While we enter a new season this week, the same cannot be said for the FDA which, on November 16, reiterated that its approach to regulating the cannabidiol (CBD) industry will be “the same as it ever was”—a regulatory minefield. Grail Sipes, acting Deputy Center Director for Regulatory Policy at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, emphasized the agency’s position that it needs additional CBD research and safety data before the agency will consider CBD for uses beyond prescription drugs, including usage as a food additive or dietary supplement. This, she said, is because “clear answers to many important questions are still lacking, such as what adverse reactions may be associated with CBD from hemp-derived products and what risks are associated with the long term use of these products.”

So why should industry stakeholders care about the FDA’s opinion anyway? Wasn’t hemp-derived CBD legalized at the federal level by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill?

Yes, but as we discussed in a previous blog post, the FDA and FTC have overlapping enforcement authority over CBD marketing, with the FDA having primary authority over labeling. The FDA has previously issued guidance stating that CBD can be used as an ingredient in cosmetics so long as it does not cause the product to be “adulterated or misbranded.” However, a product containing CBD cannot be marketed as a drug absent FDA approval—a lengthy and costly process. Companies marketing CBD products must therefore ensure compliance with the FDA’s labeling requirements and guidance regarding CBD products.

The FDA has not been shy to issue warning letters to CBD companies that fail to heed the agency’s labeling requirements and guidance. Starting in April 2019, the FDA (together with the FTC) began issuing warning letters to companies marketing CBD products as treatments and cures for a variety of diseases and illnesses. Those agencies continued to issue warning letters for marketing and labeling violations throughout 2019, largely for improper health-based claims about CBD products (those letters are described in more detail here and here). The most recent iteration came in 2021 when the agencies issued two warning letters to companies selling over-the-counter (OTC) drugs for pain relief that contained CBD. Sipes made clear the FDA will continue to monitor the CBD marketplace and issue warning letters to companies making improper health claims in her November 16 comments.

Given these comments, we can expect the cat-and-mouse game between federal regulators and CBD companies that push the marketing envelope to continue. To mitigate the risk of falling within the FDA’s crosshairs, CBD companies must ensure compliance with the various state and federal regulations governing the labeling and advertising of their products. We provided several marketing dos and don’ts in a previous blog post. But given the FDA’s unchanging position, the biggest takeaway remains the same: don’t make claims that a CBD product “can prevent, treat, or cure” or a disease.