WASHINGTON — The FDA is giving up on trying to figure out a way to regulate CBD on its own. The agency announced Thursday that it is formally calling on Congress for help — and, according to one official, looking for guidance on other hemp products like Delta 8 THC, too.
For nearly four years, the Food and Drug Administration has been laboring to craft a solution that would allow CBD to be legally sold in capsules, gummy vitamins, and various foods, even though the agency also considers the product a prescription drug, which would traditionally bar companies from selling it except at pharmacies. Then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb stood up a working group in April 2019 aimed at figuring out whether they could stand up a pathway for supplement makers or food companies to sell CBD products legally.
On Thursday, regulators came to the conclusion they can’t do so without help from Congress.
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