food and drug administration

Cannabidiol (CBD) competed with Vitamin C as a top ingredient in new cosmetic products this past year, with promises of having anti-inflammatory effects and other healing properties. Amid the hype, at the end of 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) was signed into law, changing the marketing of hemp and derivatives of cannabis and further removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act thereby making it no longer an illegal substance under federal law. See Section 297A. The 2018 Farm Bill amended the definition of “hemp” to specifically include “all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids,” which has been construed as an attempt to include hemp-based CBD under the definition of industrial hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill allows, subject to certain restrictions, hemp cultivation, along with the sale, transport (including via interstate commerce), and possession of hemp-derived products.
Continue Reading “C” is for…

Welcome to our end of the year wrap-up post for The Week in Weed; it’s hard to believe another year has come and (almost) gone, but the calendar doesn’t lie.  In what we are calling an homage to Dave Barry and his always hilarious Year in Review, we’ll organize these stories by month.

Without further ado, here’s a look at the stories that grabbed our attention in 2018.
Continue Reading The Week, No Make that the Year, in Weed: 2018

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.  And what a week it was!

Michigan legalized recreational cannabis, Utah and Missouri voted yes on medical marijuana, and several pro-legalization candidates were elected as governors.  Meanwhile, North Dakota voted against legalization and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (sponsor of the legislation
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: November 9, 2018

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

You may recall that the Food and Drug Administration is asking for comments on rescheduling cannabis.  Many times, agency requests for comments are met with a deafening silence.  This is not one of those times.


Continue Reading The Week in Weed: October 26, 2018

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Here at The Blunt Truth, we are well aware of the difficulties cannabis businesses face in obtaining financial services.  It turns out, even political groups that support marijuana legalization can face a problem with banks.


Continue Reading The Week in Weed: October 12, 2018

This is Washington, and we do like to speak in initials.  A plain English translation of the title of this piece would read “FDA ‘places FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD derived from cannabis and no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols in Schedule V.’”  DEA Final Order, Docket No. DEA-486 Schedule V drugs include cough medicine with codeine and many pain relievers that still require a prescription.  So, really what this order does is allow doctors in the US legally to prescribe the recently approved epilepsy drug, Epidiolex, and allows pharmacies, rather than marijuana dispensaries, legally to sell the drug.
Continue Reading FDA: .1% CBD OK

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

At the risk of turning this into the “Week in Oklahoma Weed,” here’s the latest on what happening in the Sooner State.

A group that wants
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: August 17, 2018

Welcome to the 4/20 edition of Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

It’s been a big week for Republicans embracing legal marijuana or marijuana-related products.  Donald Trump, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have all moved to embrace the plant.


Continue Reading The Week in Weed: April 20, 2018

Despite the dearth of approved marijuana products, the term “medical marijuana” has become commonplace, and the term’s prevalence continues to increase as more states legalize the use of the marijuana plant and its active derivatives for medical purposes, and marijuana dispensaries continue to expand throughout the United States.  As of 2017, 29 states and the District of Columbia have approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes.  (Despite state laws legalizing marijuana for medical and/or recreational use, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance its distribution and use remain illegal under Federal law.)

Studies on the potential of the marijuana plant or its extracts continue to expand and include, among others, treating pain,  preventing seizures,  and treating autoimmune disorders such as Crohn’s disease.  However, despite assertions of efficacy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as a medicine, and to date, the FDA has only approved three products – Marinol® and Syndrox®, which include the active ingredient, dronabinol, a synthetic delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), to treat nausea associated with chemotherapy and loss of appetite in AIDS patients; and Cesamet®, which includes the active ingredient, nabilone, a synthetically derived compound with a structure similar to THC, to treat nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.  These drugs are available by prescription only.Continue Reading Is Medical Marijuana Really Medicinal?

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently soliciting public comments about the therapeutic benefits and abuse liability of various controlled substances, including cannabidiol (CBD).


Continue Reading The Week in Weed: September 1, 2017