Cannabis Companies Push F.D.A. to Ease Rules on CBD Products

CBD products have exploded in recent years, and are so numerous and varied as to include cheese pizza and fruit smoothies, like at this restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.CreditCreditJennifer Lett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel, via Associated Press

WASHINGTON — It was Hempy Pet CBD Soft Chews, Mile High Labs and Women Grow, among countless others, squaring off against the likes of the Marijuana Victims Alliance, concerned primary care doctors and a lawyer who admitted he couldn’t wait to sue — all jammed into an overflowing auditorium for hours Friday on the Food and Drug Administration campus.

F.D.A. hearings are usually tedious affairs. But this one — called to begin the process of figuring out which products in the burgeoning cannabis industry can be legally sold in the United States — was the hottest ticket in the capital. More than 400 applicants, from the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to blue chip law firms, had petitioned the agency for a chance to testify. It had to create a complex lottery system to whittle down the list to a lucky 120.

Each was given either two or five minutes to make a case to the presiding panel of top F.D.A. officials, amounting to an all-day volley of claims and counterclaims over matters of safety, efficacy and good vibes.

From Susan Cromer, of LilyHemp (Infused Herbal Goodness): “I have been privileged, awed and at times brought to tears by the positive changes CBD has brought to my customers’ lives.”

CBD chocolates on display at the Big Industry Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The F.D.A. has been skeptical of the compound’s benefits.CreditRichard Vogel/Associated Press

From Michelle Peace, an assistant professor of forensic science at Virginia Commonwealth University: “We have seen a rash of reports nationwide from people being poisoned from taking CBD products.”

From David Evans, a lawyer for Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators, who noted he has 1,000 cases pending against the opioid industry: “If our dreams come true, we’ll have the same thing going against the marijuana industry in a year or two.”

The F.D.A. has been skeptical of the rapidly growing cannabis industry, but it is under increasing pressure from Congress to ease the path to market for cannabis-derived products. These products are different from medical marijuana, which a growing number of states allow for treating severe pain, nausea and other ailments. Conservative estimates predict that sales of CBD in the United States could be $16 billion by 2025.

Many cannabis companies are already selling cannabis products ranging from soft drinks to bath salts in stores and online, but the F.D.A. will eventually decide whether they can continue to do so. Though CBD is not currently allowed in dietary supplements or foods, the F.D.A. had tended to overlook these infractions.

By Sheila Kaplan