CBD COALITION RELAUNCHES WITH NEW TARGET: An advocacy group that launched half a decade ago aiming to legalize CBD is relaunching with a new purpose to build on its legislative victory from 2018. — Paige Figi, who formed the Coalition for Access Now to advocate for the availability of CBD to aid children with severe medical conditions like her late daughter, Charlotte, is now looking to shape how CBD products are regulated by federal authorities following the 2018 farm bill, which legalized the cultivation of the hemp from which CBD is derived. — The coalition is looking to rally support among caregivers, veterans, athletes and sports leagues and businesses for legislation that would direct the FDA to regulate CBD as a dietary supplement, pointing to the explosion of CBD products on the market since 2018. It cites a recent study that found nearly 60 percent of CBD products in the U.S. are mislabeled while turning up the presence of heavy metals like lead, mercury and arsenic in edible CBD products. — The group has retained David Crane of Bose Public Affairs Group to boost its work on the Hill. KETAMINE COMPANY HIRES FORMER ENERGY & COMMERCE CHAIR: “Mindbloom , a telemedicine platform that uses ketamine to treat depression and anxiety, is turning to high-powered K Street help as it seeks to extend loosened telehealth rules for controlled substances ushered in by the pandemic,” POLITICO’s Megan Wilson reports. — “It brought on its first lobbying firm, Alpine Group Partners , according to recently disclosed federal lobbying forms. Among the lobbyists on the contract is former Rep. Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican who led the House Energy and Commerce Committee.” — “Walden has primarily been introducing the company and its offerings to his former colleagues in Congress, he told POLITICO. In making the argument that Congress should extend the eased rules beyond the Covid-19 public health emergency, he said he is also trying to get some lawmakers to overcome outdated thinking about psychedelics.” — “‘I’ll be the first to admit, that’s what I said. I was like, “What are you asking me to get involved in here?”’” chuckled Walden, who said he was encouraged by reading more about its effects. Although it’s not approved for the treatment of mental health issues, ketamine is used ‘off label’ and some studies have shown promise of it being beneficial to patients with treatment-resistant depression.” FLYING IN: The stream of trade associations flocking to the halls of Congress continues today, with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers bringing leaders from more than four dozen equipment manufacturers to the Hill to meet with lawmakers like Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Reps. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) and Bryan Steil(R-Wis.). — Board members, hospital CEOs, and other representatives from Physician-Led Healthcare for America are flying in as well, with members set to meet with Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Mann, the Senate HELP Committee, and a dozen other offices. They’re urging lawmakers to remove the government's expansion restriction on physician-led hospitals. — The Association of Dental Support Organizations will be in town too, to push for requirements that health insurers cover the diagnosis and treatment of severe oral and facial defects as well as a measure that would fund an oral health literacy and awareness public education campaign. ADSO will hear from dentist-turned-lawmaker Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) and CMS Chief Dental Officer Natalia Chalmers. — And salespeople and executives from the Direct Selling Association, a trade group that promotes multilevel marketing, has meetings slated today with more than 50 lawmakers, including Reps. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). They’ll discuss independent contractor issues, as well as a forthcoming FTC rule on earnings claims. — But virtual fly-ins are not finished. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and American Craft Spirits Association are wrapping up a virtual fly-in with more than 110 virtual meetings on the books to press members on legislation that would enable the USPS to ship beverage alcohol products where direct-to-consumer shipping is permissible by law. Distillers will hear from Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and meet with Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and others. HRC TAPS PLANNED PARENTHOOD LEADER: The Human Rights Campaign has tapped longtime progressive organizer Kelley Robinson as its next president, following the ouster of the LGBTQ rights group’s former leader Alphonso David last year over revelations of his involvement in former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s response to sexual misconduct allegations. — Robinson has spent the past decade with Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of the abortion rights group, most recently serving as executive director. Robinson is credited with quadrupling its annual budget, resulting in what Planned Parenthood says was the largest electoral program in its history during the 2020 election. — Robinson earlier this year indicated that she sought to build on that success following the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. In a statement Tuesday she linked her abortion rights organizing to HRC’s work, calling the current climate “a pivotal moment in our movement for equality for LGBTQ+ people.” — “The overturning of Roe v. Wade reminds us we are just one Supreme court decision away from losing fundamental freedoms including the freedom to marry, voting rights, and privacy,” she added, arguing that “we are facing a generational opportunity to rise to these challenges and create real, sustainable change.”
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