$GGBXF Congress Gives the FDA Funds to Oversee Hemp CBD

December 23, 2019

For the past few years, cannabidiol (CBD) has held the medical, health and wellness and sports communities enthralled. If you’ve been paying any attention to the news, chances are you’ve heard of it too. The compound was barely known three years ago, but now it’s gracing the top of search lists and experts claim the hemp/CBD market will be worth billions by 2026.

Cannabidiol’s main draw lies in its medicinal properties. It is a potent and versatile medicine, with users claiming it gave them relief from a variety of medical conditions including high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex, a CBD-based drug to treat seizures in two rare pediatric disorders Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet Syndrome.

However, CBD was an exception from the norm. Usually, it takes the FDA at least two years to draw up a regulatory framework for a new product that’s about to hit the shelves. The CBD industry, on the other hand, ballooned so quickly and at such massive rates that regulatory authorities were left playing catch up.

This left the sector in an awkward position. Although the 2018 Farm Bill had made it legal to grow and sell hemp and products made from hemp extracts, the industry was massively unregulated. In just a year, the market was filled with thousands of untested and unregulated products. On top of that, hemp farmers were denied essential services such as banking and insurance as the providers shied away from the sector.

In a bid to reign in the industry and provide it with a sense of direction, federal lawmakers have granted the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) $2 million for research, policy evaluation, market surveillance and issuance of an enforcement discretion policy.

According to the legislation, the FDA has 60 days to report the Agency’s progress towards obtaining and analyzing data that will help determine a policy of enforcement discretion, and how CBD products that fall squarely under the legal definition of hemp will be evaluated for use in products.

It has also been granted 180 days to perform a sampling study of CBD products that are currently in the market to determine the extent to which the products are mislabeled or adulterated.

The Natural Product Association (NPA), based in Washington, D.C, argues that the legislation doesn’t do enough to protect consumers.

“While providing funding for testing is a positive first step, unfortunately, today’s action falls short of what is needed to protect consumers. The future of the U.S. hemp industry and the farmers and producers who provide it are directly tied to smart regulations for CBD, which includes the FDA establishing a safe level of consumption so consumers are protected,” says NPA President and CEO, Daniel Fabricant.

“We are concerned that if Congress fails to act next year then we could see another vaping-like public health crisis.”

Experts think that cannabidiol companies, such as Green Growth Brands Inc. (CSE: GGB) (OTCQB: GGBXF) and Grapefruit Boulevard Investments Inc. (OTCQB: IGNG) had hoped for more but this FDA funding is a beginning on the long journey towards a regulated and stable CBD market.

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