Editor's Note
Natural Products INSIDER reports on several options that would enable the federal government to provide consumers with legal access to dietary supplement products that contain cannabidiol (CBD). AHPA President Michael McGuffin notes that, “FDA should expressly confirm that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act permits the sale of dietary supplement products containing cannabidiol … if necessary by exercising its current rulemaking authority." McGuffin adds that, "FDA cannot accept the scenario where American consumers—in order to exercise their choice to access this natural product—will only have the option of using unlawful and unregulated products."
July 31, 2018
Natural Products INSIDER

The strategy could—at least theoretically—salvage the future of a budding industry selling cannabidiol (CBD) in dietary supplements. Reach for a lifeline with the very leviathan that stands in its way: the federal government.

The secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—currently Alex M. Azar II—has authority to avoid potentially years of litigation between the hemp industry and FDA over the legality of CBD by making it lawful in dietary supplements through the issuance of a regulation.

The legal status of CBD in dietary supplements is mired in controversy, largely due to a provision in the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA) aimed to protect the gargantuan investment required to develop new pharmaceutical drugs shown to be effective and safe.