinction is clearly spelled out on the business’s website as well.
After seeing a dramatic dip in sales over the last year, and watching customers go across state lines to purchase these products, Rupp says being able to carry pet products again means the world to him.
“This was some of the best news I’ve had,” says Rupp. “We never even took them out of the system because we were pushing so hard to be able to sell them again. The day that I got the call from the department to come up and meet with them I broke down in tears.”
Customers are excited about the news as well, and it’s difficult to keep the products in stock at the Idaho Falls store. Many customers in Pocatello aren’t yet aware of the change, but Rupp hopes that will change soon.
The product is now available at the Meridian store as well.
Rupp is not a doctor and neither he nor the business make any claims or guarantees about CBD products being able to cure or treat specific conditions. And there is a disclaimer when customers purchase human products that it “is not evaluated by the FDA” and “is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
But Rupp has heard many customers tell him that CBD has had a life-changing effect on their pet.
“I had a lady come in and say that her vet told her that her dog had about a month to live. Seven months later, she went back to her vet and he was like, ‘What did you do? This wasn’t supposed to happen.’ She said, ‘I have him on CBD now.’” Rupp told us in October. “We both started tearing up. I’ve had many people come in (who’ve shared similar stories) and we cry together.”
Rupp remembers his mom’s dog getting cancer when it was 13 years old. Surgery wasn’t an option because of its age, and Rupp did his own research to find another solution.
That’s when he learned about CBD. It wasn’t something that was widely understood at the time, and it wasn’t something available in stores.
Ultimately, Rupp was forced to put the dog down. This experience is what led him to open Nugget CBD in 2019.
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Rupp continues to hear CBD success stories from customers. He’s grateful it’s been helpful for many people and to be able to provide it for them.
“It’s incredibly exciting to tell customers we can sell them again,” Rupp says. “People have been saying this is what was working for them, and they’ve gotten by but we’re so glad these are back.”
