The FDA and DEA Disagree Over CBD Scheduling

Last week, following the highly-anticipated U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval of Epidiolex, G.W. Pharma’s oral cannabidiol (“CBD”) solution for the treatment of seizure associated with Lennox-Gastraut and Dravet syndrome, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) issued a Final Order rescheduling FDA-approved drugs containing cannabis-derived CBD with no more than 0.1 percent THC under Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”).

The DEA’s decision to reschedule this very specific formulation of FDA-approved CBD was largely influenced by a joint recommendation made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the FDA earlier this year (“Memo”). However, according to a letter released last week by HHS Assistant Secretary Brett Giroir (“Letter”), the FDA concluded that CBD and its salts “could be removed from control” because:

• “There is little indication that CBD has abuse potential or presents a significant risk to the public health”;
• “No evidence for a classic drug withdrawal syndrome for CBD, and no evidence that CBD causes physical or psychic dependence”;
• “CBD does not appear to have abuse potential under the CSA”;
• “There is no signal for the development of substance use disorder in individuals consuming CBD-containing products”; and
• “It is unlikely that CBD would act as an immediate precursor to THC for abuse purposes.”

Upon sharing its conclusion with the DEA, the FDA was advised that removing CBD from the CSA would violate international drug treaties to which the United States is a signatory. Specifically, the DEA explained that the United States would “not be able to keep obligations under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs if CBD were decontrolled under the CSA”. Consequently, the FDA revised its recommendation and advised the DEA to place CBD in Schedule V—which applies to drugs with demonstrated medical value and deemed unlikely to cause harm, abuse, or addiction—instead. Nonetheless, the FDA declared that “[i]f treaty obligations do not require control of CBD, or the international controls on CBD…are removed at some future time, the above recommendation for Schedule V under the CSA would need to be revisited promptly.”

As we previously discussed, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence submitted a recommendation in July to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (“CND”) that “preparations considered to be pure CBD” should not be scheduled under any international drug treaty. The CND is scheduled to consider this recommendation at its annual meeting in March 2019. Yet, even if the CND were to deschedule CBD, the DEA would be free to ignore the FDA’s recommendation (i.e., scientific advice) and continue resisting a broader rescheduling of CBD. After all, the United States is currently disregarding the scientific data supporting the therapeutic value of CBD and refusing to join the global medical community, which favors its use and descheduling. That being said, if CBD were to be descheduled at the global level, the United States, specifically the DEA (i.e., Jeff Session’s Department of Justice), would no longer be able to hide its personal biases behind international treaties.

We will continue to monitor these actions and provide any domestic or international updates. In the mean time, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have on CBD-related issues.