Yo, check it out, my homies. Hemp advocates and industry leaders been hollerin’ at the government to make it easier to get that cannabidiol (CBD) in our lives. The House of Representatives subcommittee had a meetin’ last week to investigate why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) be frontin’ on regulating CBD as an ingredient in our favorite foods, drinks, and dietary supplements.
At that hearin’, all them lawmakers and witnesses were straight up dissin’ the FDA for not takin’ any action on CBD regulation. They be sayin’ how this lack of regulation be affectin’ peeps who tryna get in on the health and wellness benefits of CBD.
Jonathan Miller, the big boss lawyer for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, straight up told them subcommittee members that without a federal framework, we end up with a bunch of unregulated products that might mess us up. Ain’t nobody tryna get sick or messed up from some sketchy CBD, ya feel me?
Representative Lisa McClain, who was runnin’ the show at the meetin’, talked about how us regular folks can’t even know if the CBD we buy is legit or not. Like, we got no way to check if it’s pure or if it got enough CBD in it. And she called out the FDA for not doin’ their job and enforcin’ regulations.
She dropped some knowledge too, sayin’ that a study found that only 25% of brands test their CBD products for purity. And get this, only 16% of them products actually had what they claim on the label! Man, that’s messed up. The FDA been slackin’ for five whole years since hemp got legalized.
So let’s talk about how hemp got legalized in 2018, fam. Congress gave it the green light with the 2018 Farm Bill. But guess what? The FDA still ain’t doin’ nothin’ to regulate CBD from hemp in our food, drinks, and supplements. They straight up said they ain’t gonna do it unless Congress tells ’em to.
And you know what? That announcement caused a whole lot of confusion and uncertainty in the market. It made it hard for good folks who wanna make and sell CBD products to do their thing. But you know who it helped? Them shady people tryna make a quick buck off the confusion and flood the market with unsafe products. The FDA gotta step up and use the power they already got to make sure these CBD products do what they s’posed to do.
Oh, and here’s another thing. ‘Cause the FDA ain’t regulatin’ CBD, we got all these other intoxicating cannabinoids showin’ up in unregulated products. The big one right now is delta-8 THC. And guess what? Some of them products end up gettin’ sold to minors! Ain’t nobody callin’ for these products to be illegal or nothin’, but we need some strict safety rules to keep ’em away from the kids.
Richard A. Badaracco, this dude from the Kentucky Narcotic Officers Association and a retired DEA agent, spoke at the meetin’. He said that in Kentucky, they sell a lotta delta-8 THC products in convenience stores, smoke shops, gas stations, and even online. But here’s the problem: these products ain’t tested properly and got a bunch of impurities in ’em. Kentucky be takin’ it seriously though, ’cause they passed a law to regulate these products and keep ’em away from minors.
Now let me tell you about Paige Figi, this badass lady who been fightin’ for CBD for like forever. Her daughter Charlotte had epilepsy, but CBD helped reduce her seizures. Sadly, Charlotte passed away last year at just 13 years old. Paige watched that meetin’ from her crib in Colorado Springs and she wants the FDA to make it easier for families all across the country to get CBD.
She said they been workin’ with families, athletes, seniors, veterans, and anyone who needs CBD for almost a decade. She thinks this meetin’ shows that we close to some common sense solutions. She wants Congress to pass a law that’ll make the FDA regulate hemp-derived CBD as a dietary supplement. And you know why? ‘Cause there’s like 45 million Americans who rely on CBD to help with their chronic conditions. We gotta support them and make sure they can access what they need, ya heard?
That’s the word on the street, my peeps. The House panel be callin’ out the FDA and pushin’ for CBD regulation. Let’s hope they do what they gotta do ’cause we all need that CBD in our lives. Stay lifted and keep it real, my friends.