(The Center Square) – Hemp advocates went to Capitol Hill recently with a simple message – regulate us, please.
The aftermath of hemp’s legalization in the U.S. was the subject of a House Oversight Committee Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee hearing. The 2018 Farm Bill included language allowing farmers to grow and sell hemp and its derivatives. That includes CBD, which is similar to the chemical compound found in marijuana but does not provide the same intoxicating effect. CBD was also taken off the Schedule I list of controlled substances that year.
However, one industry supporter told lawmakers the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has failed to oversee hemp and CBD despite congressional action. As a result, prices farmers receive for hemp and CBD products have nearly bottomed out in most commodity categories.
Jonathan Miller, the general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, added the FDA’s inaction and resulting confusion over CBD products have led to some unregulated goods being sold in some cases to minors.
“These products serve as a lifeline to U.S. farmers, and when manufactured properly, can be of considerable value to adult consumers,” Miller testified. “We oppose their ban or criminalization, but they need to be strictly regulated for safety and kept out of the hands of children.”
Since the federal government has not acted, Miller said some states – like Kentucky – have stepped in, but that’s still not enough to create a viable market for farmers or ensure product safety for consumers.
Miller, who served eight years as Kentucky’s treasurer, said the roundtable supports bipartisan legislation in Congress that would create “a regulatory pathway” for CBD to become a legal food and beverage additive and another measure that would legally allow CBD products to be marketed as dietary supplements.
“It’s clearly time for Congress to act,” he said.
Congress passes a Farm Bill every five years, so this year’s bill could include possible changes affecting hemp and its derivative products.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, said more than 54,000 acres of land can be utilized for hemp production in the U.S. However, Comer, who previously served as Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner, slammed the FDA for “not being transparent” with either lawmakers or industry leaders.
“It’s well past time for FDA to do its job and act more than just a major obstacle to the economic prosperity of our great farmers and producers of these products,” Comer said.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Katie Porter, D-California, however, chided Republicans for criticizing the FDA for inaction when, she said, they would likely do the same if they felt the federal agency exceeded its authority.
“You can’t have it both ways here,” she said. “The FDA knows Congress will appropriately hold it accountable if the agency exceeds its authority. That’s our job. So, the FDA is not going to take the risk of going too far. Why ask them to take that risk when we could just work together across the aisle on some common sense legislation?”
