Dietary Supplement Associations Urge Senators To Give Legal CBD Clarity On Marketplace

On Tuesday, October 8, four trade associations within the dietary supplement industry, i.e. the American Herbal Products Association, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and the United Natural Products Alliance, have teamed up in urging Senators to take action towards the unregulated CBD market reports Marijuana Moment.

In particular, they are hoping that more legal clarity is provided to ensure that consumers are protected from the CBD market, especially considering the fact that consumers are in fact positively reacting to its presence. The need for regulation doesn’t only imply consumer protection, as per the four associations, but also essential for U.S. farmers, as nearly 85 percent of their hemp has gone towards extracting CBD. This could potentially help them make decisions as to what crops they would prefer to focus on.

We have the 2018 Farm Bill, is that not enough? According to the claims made, it does not suffice. Here’s why:

“The 2018 Farm Bill took the historic step of legalizing the cultivation of hemp and the sale of the hemp plant […] that contain no more than 0.3% of […] THC. The FDA has repeatedly stated that dietary supplements and conventional foods containing hemp-derived CBD cannot be sold legally based on its interpretations of existing […] provisions of law.”

While the FDA has been actively working in understanding the markets, the agency supposedly told the Senate Agriculture Committee this year that it could take anywhere between 3 and 5 years to work up some framework. This does not set well with the aforementioned associations, as the market will not be waiting given its rapid growth.

In conclusion, the team is urging that Congress pass a legislation in which CBD is viewed as a “lawful dietary ingredient” if it abides by factors including safety and quality. Rather than waiting on the FDA, this is deemed the best course of action given that the marketplace is already saturated with bad players and increasing the wait-time could seriously compromise consumer protection.