Leading US trade body The Natural Products Association (NPA) has rejected new legislation introduced in the US House of Representatives that would allow CBD products to be used in dietary supplements.
The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 would make hemp, cannabidiol derived from hemp, and other hemp-derived products lawful for use unless otherwise directed by the Food and Drug Administration.
Co-sponsor of the Bill, Congressman Morgan Griffith, said in a statement: “Hemp was historically an important crop for Virginia farmers, and dietary supplements made from it do not possess dangerous addictive qualities. Nevertheless, the current state of regulation creates confusion about its legal uses. I joined this bipartisan bill to provide certainty for hemp farmers that their crop may find legal uses.”
But the NPA argues that the the bill fails to set a safe level of daily consumption “and would do more to undermine public trust in the safety of supplement products and do nothing to promote public health”.
NPA president and CEO, Daniel Fabricant, said: “We support a science-based pathway to allowing CBD in food products, but this is not the right approach and will do more to undermine public trust in the safety of dietary supplements without promoting public health. The Food and Drug Administration already has the authority to regulate CBD products by setting a safe level of daily consumption. Setting a safe level of daily consumption is a better pathway and will do much more than introducing legislation to appease special interests.”
NPA has been the leader in asking the FDA to regulate CBD since 2017, has testified on a number of occasions, and has held several meetings with top FDA officials on the issue. NPA also helped craft legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that provides resources so the FDA can perform a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) and set a safe level of CBD for consumers to use each day. The process would follow the same precedent as red yeast rice, which allows a natural product to contain a level of a drug ingredient that the FDA has determined to be safe. With the exception of Epidiolex, all CBD products in the U.S. are considered illegal by the federal government.