Dozens of organizations involved in the USA’s hemp supply chain and various national dietary supplement organizations have signed a letter addressed to the leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the Food and Drug Administration’s inaction on regulating hemp products.
Hemp was legalised at a federal level in the USA through the 2018 Farm Bill. But more than 5 years later, the FDA is yet to put regulations and consumer protections in place for the sale of products such as cannabidiol (CBD).
“This lack of action has presented substantial challenges for the industry, leading to economic hardships for U.S. farmers, a pivotal segment of the hemp sector, with commodity prices experiencing a staggering decline of over 90 percent,” says the US Hemp Roundtable, which led the initiative.
The letter requests the House Energy and Commerce Committee assemble a hearing. This follows the Committee joining the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in issuing a Request for Information last year, seeking public comment on the future of FDA hemp regulation.
“We’ve been assured that an Energy & Commerce hearing would take place on a number of occasions, but the time for a hearing has never been riper,” says the letter.
Commenting on the situation, General Counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable Jonathan Miller stated:
“The fate of the entire industry – hemp extracts, fiber, seed, etc. – depends on regulatory oversight, and we fervently urge House Energy & Commerce to take swift action in addressing these issues through a hearing in the near future.”
The signatories say regulatory certainty for hemp is becoming an even more pressing situation for farmers, consumers, state regulators and law enforcement with the “apparently imminent” rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule 3 under the Controlled Substances Act.
Among the organisations lending their support to the call are the National Cannabis Industry Association, National Industrial Hemp Council and the Council for Responsible Nutrition.
The FDA has come under increasing pressure to get on board with regulating hemp products. But in February last year the Administration said it’s not in position to implement cannabidiol regulations without appropriate support from Congress. A hearing before the USA’s House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services in July 2023 delved into the impact of the situation.
