On November 25th, the FDA released 15 warning letters to companies selling products containing CBD (cannabidiol). It was very sudden and very forceful – a big wave. Well, what does it all mean?

It seems that FDA is making it clear that they will enforce the law against companies who sell products with CBD into interstate commerce. Interstate commerce means that the products crossed state lines. In this case, the crossing was done via the World Wide Web.

Aside from the issues that FDA identified in the letters, the FDA focuses on the fact that CBD is used in the first place. Cannabis plants and derivatives that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis are no longer controlled substances under federal law. This was updated in the 2018 Farm Bill and opened the floodgates in the industry.

This is a move that many in industry didn’t expect but was bound to happen. When there is a clash between state and federal law, a conflict naturally exists. We will have to see if FDA intends to go further after this obvious warning shot.

To learn more about CBD and how it is regulated, stay tuned for the upcoming CBD files series posting soon!