The FDA and Cannabis; Should the FDA ease rules on Cannabis products? We are slowly moving toward a legalization of marijuana for recreational use. CBD which comes from Hemp which is a product that is Cannabis family. Unlike marijuana, does not have THC. It can be used to make clothing, rope, and CBD has been highly praised for its uses as an antioxidant, pain reliever and affects on mood and sleep. For those who look for the effects available through THC which has a long history of medical usage from the 1800's, the Cannabis plants are seeing increased demand for usage, and dosing medical marijuana has never been easier. To dose marijuana, you can vape the oil, or get edibles which are the most common forms of the drug that are becoming more widely available. Should the FDA ease the rules on Cannabis Products? Medically speaking, GW pharmaceuticals has an FDA approved CBD drug that has been approved for the treatment of epilepsy. Most forms of Cannabis are naturally grown and are derived from hemp. There are two types of CBD known as 1 and 2 and apparently, for CBD oil to be effective, it needs to have the right proportions of 1 and 2 and it needs to be properly dosed. Currently, CBD is widely available and even Bed, Bath & Beyond is selling the product. Cannabis growers are pushing the FDA to ease the rules for their products. This will increase competition which should reduce prices to the general public who already has embraced CBD. When it comes to medical marijuana, more states are beginning to legalize it and its medicinal value for certain conditions continues to be accepted by the general public. States offering medicinal use have dispensaries who guarantee quality while also offering a source of revenue to the state. Some states such as Colorado and more recently, Illinois had legalized it for recreational use. NJ and New York have not done this yet although the trend seems to be toward legalization and recreational use. Even Canada has legalized it. Currently, NJ is trying to decriminalize it first as many people have been arrested for small amounts and the state wants these cases expunged. Check out this recent article in the NY Times regarding the FDA and the pressure being exerted for them to ease their rules on Cannabis. Cannabis Companies Push F.D.A. to Ease Rules on CBD Products By Sheila Kaplan May 31, 2019 WASHINGTON — It was Hempy Pet CBD Soft Chews, Mile High Labs and Women Grow, among countless others, squaring off against the likes of the Marijuana Victims Alliance, concerned primary care doctors and a lawyer who admitted he couldn’t wait to sue — all jammed into an overflowing auditorium for hours Friday on the Food and Drug Administration campus. F.D.A. hearings are usually tedious affairs. But this one — called to begin the process of figuring out which products in the burgeoning cannabis industry can be legally sold in the United States — was the hottest ticket in the capital. More than 400 applicants, from the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to blue chip law firms, had petitioned the agency for a chance to testify. It had to create a complex lottery system to whittle down the list to a lucky 120. Read more