Regulatory briefing
Our regulatory briefings section delivers current and up-to-date legal and regulatory news relating to all aspects of the CBD industry. It covers individual regulation changes across the world, policy and governmental changes that impact the industry and technological and medical innovations that affect how the industry is regulated, to name a few.
Owner of Brighton’s Canna Kitchen charged with dealing cannabis
Written by CBD-Intel || 19th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
The owner of the first cannabinoid restaurant in the UK has been charged with dealing cannabis ...
Italian prohibitionist draft bill unlikely to find approval
Written by CBD-Intel || 17th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
A proposal to regulate hemp in Italy through increasing restrictions has not got any closer to becoming a law ...
Medical cannabis could now ‘see the light of day’ in the Philippines
Written by CBD-Intel || 13th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
The current administration in the Philippines has expressed its openness to introducing cannabis products into the country, but strictly in medicinal form – contrary to what the president indicated last year ...
UK FSA sets a March 2021 deadline for novel food applications
Written by Marija Obradovic || 13th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
The UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) today set 31st March 2021 as a deadline by when the industry players must submit their novel food application ...
Firm takes a risk with ‘FDA certified’ claim for CBD pain relief cream
Written by CBD-Intel || 11th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
Reports that a CBD pain relief cream has been certified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could be construed as misleading ...
Vital directives still to come as Peru pieces together full regulation
Written by CBD-Intel || 11th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
Peru is moving towards comprehensive legislation on cannabis but has yet to define how to classify CBD, leaving the guidelines unworkable for now ...
Italy lays down limits for THC in edibles, but no mention of CBD
Written by CBD-Intel || 6th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
A decree approved by Italy’s Ministry of Health has established firm limits for allowed levels of THC in edibles ...
Italian amendment to regulate ‘light cannabis’ is thrown out once more
Written by CBD-Intel || 5th February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
The Constitutional Affairs and Budget committees of Italy’s lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, have rejected an amendment to regulate the sale of hemp or “cannabis light” products ...
So this is Brexit – but what does it mean for CBD trade, now or later?
Written by Barnaby Page || 3rd February 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
As the UK exits Europe and enters its 11-month period of transition, what does Brexit actually mean for cross-Channel relationships, and for the CBD industry in particular? ...
Frustration grows as US federal rules impede research on cannabinoids
Written by CBD-Intel || 30th January 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
Federal agencies and legislators from both major US parties have all voiced a desire for more research on cannabinoids – but a major obstacle remains the lack of federally approved cannabinoids to study ...
US Congress members bid again to make CBD supplements legal
Written by CBD-Intel || 29th January 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
Leading members of the US Congress are again pushing for the legalisation of dietary supplements containing hemp-derived CBD, currently banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...
Georgian parliament to look again at plans to legalise hemp for export
Written by CBD-Intel || 27th January 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
With high government hopes for a new export trade, the parliament of the former Soviet republic of Georgia is to consider again a bill that would legalise the cultivation of hemp and manufacture of hemp products ...
Lack of consistency on the rules makes US import and export a minefield
Written by CBD-Intel || 23rd January 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
Jurisdiction confusion and regulatory uncertainty make it a stressful business moving CBD and hemp products across the US border ...
British watchdog warns: foods containing CBD are illegal in UK
Written by CBD-Intel || 22nd January 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reiterated the country’s ban on foods containing CBD and warned that CBD-containing food, drink and dietary supplements currently on the market are illegal ...
US banks can do business with hemp firms (unless they get suspicious)
Written by CBD-Intel || 20th January 2020 || Regulatory briefing |
Federal banking regulators have issued guidance clarifying the legal status of banks doing business with hemp firms, permitting it as long as they follow and comply with the relevant requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act ...
Clearer US regulation could follow a coming boom in CBD litigation
Written by CBD-Intel || 27th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Expect to see more CBD-related lawsuits from individual US consumers over the next year – and increased litigation could help to speed up regulatory clarification ...
UK pharmacists plead: What CBD products are we allowed to sell?
Written by CBD-Intel || 24th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The trade body representing independent pharmacists in the UK says official government guidance about CBD is unclear and has asked for advice on what its members can and cannot stock on their shelves ...
Italian Senate president unilaterally denies hemp regulation amendment
Written by CBD-Intel || 19th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The proposal to regulate and tax low-THC hemp varieties of cannabis has been removed from the budget bill and declared inadmissible by the president of the Italian senate ...
Calls for new regulation after ‘vape-related’ death of Belgian teenager
Written by CBD-Intel || 19th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Regulation in Belgium and possibly across Europe may change as a result of the link being made between CBD vaping and a teenager’s death – though that link has not been verified ...
Brazil takes a major step towards liberalisation of the hemp industry
Written by Marija Obradovic || 19th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Brazil has granted industrial hemp cultivation and processing authorisation to a company in a move that may be viewed as a major step towards liberalisation of the hemp and cannabinoid sector in the country ...
Two CBD products approved under Irish medical cannabis programme
Written by CBD-Intel || 17th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The Irish government has given approval to two CBD-based medicines as it starts its medical cannabis programme ...
Is Austria losing enthusiasm for the enforcement of novel food rules?
Written by CBD-Intel || 16th December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Confusion surrounds the sale of CBD food products in Austria – but that has not stopped some companies that have previously run into trouble with the authorities from reintroducing items into the market ...
