FDA Issues Response to Three Citizen Petitions Related to CBD and Dietary Supplements
Constituent Update
January 26, 2023
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied the requests in three citizen petitions, from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), and the Natural Products Association (NPA), that the FDA issue a regulation that would allow cannabidiol (CBD) products to be marketed as dietary supplements. Such a regulation would be needed in order to provide a potential pathway for CBD products to be lawfully marketed as dietary supplements, because a provision in the law prohibits the marketing of certain drug ingredients as dietary supplements. The FDA’s responses explain that we do not intend to initiate such a rulemaking, because in light of the available scientific evidence, it is not apparent how CBD products could meet the applicable safety standard for dietary supplements.
The separate citizen petitions included other requests related to CBD and dietary supplements that were all thoroughly reviewed and addressed in the respective FDA responses.
In addition, the FDA issued a statement today on the broader work of the cross-agency Cannabis Product Committee to explore potential regulatory pathways for CBD products. That statement explains that the agency does not consider the existing dietary supplement and conventional food pathways to be appropriate for CBD and that the FDA is interested in working with Congress to develop a new pathway that balances consumers’ desire to access CBD products with the regulatory oversight necessary to better manage the risks these products present.