WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting an additional $5 million to regulate CBD. The funding request is a part of President Trump’s proposed 2021 budget. The president’s initial budget was unveiled earlier this week but could be significantly altered by Congress before its final approval.
“This new funding will enable FDA to continue regulating the usage of cannabis-derived substances, such as cannabidiol (CBD), in FDA-regulated products such as dietary supplements and when used as unapproved food and feed additives,” the agency said in its budget proposal. “The initiative will support regulatory activities, including developing policy, and continue to perform its existing regulatory responsibilities including review of product applications, inspections, enforcement, and targeted research.”
The FDA is also seeking to regulate CBD’s use in edible products and dietary supplements.
“Additional resources will directly support regulation of cannabis-derived substances and will indirectly increase capacity of FDA’s dietary supplement and food ingredient review programs,” the agency said.
The budget proposal also earmarks $17 million for the creation of a regulatory framework to oversee a national industrial hemp program. However, the budget would also slash 10 percent of CDC funding, 3.7 percent of NIH funding, and 7 percent of funding for the National Science Foundation for research.
Some industry members are viewing the proposed budget as a mixed bag.
“Trump’s budget seems to have many advantages and disadvantages,” Dr. Stuart Titus, chief executive officer at Medical Marijuana, Inc said in a release. “It’s encouraging to see federal funding allocated for the commercial production of industrial hemp in the US but the amount of funding to be distributed to the FDA to ‘crackdown’ on illegally-marketed products seems rather weak since it is estimated that the cannabis black market is worth more than $100 billion.”
Since passage of the 2018 farm bill, industry members and producers have sought further regulatory clarification from the FDA as both consumers and producers are in the dark when it comes to the federal legalities of CBD.
