House of Representatives panel calls on FDA to regulate CBD for food and beverages

Hemp advocates and industry leaders last week called on the federal government to ease access to cannabidiol when a House subcommittee held a hearing to examine the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to allow CBD as an ingredient in food, beverages and dietary supplements regulate.

At Thursday’s hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee, lawmakers and witnesses criticized the FDA’s refusal to regulate CBD and noted how the agency’s inaction on the matter has impacted individuals and families who want to take advantage of the cannabinoid’s health and wellness benefits.

“The lack of a federal framework has led to the proliferation of unregulated products, some of which raise significant quality, safety and other consumer protection concerns,” Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group US Hemp Roundtable, told subcommittee members.

In her opening remarks for the hearing, Republican Rep. Lisa McClain, chair of the subcommittee, stated, “When purchasing an off-the-shelf CBD consumer product today, in many cases there is no way for the average consumer to know its purity or even verify it. B. the amount of CBD in it, or rely on FDA enforcement of regulations.

“In fact, a study that tested nearly 3,000 CBD products showed that only a quarter of brands tested their CBD products for purity, and only 16 percent of the products tested contained only what was stated on their labels,” continued McClain away. “That’s because the FDA hasn’t regulated CBD as a dietary supplement or food additive in the five years since hemp was legalized.”

Hemp was legalized in 2018

Congress legalized hemp cultivation and trading five years ago with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. But since then, the FDA has refused to regulate hemp-derived CBD for use in food, beverages and dietary supplements, announcing in January that it would they will not do so without further legislation from Congress.

“This announcement has created confusion and uncertainty in the marketplace, making it difficult for bona fide manufacturers to sell CBD products,” she said. “It only benefits bad actors who are capitalizing on the confusion and flood of the marketplace with potentially unsafe products.” The FDA needs to do better and use the authority it already has to regulate, like derivative products you know about , actually do the job they are designed to do.”

Witnesses also stressed that the FDA’s lack of a regulatory framework for hemp-derived CBD has also contributed to the proliferation of products containing intoxicating cannabinoids, most notably delta-8-THC, being sold in unregulated products, sometimes to minors. Although none of the witnesses called for the criminalization of these products, they called for strict safety regulations to keep them out of the hands of children.

“In many states, including Kentucky, most Delta-8 THC products are sold through unregulated market sources such as convenience stores, smoke shops, gas stations, and can even be ordered online. These products are not reliably tested and have been found to contain many contaminants,” said Richard A. Badaracco, president-elect of the Kentucky Narcotic Officers Association and retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent. “Assuming these products remain legal, the optimal approach is to follow the example of Kentucky, whose General Assembly unanimously passed legislation this year to tightly regulate these products and keep them out of the hands of minors.”

Paige Figi, founder of the Coalition for Access Now, has been an outspoken advocate for CBD for more than a decade after she found it significantly reduced seizures in her daughter Charlotte, who died in 2020 at the age of 13 after a nearly lifelong struggle reduced with intractable epilepsy. After watching the hearing from her home in Colorado Springs last week, Figi called on the FDA to make CBD easier for families across the country to access.

“We’ve been connected to families, athletes, seniors, veterans, and others who have trusted in the benefits of CBD for nearly a decade. Today’s hearing shows that sensible, bipartisan reform to get the FDA to do its job of regulating hemp-derived CBD as a dietary supplement is at hand,” Figi wrote in an email to High Times. “The 45 million Americans who rely on the benefits of CBD for their chronic conditions are encouraged as congressmen work to ensure their constituents pass legislation that supports patient access now.”