Senate Majority Leaders Wants FDA to Issue CBD Guidance

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, plans to include language in the Senate appropriations bill compelling the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue temporary guidance on the matter of how the agency plans to enforce rules on the sale of hemp-derived CBD products while the agency is working on comprehensive interim permanent rules on the same subject.

McConnell’s measure also seeks to compel the FDA to report to Congress within 90 days on the progress that it has made in drafting the hemp CBD enforcement discretion policy.

This plan indicates that the top Senate Republican is eager to see the FDA finalizing its rules on CBD so that CBD products can be manufactured and sold without a cloud of unnecessary restrictions standing in the way of industry participants.

McConnell, a Senator from Kentucky, has stood out as a strong supporter of the hemp industry. Hemp has just trace amounts of THC, a cannabinoid responsible for the “high” experienced by consumers of marijuana. Republicans are renowned for their vehement opposition to any move to legalize marijuana.

Industrial hemp was legalized when President Trump signed the Farm Bill of 2018 towards the end of December. That enactment caused the CBD industry to really explode and its proponents say that the compound can alleviate a variety of health conditions including insomnia, anxiety, pain and depression.

This rapid growth has left the FDA struggling to catch up and pass regulations for the CBD industry. Key on its table is a discussion on whether the compound should be used as a supplement (just like Vitamin C) as well as a food additive.

Currently, the FDA prohibits the use of CBD as a supplement or food ingredient, and it has written warning letters to companies that are making unfounded medical claims about their CBD products.

This position has created uncertainty for financial institutions and states since they usually rely on the federal agency for direction on such matters.

This could explain why McConnell’s measure wants to compel the FDA to report to Congress within 90 days about the progress in drafting enforcement discretion guidelines, and then also compel the agency to implement those guidelines in 120 days.

The proposal of the Senate Majority Leader will go before the full appropriations committee by the end of this week.

The measure comes at a time when a pair of bipartisan lawmakers in Congress have written a letter to the FDA asking it to take actions similar to what McConnell is calling for.

Analysts believe that industry actors like TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FRA: TH8) and VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF) are hoping that the voice of the Senate Majority Leader impresses upon the FDA how urgent the need for regulatory guidance is.

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