CBD Market Is Booming. The FDA Is Stepping In
The first FDA’s public hearing on cannabidiol is coming. Legalization of the non-intoxicating marijuana extract known as CBD has created a big industry that needs regulations.
The substance is extracted from hemp. No high feeling is produced because CBD products contain from little to no THC, a psychoactive marijuana compound.
The most common CBD-based product is oil, but you can find CBD in many other formats. The industry is growing faster than scientific data on the substance, though scattered studies confirm some of its health benefits.
However, the FDA is not ready to categorize these products. Cannabidiol is not a controlled substance anymore, thanks to the Farm Bill of 2018, but it hasn’t been approved as a food supplement.
Many businesses are waiting for the FDA to create clear rules regarding CBD. The FDA claims that the hearing might change the ways these products are sold and marketed.
Ziva Cooper, research director for the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, is sure that there isn’t enough research on the effects of CBD and we don’t know much about the right dosage and long-term side effects.
There’s just one drug that the FDA has approved. It’s Epidolex, sold under prescription because it contains a very high dose of CBD, in comparison to regular oils and other products. The drug has been clinically tested, and the study has shown that such an amount CBD is generally safe, though it still has certain side effects.
One possible way to regulate CBD is to create a threshold. Exceeding this threshold would require restrictions of these CBD-infused products, while low-level CBD products could be sold without restrictions.
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