The latest CBD news is here:
- The governor of Virginia has signed a bill to become a law that allows to regulate the use of CBD as food.
- A letter is sent by the prominent hemp organizations to the Small Business Administration to ensure that corona virus relief is given to the hemp farmers.
CBD News Stories
- Regulation Of CBD Products as Food By Virginia
- A Letter is Sent To SBA By Hemp Organizations to Help Farmers Receive Coronavirus Aid
Regulation Of CBD Products As Food By Virginia
Ralph Northam, the governor of Virginia, signed a bill to regulate the CBD as food, offering specific instructions to state’s CBD brands on how to grow and market their products. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will now regulate CBD derived from hemp including product labeling and testing.
CBD is officially licensed by the FDA to be a drug under the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act because it is used in the Epidiolex medication; although both CBD activists and FDA are debating whether it was first marketed as a dietary supplement prior to its use as a drug.
As a result, the FDA considers that adding CBD to food and drinks or being marketed as a dietary supplement would be illegal.
The agency is working on a regulatory framework to allow CBD products to be used in food and classified as dietary supplements, but according to officials, it could take years.
Moreover, CBD firms are subject to the regulatory discretion of FDA without proper guidance.
In January, A bill defining hemp-derived CBD as a dietary supplement is trying to accelerate the timeline.
Nevertheless, the bill has gained little traction primarily due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Virginia’s decision to control CBD as food provides specific guidelines to CBD businesses about the expectations of their products.
A Letter Is Sent To SBA By The Hemp Organizations To Help Farmers Receive Coronavirus Aid
A joint letter was written to SBA by the several hemp organizations to ensure the eligibility of farmers for coronavirus relief programs.
The letter, written by Nebraska Hemp Industries Association, Hemp Feed Coalition, Midwest Hemp Council, National Industrial Hemp Council, Hemp Industries Association, U.S. Hemp Growers Association,U.S. Hemp Roundtable, and Vote Hemp, convinces the Administrator Jovita Carranza to ensure the accessibility of farmers to the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program.
the organizations wrote,“Farmers are facing significant headwinds and insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and must have access to disaster relief programs that can now help them.”
The organizations indicated that farmers are typically exempt from the EIDL so that they do not duplicate the services from other agencies like the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA relief program, however, is usually for natural disasters rather than the pandemics like COVID-19.
The organization wrote, “We encourage SBA to explain that both the EIDL program and emergency grant program are available for agricultural enterprises. We also request that SBA provide specific guidance confirming the eligibility of agricultural enterprises for other SBA programs included in the CARES Act.”
The organizations ended up their letter by saying that farmers are “vital to our nation’s food and energy security” and they are “dependent on SBA to assist them to stay afloat during this time of increased economic hardships and market unpredictability.”
