FDA Maintains Stance on CBD Products
Updated: Mar 15, 2019
Even after Thursdays signing of the Farm Bill, FDA still calls CBD products illegal.
After Thursdays signing of the Farm Bill both the Hemp and CBD industry were declaring major victories. For the CBD sector this win was short lived, following Thursday’s bill signing in Washington, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb restated his agency’s stance that CBD is a drug ingredient and therefore illegal to add to food or health products without approval from the FDA.
Gottlieb wrote “Selling unapproved products with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims is not only a violation of the law, but also can put patients at risk, as these products have not been proven to be safe or effective,” Further “It’s unlawful to introduce food containing added CBD or THC into interstate commerce, or to market CBD or THC products as, or in, dietary supplements, regardless of whether the substances are hemp-derived”
The FDA stated that three ingredients from hemp are safe for foods: hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed oil and hemp seed protein. These are all safe for foods and do not require additional approval as long as marketers do not make claims that they treat disease.
Current Market
Infused CBD products sold as foods and supplements are popular and are already flooding store shelves. Thus far the FDA has done little to stop CBD products from entering the marketplace and have only sent warnings to a scattering of CBD manufacturers that make illegal medical claims and imply CBD products can cure or treat a medical ailment.
To further the confusion current enforcement of the FDA’s banning of CBD infused in products has been sporadic at best. Some states are following the FDA’s lead, however even in those cases enforcement is not consistent leading to retail uncertainty.
CBD retailers and CBD/Hemp product manufacturers will need to stay tuned as the FDA acknowledges that there is clear interest in CBD products by the public as well as by Congress. Obviously, further legislation and clarity is needed. The FDA promises to give cannabinoid a further review in the near future.
FDA Link to Q&A - Marijuana & CBD Use
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm421168.htm