Approaching a year after the signing of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”), the industrial hemp and cannabidiol (“CBD”) markets are exploding, yet laced-consumable products still remain illegal according to the federal government. Pressure on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to produce revised guidelines for the industries has steadily increased, but in their stead, stakeholders and consumers have been entangled within an intricate web that is the status of CBD.
Considering CBD’s current popularity, comprehending the compound’s legal standing is critical. The 2018 Farm Bill may have opened the door for hemp and CBD, however, it did not grant full legalization – as this Firm has been thoroughly advising clients, and as recent FTC notices and FDA Warning Letters have confirmed. While the country awaits comprehensive FDA rules, many concerns on the future of CBD go beyond its capital and market potential. Questions on CBD’s permitted forms, federal drug assignments, and potential medicinal use loom large over the industry.
One of the selected presenters to speak about CBD at FDA in May of this year), RLG’s Founder and Managing Partner, Dave Rodman, set out to write an article for the general public highlighting the unique status of CBD, but he ended up delving much further.
“I quickly realized that it was impossible to tell CBD’s story without providing context. I couldn’t explain the status of CBD without discussing the history of Cannabis sativa L., the CSA and Schedule I.”1 Mr. Rodman explained.
“Once I recognized that, it was very easy for me to pivot towards the broader story of Schedule I, its origins, the terrible toll it has on medical science, and the general irrationality of it all. Sensible drug policy has been a passion of mine for a long time, the problem soon became getting the article to an acceptable length… it started about five pages longer, and it could have easily been ten pages longer!”
Even with the edits, Mr. Rodman was uncertain of finding a platform to publish it.
“I was sure Westword was going to cut it way down due to its length. When I heard they were going to publish it word for word I was ecstatic. I am honored that Westword published the article. I think it means that people are starting to wake up! This is an important message.”
When asked what he hopes his article accomplishes, Dave said:
“I figured that the juxtaposition of CBD, a substance that everyone and their mother—in some cases their grandmothers too—is swearing by, with the general lunacy of Schedule I might help normalize the conversation around other Schedule I substances, or at least sow the seeds of doubt in peoples’ faith in the fear-based propaganda spewed by our governments. I want people to ask themselves, and their senators and congressional representatives, ‘What else are we missing out on here? What other medical miracles have been ignored or undiscoverable because of this stupid, stupid law?’”
You can read Mr. Rodman’s full article here.
- CSA stands for the Controlled Substances Act
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Originally published Oct. 21, 2019, at https://therodmanlawgroup.com