(LEX 18)– As the popularity of CBD products continues to surge, the Food and Drug Administration is takings its first steps to determine how to regulate the burgeoning industry.
The FDA held its first public hearing Friday on Cannabis and Cannabis-derived compounds.
The CBD craze got a major boost in 2018 after President Donald Trump signed the Farm Bill, removing hemp from the Controlled Substance list. CBD-based products flooded the market, despite the fact that the FDA hadn’t implemented any regulations. This has left the industry in a state of flux.
“It’s really hampering small businesses, it’s really getting in the way of a business we’ve been doing since 2014,” said Adriane Polyniak, the owner and executive director of Bluegrass Hemp Oil.
Polyniak’s business, and thousands of others like it, have had to suspend online sales. Merchant processors severed their ties with CBD companies due to lack of regulations and heightened uncertainty in the industry.
“There’s probably some leeriness around the business just because who’s getting into the business and the reasons why they’re getting into the business. So there’s definitely a need for overall regulations with regards to the products,” said Polyniak.
The use of CBD as an ingredient in supplements has sparked many questions about the compound’s safety, and officials at the FDA have expressed skepticism about its medicinal value. The heating Friday marked a first step in addressing those outstanding questions.
