During a hearing held last Thursday by the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research, Glenn Thompson, R-Penn., the committee’s ranking member, characterized the FDA as a “lack of action” when it comes to develop a regulatory framework for CBD, a sentiment. This was echoed by Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., who added that he would “encourage [the committee] to include it in our discussions on the 2023 farm bill.”
Speaker Stacey Plaskett, D-VI, said she agreed “wholeheartedly with that assessment,” while Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, promoted her recently proposed Hemp Advancement Act, which, if approved, she said could ease what she characterized as “unfair” and “ridiculous” requirements related to the production of hemp and its derived products.
In welcoming stakeholders to the hearing, Subcommittee Chairwoman Stacey Plaskett, D-VI, expressed her hope that those gathered could “hear what we can do to ensure the continued growth and development of this rebound crop,” which he noted was prohibited under the law. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1938 through the Farm Bill of 2014 removed federal restrictions on the cultivation and production of hemp, and the Tax Act of 2018 authorized commercial production of the crop under the supervision of the USDA, which issued its final rule on the regulation of hemp production in January 2021.
“Hemp production has created value for growers and consumers of more than $800 million by 2021, with more than 55,000 acres of hemp planted,” he said, adding that “while markets for hemp products such as fiber, grain and flowers are developing, they are still volatile and uncertain.”
FDA inaction has chilled the CBD market and put consumers at risk
Much of this uncertainty has come The FDA’s reluctance to create a regulatory pathway for hemp-derived cannabinoids, including CBD, without which many large retailers, manufacturers and banks are reluctant to sell, develop or finance, said the Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky Ryan Quarles in the hearing.
Similarly, “public statements by FDA officials that it is illegal to sell ingestible CBD products derived from hemp have affected the industry,” added Ecofibre Vice President and General Manager Eric Wang of the US Hemp Roundtable.
He added that “breeders are not the only ones who are crushed by this regulatory uncertainty. Consumers are also affected. Bad actors sell products without proper warranties and mislead consumers with false labels.”
He explained that some “struggling farmers and businesses have turned to marketing intoxicating products like Delta-8 THC, prompting the FDA and CDC to warn that they pose significant risks to the health and safety of consumers.”
With that in mind, he advocated for a “clear regulatory pathway for CBD,” which he said would “not only ease the economic pressure that this product shift is causing, but help ensure that products do not contain intoxicating hemp ingredients “. “
Specifically, he asked members of Congress to include language in the 2023 Farm Bill that would regulate CBD and other non-intoxicating hemp derivatives as dietary supplements, and to adopt the provisions described in the Pingree House. Hemp promotion law.
Clarity is needed around the THC threshold in hemp and CBD products
Among the bill’s provisions called for hearing for inclusion in the upcoming Farm Bill was a higher threshold for THC in hemp and in-process extract from 0.3% to 1%, along with the ‘adoption of a separate definition for ready-to-consumer hemp. products
“The current law’s definition focuses on the chemical compounds of the hemp plant at the time of harvest in the field or in the greenhouse,” which “is not a useful criterion for measuring the intoxicating potential of consumer products intended for human consumption, such as gummies, liquids, vaporizers or ‘smokeables,'” Quarles said.
“For consumer products, we believe a separate legal standard is needed. And that product standard should focus on amounts, not percent concentration by weight. To illustrate, a candy bar weighs about 1.76 ounces, which converts to 50,000 mg. If the THC concentration of this same candy bar were 0.3%, it would contain 150 mg of THC,” which is higher than the typical 100 mg included per serving in adult products, he explained.
Facilitate production standards without compromising safety
Another provision of Pingree’s proposed legislation that Colorado Department of Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg advocated for inclusion in the upcoming Farm Bill was the elimination of background check requirements, which prohibit that people with a drug-related felony conviction receive a hemp license for 10 years. He explained that the benefit prevents those who have completed their rehabilitation from participating in a legal agricultural commodity and adds unnecessary costs and stress to the already small segment.
Greenberg also endorsed Pingree’s proposal to eliminate DEA registration requirements for testing labs, as this severely restricts testing options and contributes to capacity strain.
He further argued that one way to reduce the need for testing and the subsequent strain it creates is to allow the use of certified seeds that have acceptable levels of THC as acceptable.
These measures, taken together and included in the upcoming Farm Bill could help restore some of the excitement around hemp production when the 2018 Farm Bill was first passed, but as Rep. Thompson noted , quickly turned into trepidation after the first growing season when the FDA took heat. the assessment of CBD as unsuitable for consumables and inaction on the regulatory front left many growers with hemp in the field and no buyers.
Grateful for the expert testimony presented last week, Thompson and other members of Congress in attendance bemoaned the FDA and USDA’s lack of knowledge, noting that future hearings may ask regulators to take their action into account and hemp-related inaction.