Finally. FDA Says What We’ve Been Saying for Years Regarding CBD

Original Publish Date - October 4th 2018

There’s simply No Evidence CBD is Dangerous…

As most of you know, we’ve been fighting a battle of misperception in the hemp CBD business. As early as the 1960’s, the US entered into international drug enforcement agreements that misclassified hemp and hemp CBD right along with marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. That was further enhanced when the US signed the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

Until 2012 when the first rays of reason started peeking through, the thought that hemp and its various cannabinoids should be separated from its sister plant, marijuana, seemed an argument few were willing to make. By 2014, several key lawmakers got behind the idea and enacted the 2014 Farm Bill, under which, together with the Colorado Industrial Hemp Act, Imbue operates.

Then, Congress acted further with The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-113) (“the Funding Act”), passed on December 18, 2015, which contains a provision at section 763 that reads:

“None of the funds made available by this act or any other act may be used… to prohibit the transportation, processing, sale or use of industrial hemp that is grown or cultivated in accordance with section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, within or outside the State in which the industrial hemp is grown or cultivated.”

And yet, the DEA held firm to its ongoing proclamation that hemp and CBD were not only illegal federally, but deserved to be.

Now, based on scientific reason, all that may be changing. Last week, the FDA released a letter it had written to the DEA earlier this year that confirmed that CBD Doesn’t Meet Criteria for Federal Control. After a thorough scientific review and analysis, FDA argues:

• “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.”
• “It is unlikely that CBD would act as an immediate precursor to THC for abuse purposes.”

While the finding was based on Marijuana-derived CBD, the cannabinoid, as we all know, is identical when derived from the hemp plant. And hemp is grown with virtually no THC, so no issue there as well.

So finally, scientific reason seems to be winning out. And confirming what we all knew. CBD deserves its chance to be promoted out in the open without old, outdated and irrelevant Federal and International Laws claiming it’s something we all know it isn’t.

And For Those Who clearly do Know, we are basking in the sunshine of “I told you so!”

with all our best,

Tom