Products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are proving difficult to regulate. A new bill seeks to provide regulatory clarity for allowing CBD in dietary supplements. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson recently introduced legislation to have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allow for CBD to be marketed as a dietary supplement as well as a food additive.
“The last two Farm Bills were landmark successes for hemp, but we are still very early in this process, and growers need regulatory certainty,” Peterson said in a press release. “This bill will allow FDA to regulate CBD that comes from hemp as a dietary supplement, providing a pathway forward for hemp-derived products. It would also identify barriers to success for hemp farmers, informing growers and policy makers of the challenges facing this new industry.”
Initial cosponsors of the bipartisan bill include Representatives Thomas Massie, James Comer, and Chellie Pingree. The legislation seeks to “amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the regulation of hemp-derived cannabidiol and hemp-derived cannabidiol containing substances.” The bill would also charge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct a study of the regulatory and market barriers for farmers involved in the production of hemp.
There is already a significant number of products that contain CBD in the marketplace. The FDA has been slowly cracking down on the practice, sending 15 warning letters to companies marketing CBD products last month. The legislative push to allow CBD in dietary supplements comes as welcome news to farmers who were quick to begin producing hemp after the legalization of the commercial crop under the 2018 Farm Bill. Many hemp producers were excited for the potential of the crop, created in part by demand for CBD oil. The proposed bill has been referred to both the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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