The 2018 Farm Bill Preserves FDA Right to Regulate Cannabis Products

Last year was a record year for cannabis. Canada passed the Cannabis Act, making adult-use cannabis legal there. The FDA approved a cannabidiol-based medicine, Epidiolex. And the President signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, aka the 2018 Farm Bill, into law on December 20, 2018.

While the 2018 Farm Bill granted the U.S. Department of Agriculture the ability to regulate hemp, it also preserved the right for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. The FDA regulates products such as human and animal drugs, biological products, cosmetics, food and animal feed, among other things. So any inclusion of cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds, like CBD, in any of those types of products would be regulated by the FDA. The FDA has stated that this is true regardless of the source of the cannabis substance, be it hemp or marijuana.

Read the full Duane Morris alert.

“Cannabis 101” Webinar Replay Available

A video replay of the webinar Cannabis 101: Update on the Federal Enforcement & State Regulatory Environment is available to view.

The webinar covers the topics:

  • Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Memo Rescinding the Cole Memo—What Has Changed?
  • How Federal Enforcement Works from the Perspective of a Former Federal Prosecutor
  • Federal Legislative Update—Congressional Attempts to Protect the Cannabis Industry
  • State Regulatory Actions and How Courts Are Interpreting Cannabis Regulations

Watch above in the embedded viewer, or go to the event page to watch the replay.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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