HEALTH: CBD
Are CBD Topicals the Only Way to Play? Risk-averse drug stores can still find new ground to till with hemp By Todd Runestad
Retail pharmacies may know about CBD because the Food and Drug Administration in 2018 approved a CBD isolate, Epidiolex, from GW Pharmaceuticals. But the conditions for which Epidiolex was approved are limited to two rare, child-onset epileptic conditions. Industry leaders with an ear to the ground likely know about CBD because its popularity has percolated throughout the culture over the last few years. Used for stress, anxiety and pain, CBD is sold in supplements, topical creams and lotions, beverages, and even foods. It’s sold in as wide a range of sales channels as any product ever, from health food stores and boutiques to ice cream shops and department stores. CBD, of course, has remained in regulatory limbo since the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, with industry associations calling on the FDA to allow CBD to be marketed as a dietary supplement and be regulated as such. The product is available
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“There seems to be less resistance in the marketplace for CBG, CBN and CBC.” — Rick Trojan, director of business development at CBD Universe and vice president of the Hemp Industries Association
mainly in topical form because the FDA has repeatedly declared that it does not qualify as a dietary supplement ingredient since the agency approved it as a drug. Risk-averse retailers from mainstream big box stores to pharmacies have tended to shy away from the uber-popular tincture bottles and even gummies, which have really taken off in the last year or so. Despite the lack of positive rulemaking to affirm CBD’s legitimacy in the market, the FDA’s actions against CBD manufacturers have been limited to warning letters about making illegal drug-disease claims instead of softer supplementstyle structure/function claims. “Despite obstacles by the FDA, if CBD companies operate like good dietary supplement companies and make no illegal health claims, I don’t think the FDA is going to come after you,” said Steve Hoffman, principal of Compass Natural Marketing, which represents a number of CBD companies.
February 2022 DRUGSTORENEWS.COM
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