CBD is worthy of the hype, but play by the rules

Although non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) may turn out to be the biggest natural product in the history of the category, regulatory hurdles will be the likely downfall of many a CBD company.

Todd Runestad, Content Director, NaturalProductsInsider.com, Sr. Supplements Editor

January 4, 2019

1 Min Read
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Today there are 40 states with positive hemp laws—not to mention dozens with medical marijuana laws and 10 with adult-use marijuana laws.

In the CBD world, the nomenclature has shifted to “industrial hemp-derived full-spectrum oil containing CBD” or just plain “hemp oil” (Hemp seed oil is something else entirely.) There is a ton of innovation going on–if companies can get past the regulatory hurdles first. Elementary supplement labeling and claims are the one thing that’s going to trip up many fledgling CBD companies going forward.

And just to make sure the authorities remain on the sidelines while all this innovation and entrepreneurialism happens, the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, thereby taking the DEA out of the equation.  

However, the FDA remains a significant player. The agency approved a CBD isolate in 2018 from GW Pharmaceuticals, and it’s still anybody’s guess as to how aggressive it will act against the hemp oil industry–not to mention whether GW Pharma will content itself with owning one of the three swim lanes for cannabis-derived CBD products, or if it will try to shut down everything that isn't a pharmaceutical. Stay tuned!

The data for Todd's analysis came from the 2018 Supplement Business Report

To learn more about this exploding industry, get on the waitlist for NBJ's Hemp & CBD Report, available February 2019.

Download now.

About the Author

Todd Runestad

Content Director, NaturalProductsInsider.com, Sr. Supplements Editor, Natural Products Insider

I've been writing on nutrition science news since 1997. I'm The content director for NaturalProductsInsidercom and digital magazines. Other incarnations: supplements editor for newhope.com, Delicious Living and Natural Foods Merchandiser. Former editor-in-chief of Functional Ingredients magazine and still cover raw material innovations and ingredient science.

Connect with me here https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddrunestad/

My daily vitamin regime includes a morning smoothie with a range of powders including protein, collagen and spirulina; a quality multi, B complex, C with bioflavonoids, >2,000IU vitamin D, E, magnesium, high-selenium yeast, PQQ, choline, alpha-lipoic acid with carnitine, coQ10, fish oil concentrate, probiotics and some adaptogenic herbs. 

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