Roundtable Submits Public Comment to FDA on Hemp-Derived CBD

Last fall, in a bombshell for the hemp industry, the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence delivered its preliminary judgment that hemp-derived CBD is safe and well-tolerated in humans (and animals), and is not linked with any negative public health concerns. The WHO also concluded that CBD does not induce physical dependence and is not associated with abuse potential. In the coming months, the WHO will meet again to issue its final guidance, as it considers whether or not to recommend any international restrictions for hemp-derived CBD and other cannabis products.

As part of its formal process, the WHO asked the US Food and Drug Administration for its response, and the FDA has asked for public comment. The US Hemp Roundtable, the hemp industry’s national business association that represents over thirty firms and organizations across the country – at each link of the hemp supply and sales chain – as well as all of its major national grassroots organizations, submitted its formal comments yesterday. In sum, the Roundtable strongly recommends against the scheduling of hemp-derived CBD as an international controlled substance.

The Roundtable argues that CBD derived from hemp is not a controlled substance and has many medicinal and non-medicinal uses. It further urges FDA to include in its evaluation the evidence demonstrating the low abuse and dependence potential, safety, and health benefits of hemp-derived CBD – all of which were recognized by WHO in its recent report on CBD and have been confirmed by the totality of scientific evidence.