Maureen West joins the show talk the USDA and what the new rules mean.

Maureen West is the General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Boulder, Colorado-based Functional Remedies (https://functionalremedies.com), makers of full-spectrum hemp-based, seed-to-bottle products that use 100% sustainable farming. Previously, Maureen served as the first Industrial Hemp Program Manager in the United States at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Having worked in government regulations for 16+ years, Maureen understands the challenges of being on the inside of regulatory agencies like the USDA and FDA. She can speak to this as well as the other side, based on her current experience with a hemp brand.

Prior to entering the industrial hemp industry, Maureen provided legal counsel as an assistant attorney general for the Colorado Office of the Attorney General where she represented over a dozen regulatory boards including the Dental Board, Nursing Board, Physical Therapy Board, Acupuncture and Direct-Entry Midwife Programs.  Maureen is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver where she teaches Health Care Public Policy and the Legislative Process and Legal Issues in Global Health Care Management. She is also a registered dental hygienist and received her juris doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and holds a bachelor degree in dental hygiene from the University of Colorado Dental School.

In this episode, Maureen will discuss the enforcement of the USDA rules. This will provide food for thought for both the regulators (USDA/DEA) and the farmers (registrants) prior to any of the rules being finalized.