Bipartisan congressional committee leaders are calling on experts to offer guidance on best practices for building a framework to regulate America’s CBD industry. This call comes amid increased pressure on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start regulating the nearly five-year-old industry that was built on the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill legalized the cultivation and sale of industrial hemp, which it defined as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC, and its derivatives under state or tribal programs. This led to the birth of the CBD industry, a sector that quickly began making millions on the sales of cannabidiol, a chemical compound produced by the cannabis or hemp plant.
Cannabidiol is nonpsychoactive, meaning it doesn’t induce mind-bending effects in users when ingested. However, CBD is said to have potent medical properties, some proven and some unproven, and many players in the unregulated CBD industry began claiming that their products had some kind of medical benefits.
Although the FDA sent warning letters to companies claiming their products could alleviate certain medical issues, that is the most the government agency has done to regulate the industry. The result is what some have called a “wild west” with barely any product regulation or quality checks to ensure products are consumer-safe.
Leaders from key Senate and House committees asking for expert opinions indicate that lawmakers are finally heeding the industry’s pleas for a regulatory framework. The chairs of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and ranking committee members are leading the charge and asking experts to provide their opinions on key issues related to CBD and the FDA. The committee leaders are specifically seeking expert feedback on the FDA’s stance that there is no regulatory pathway that can allow the regulation of CBD as a dietary supplement or in the food supply.
Earlier this year, the FDA announced that years of review had found there was no regulatory pathway for CBD in the food supply or as a dietary supplement, indicating the need for a new regulatory pathway. The agency noted at the time that it was ready to work with Congress to alleviate CBD’s regulatory problems.
Congressional committee leaders are also asking experts to weigh in on the emergence of synthetic psychoactive cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, which can be produced from legal CBD, as well as labeling requirements and the balancing of consumer access with consumer safety.
The challenges standing in the way of regulating CBD as a food or dietary ingredient may favor companies such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC), which opted to go the drug-development route because there is a clear process that is laid out for companies seeking to develop treatments from cannabis ingredients or any other substance.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC
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