U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said Tuesday that it is “fully unacceptable” for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to suggest it may take up to five years to issue rules on the lawful marketing of hemp-derived CBD in the food supply, reports The Boston Globe.
In a letter to the heads of the FDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the senator discussed the “significant economic gains” that hemp producers stand to make since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
The senator said that the FDA should issue “enforcement discretion guidance” by Aug. 1 and follow up on that by issuing an interim final rule as soon as possible while the agency develops permanent final regulations for CBD. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that it hoped to issue its own regulations on hemp production in August.
Meanwhile, the CBD market is growing rapidly, drug stores are allowing the sale of CBD and Facebook has just announced it is relaxing it’s ban on CBD advertising.
Advertisers are now allowed to run ads for topical hemp across Facebook. Advertisers can run ads that direct to landing pages that feature ingestible hemp and topical CBD, but the ads cannot specifically feature those products.
Additionally, teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is expanding its CBD business with Green Growth Brands. The retailer plans to sell the cannabis company’s CDB-infused body care products, including lip balms and sugar scrubs, in more than 160 of its 250-plus stores.