Balanced Health Botanicals Newsletter – May

Millions more dollars fuel hemp research.

Grants are powering long-term projects across the country for 2022, with public and private financial commitments that have grown exponentially from previous years’ investments. Consumer demand for hemp products, carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture have spurred researchers’ interest. Learn more at Let's Talk Hemp.

FDA holds up hemp CBD market.

“Flat is the new up, sales are growing but price points are dropping, while gummies and topicals are growing fast,” reports Natural Products Insider in an industry overview. The FDA’s intransigence on CBD is to blame, say experts. Read on at Natural Products Insider.

60% of CBD sleep products mislabeled, says new report.

Online CBD product review organization Leafreport sent 52 products to a third-party lab and found that most contained inaccurate amounts of CBD, CBN or melatonin. Surprisingly, capsules were the most accurately labeled format. Get the details at Leafreport.

FDA enforcement discretion for CBD products unlikely, say experts.

In draft guidance published last month, the FDA wrote of plans to exercise “enforcement discretion” against NAC-containing products labeled as dietary supplements—raising a question for the hemp-based CBD market. Learn what the move may—or may not—signal for CBD stakeholders. Read more at Natural Products Insider.

Cannabinoid-medication interaction app debuts.

Penn State researchers have launched CANN-DIR, Cannabinoid Drug Interaction Review, a web-based resource that evaluates cannabinoid products against a database of common over-the-counter and prescription medications. “People may not realize that THC and CBD products have the ability to change the way other drugs are metabolized, and it’s an important conversation for patients and health care providers to have with each other,” said CANN-DIR researcher, Kent Vrana. Find out more at PennState Health.