The Background

The United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S FDA) is responsible for Food and drug safety in the United States. The agency's responsibilities include screening, vetting, issuing approvals, and ensuring the security of the nation's food supply and efficacy of drugs for human and veterinary consumption.

Although it has approved a CBD prescription-based medication to treat severe seizures, the agency maintains that CBD outside certain limits falls under controlled substances. According to the 2018 farm bill, CBD products are deemed ok, only when they contain less than 0.3% THC content. As such, the sale and use of the substance outside this restriction contravene federal laws.

CBD as Food and Supplement

Even as CBD containing less than 0.3% of THC is allowed for use by the FDA, it continues to be one of the substances banned from being included in Food or consumed as a supplement by the FDA. The FDA maintains that cannabidiol (CBD) cannot be sold as a food ingredient or as a dietary supplement because it is an active ingredient in a prescription drug. According to federal laws, it is unlawful to introduce drugs or drug derived ingredients into the food supply. However, times are changing.

In the United States, several states have put laws in place that allow CBD's inclusion in Food and medicine. States like Colorado, Florida, and Kentucky have laws that allow CBD to be treated as a food ingredient with hemp processors subject to the same standards as food processors.

The Role of Congress

The United States Congress has prevailed on the FDA to consider the intricacies involved in the classification of CBD products. It has encouraged the FDA to conduct further research into CBD's effective therapeutic use cases in Food and medicine with a view to developing a regulatory pathway for CBD based products in Food and medicine.

In response to the directive from Congress, the FDA has released a report that describes “the agency's progress toward obtaining and analyzing data to help determine a policy of enforcement discretion and the process in which CBD meeting the definition of hemp will be evaluated for use in products.” The report outlines various actions taken or considered by the FDA to advance the potential regulatory pathways for CBD.

So, can CBD be used as Food and as a Supplement?

The answer is Yes!

While CBD's inclusion in food and food ingredients is still federally regulated, if you live in a state that allows CBD's inclusion in food, you are free to use.

CBD can be put into edibles such as gummies, cakes, and other sweet snacks.