United States: FDA opens a new public comment period on CBD

Even as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had promised to speed up the regulations surrounding CBD, it appears that the process has slowed down again. The FDA has announced the launch of’a new public comment period during which it is seeking feedback from Americans on the potential reclassification of cannabis.

Citizens will have an additional 30 days to provide their input, which will be taken into account when the law is rewritten. When the FDA initially sought comments to define the U.S. position on the issue in March, she «emphasized the need to shorten the deadline for submitting comments so that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can take the necessary steps and heed the United Nations.»

The World Health Organization (WHO) has in fact recommended that cannabis, as well as cannabis resin, be removed from Schedule IV, the most restrictive category (reserved for substances considered particularly harmful with limited medical benefits) under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, signed by countries around the world. The WHO further stated that CBD should not be classified at all, citing evidence that the compound «has no potential for abuse or dependence.».

Cannabis and cannabis resin would also remain listed in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention, whereas they are currently listed in both Schedules I and IV, where they are considered the least dangerous (unlike the U.S. classification). The organization also wants delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its isomers to be completely removed from a separate treaty on drugs concluded in 1971 and added to Schedule I of the 1961 Convention, according to a WHO document that has not yet been officially published but is reportedly circulating among advocates for cannabis reform.

Reclassifying cannabis under international treaties would reflect a growing understanding of the plant within one of the world’s most influential intergovernmental organizations. Moreover, the United Nations’ current restrictive classification of cannabis has not prevented Canada and Uruguay to move forward in ending prohibition, just as [country] is expected to do soon Mexico.