Breaking News: FDA Issues Statements on CBD and Industrial Hemp (and What it Means for California)

Yesterday, President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill, paving the way for industrial hemp legalization. Within hours, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, issued a statement clarifying the FDA’s position on industrial hemp.

The FDA’s position: Just because industrial hemp is legal doesn’t mean that you can put it in food or call it medicine.

Gottlieb was quick to point out that even though the Farm Bill modified the Controlled Substances Act, the FDA still retains the authority to “regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” (or “FDCA”). Gottlieb went on to state that the FDA fully intends to exercise that authority:

[I]t’s unlawful under the FD&C Act to introduce food containing added CBD or THC into interstate commerce, or to market CBD or THC products as, or in, dietary supplements, regardless of whether the substances are hemp-derived. This is because both CBD and THC are active ingredients in FDA-approved drugs and were the subject of substantial clinical investigations before they were marketed as foods or dietary supplements. Under the FD&C Act, it’s illegal to introduce drug ingredients like these into the food supply, or to market them as dietary supplements. This is a requirement that we apply across the board to food products that contain substances that are active ingredients in any drug.”

Moving on, Gottlieb was careful to point out that the FDA is open to taking steps to clearing pathways for those who wish to seek FDA approval—as it did for Epidiolex. And in fact, the statement incorporates yet another statement by the FDA issued yesterday which concluded that the FDA “has no questions about Fresh Hemp Food’s conclusion that the following ingredients are GRAS under their intended conditions of use: hulled hemp seed (GRN765), hemp seed protein powder (GRN771), and hemp seed oil (GRN778).”

But Gottlieb was careful to cite, in general terms, a number of different kinds of conduct by companies selling products containing CBD that, according to the statement, are unlawful. These include things like claiming CBD or cannabis products cure diseases prior to undergoing FDA approval. And Gottlieb noted that the FDA will not hesitate to warn consumers and even initiate enforcement actions. In that sense, status quo prevails.

What does this mean for California? We’ve written pretty extensively on the California Department of Public Health’s FAQs which take the position that industrial hemp derived food products are unlawful. In fact, we wrote just days ago that the Farm Bill was unlikely to change the core of the FAQs.  The FDA’s statement from yesterday in combination with the FAQs seem to hammer home that in California, CBD in food products will not be considered lawful unless the FDA and CDPH say otherwise.