Have you ever eaten a CBD gummy, gingerly applied a CBD face mask, or ordered CBD-infused chicken enchiladas and wondered to yourself, “Why did I spend $28 on this? Is it even working?” Well, I have some good news for you: on Friday, the Food and Drug Administration is holding its first public hearing on the safety and effects of cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
The hearing is designed, above all, with the safety of consumers in mind, according to CNN:
The goal of the hearing is to “identify and collate all available data to help us answer these questions in order to make sure that the American public is protected — including to the extent CBD is being introduced into our food supply or other common consumer products,” Michael Felberbaum, an FDA spokesman, said in an email to CNN. […]
Witnesses from the supplement industry, researchers, doctors and patients are all expected to testify about their experiences with cannabis at Friday’s hearing. The agency will also make a docket available for public comments that will close on July 2.
This process will help the FDA “decide questions like whether CBD will be treated as a dietary supplement or as a drug, and at what dosages it will be allowed in different applications,” according to the Washington Post.
This may mean more rigorous studies into the effects of CBD, and more consistency in dosing in consumer products. Which, good! It may also mean discovering that CBD is actually kind of a modern-day snake oil. Which, I think it is?
Katie McDonough, Jezebel’s resident CBD expert, has grown suspicious of its actual utility and rarely uses it anymore. “It turns out that what I really wanted to do was smoke weed,” she said.
That’s still an option, for anyone who desires it. Either way, we’re excited to learn what the FDA turns up.