The Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) responded to a Congressional Request for Information on cannabinoid hemp regulation from the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce and the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Purpose of the Request for Information
The Congressional Request comes after the FDA announced that it would like to work with Congress to craft a legislative approach to the regulation of CBD products in January 2023. This information will help assess the potential for a regulatory pathway for hemp-derived CBD products that prioritizes consumer safety and provides certainty to the U.S. market.
The data that Congress is looking to gather from the request includes:
- Current Market Dynamics. Responses should include what the current market for CBD products looks like, how the market has changed since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, and how the lack of national standards for CBD products is affecting the market.
- Pathway. Responses should include the concerns the FDA has raised with regard to regulating most CBD products through existing pathways.
- Scope. Responses should include describing how CBD and/or cannabinoid-containing hemp products should be defined and what compounds should be included and excluded from a regulatory framework.
- Federal-State Interaction. Responses should include different product standards relating to warning labels, minimum age of sale, manufacturing and testing, ingredient prohibitions, adverse event reporting, and others that states have adopted to protect consumer safety.
- Safety. Responses should include what is currently known about the safety and risk-benefit of CBD and other hemp derived cannabinoids, as well as what types of actions, if any, the Federal government should take to better understand the potential benefits or harms of CBD products and other cannabinoids.
- Quality. Responses should include how Congress could create an FDA-implemented framework to ensure that manufacturers provide appropriate consumer protections and quality controls.
- Form, Packaging, Accessibility, and Labeling. Responses should include the different types of claims that product manufacturers should be permitted to make about CBD products. Specifically, how such permitted claims compare to the types of claims that may be made about drugs, foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetics.
CANNRA’s Response
CANNRA’s 40-page response highlights the range of products on the current hemp marketplace – which extend well beyond CBD-only products, the need for a comprehensive federal regulatory approach that addresses all cannabinoid hemp products and forms, the challenges with applying current federal regulatory pathways to existing products, and the risk to consumer safety and public health if swift federal regulatory action is not taken.
CANNRA’s response also includes a detailed appendix with pictorial examples of the types of hemp-derived cannabinoid products regulators have seen in their state or territory.
The more insight we can provide Congress on a potential regulatory pathway for hemp-derived cannabinoid products, the closer we can get to ensuring consumer safety.
