San Francisco brewery ordered to stop making weed beer

U.S. officials have ordered a San Francisco brewery to stop producing beers containing cannabidiol, the hemp-derived compound known as CBD.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is allowing Black Hammer Brewing to sell off the rest of the beer it has produced with CBD, including one called Toke Back Mountain.

CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. The beer’s drinkers can’t get high, but users say CBD is calming.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday that the order was not issued because the federal government says marijuana is illegal, but because the trade bureau requires special approval for non-standard beer ingredients.

The brewery’s owners are applying for permission to use hemp and terpenes, the compounds that gives the beers its dank cannabis flavor.