29 Feb FDA Commish: “Fool’s Game” to Ban CBD

The newest Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Stephen Hahn, took office in December. Many have been worried about prior FDA leaders’ concerns about cannabidiol (CBD)-infused food and beverage products and their apparent delay in determining whether to permit these products to be sold legally following the passage of the Farm Bill in 2018, which legalized hemp and CBD derived from it.

In his first real public comments on how the FDA may regulate hemp-derived CBD products, this past Wednesday Hahn, an oncology doctor, said, “People are using these products. We’re not going to be able to say you can’t use these products. It’s a fool’s game to try to even approach that.” He went further, saying, “We have to be open to the fact that there might be some value in these products, and certainly Americans think that’s the case. But we want to get them information to help them make the right decisions.”

While the FDA continues to contemplate their position on the issue, the US Department of Agriculture is working closely with states to approve plans for the growth and sale of federally legal hemp and CBD. So far, nine states’ plans have been approved by the USDA, 17 states are continuing to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill program which allowed some legal growth and sales, and eight states’ plans are under review (the USDA must approve or deny a plan within 60 days of submission). Some states’ choice to operate under the old bill, we believe, is temporary until the USDA changes some of its interim final rules under the 2018 bill, in particular regarding testing regimes. In the last week the USDA has acknowledged this concern and is starting to take steps to rectify it. Ironically, Hahn’s comments above were made at the winter meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in Virginia.

Many believe that the market for CBD-infused food and beverage could be quite substantial indeed. Hopefully the FDA is now moving closer to a reality of federally regulated and legally available products containing the beneficial properties of CBD.