Italy’s Five Star party proposes new tax regulation on hemp products
Written by CBD-Intel || 3rd December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Two amendments to regulate the sale of hemp products have been put forward by Italy’s Five Star party, including a tax on hemp-related items ...
Mexico wrestles with proposals over legalisation of cannabis
Written by CBD-Intel || 2nd December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Mexico is getting closer to approving new legislation that will legalise cannabis; however, the question of whether CBD products should also be legalised is splitting opinions within the ruling party ...
Italian government urged to take action on hemp regulation
Written by CBD-Intel || 2nd December 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The Italian government has been urged to take action on regulating hemp and derived products, in a resolution adopted by the Agricultural Commission of the Italian House of Representatives ...
Law criminalising the use of cannabis challenged in Indian court
Written by CBD-Intel || 29th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
An Indian court is getting ready to hear a petition challenging the constitutionality of a law prohibiting and criminalising the use of cannabis. India has a long history of usage of cannabis, yet the plant is classified as...
Quebec monopoly calls temporary halt to sales of cannabis vaping devices
Written by CBD-Intel || 27th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Cannabis-based vaping products won’t be legally available in Canada’s second-largest province “for the time being” after the Quebec government-owned cannabis monopoly decided to keep them off the shelves ...
FDA cracks down again on health claims, but seems receptive to CBD
Written by Barnaby Page || 26th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Scrutiny of the CBD market appears to be growing at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which this week reprimanded a further 15 companies for selling CBD products as drugs and also updated its advice to consumers...
Inclusion of cannabis leaf extract in EU cosmetics database ‘a milestone’
Written by Pablo Cano Trilla || 25th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The inclusion of some new cannabis-related entries in the CosIng catalogue will facilitate the placement of cannabis-containing cosmetics in the EU market – provided all other rules, such as limits on THC, are respected ...
US federal spending package to provide funding for research and enforcement
Written by CBD-Intel || 18th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
A "minibus spending package" in the US Senate will provide hemp stakeholders with protection as well as funding for further work by federal institutions in the sector ...
CBD vaping will not be allowed under Massachusetts ban exemption
Written by Freddie Dawson || 13th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
CBD vaping will not be permitted under an exemption from cannabis regulators to the vaping ban brought in by the Republican governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker ...
Portugal steps up enforcement over edibles with seizure in Porto
Written by Marija Obradovic || 13th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Authorities in Porto recently seized over 500 edible products, stepping up enforcement efforts ...
NYPD acts on FedEx tip-off that was shrugged off by police in Vermont
Written by CBD-Intel || 12th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Police in Vermont were satisfied with the legality of a shipment of hemp after being tipped off by delivery company FedEx – but the New York Police Department took a different view ...
New UK trade association places its focus on EU novel food regulations
Written by CBD-Intel || 7th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The Centre for Medical Cannabis is launching a new Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), claiming to be the first CBD trade organisation in the UK to ensure compliance with EU novel food regulations ...
Trump nominee Hahn unlikely to change much as FDA commissioner
Written by CBD-Intel || 6th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Little is expected to change at the US FDA in terms of CBD or cannabis policy if president Donald Trump’s nominee Stephen Hahn is approved as commissioner, according to sources contacted by CBD-Intel ...
CBD regulation will not be forgotten by new Polish parliament, says ex-MP
Written by CBD-Intel || 5th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
CBD issues will be addressed in Poland's next parliamentary session, according to former MP Piotr Liroy-Marzec ...
Hemp extraction proposal falls short of solving Italian regulation chaos
Written by CBD-Intel || 4th November 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
A proposal to regulate the sale of hemp biomass in Italy has been put before the Agriculture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, but members of the industry fear it does not go far enough in allowing use...
Ukraine’s new government drops plan to legalise medical cannabis
Written by CBD-Intel || 31st October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The legalisation of medical cannabis in Ukraine, which was expected this year, is now likely to be indefinitely suspended following a decision not to include cannabis in the list of substances permitted in the country ...
Agriculture department set to issue rules for US national hemp program
Written by CBD-Intel || 30th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it is preparing to release the interim final rules governing a national hemp product program ...
Slovakia’s parliament dashes hopes that CBD was to be legalised
Written by Lenka Hajnovicova || 28th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
CBD remains banned in Slovakia after the country’s parliament, the National Council, defied widespread expectation that the substance would be legalised in line with the rest of Europe ...
US Northeast cannabis and vaping summit aims at joint regulation
Written by CBD-Intel || 28th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Governors and lawmakers from six US states have met at a regional cannabis and vaping summit in an attempt to establish more collective standardised regulations and legislative approaches ...
Teething troubles as firms are warned over prohibited medical claims
Written by Freddie Dawson || 24th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Federal enforcement against CBD medical claims in the US is going strong, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sending a warning letter to a new company about what it said were prohibited medical claims ...
Colorado works on rules to ban additives linked to vaping scare
Written by CBD-Intel || 24th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Regulators in the US state of Colorado are preparing to finalise rules that ban certain additives in cannabinoid vaping liquids – but a question remains over who is to oversee and enforce those rules ...
Few complaints and little enforcement – but EU food rules still apply in UK
Written by CBD-Intel || 22nd October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
UK Trading Standards teams report very few complaints about food and drink containing CBD, despite the Food Standards Agency (FSA) saying it would follow EU rules, which say CBD should not be used as an ingredient in foodstuffs...
Caution required when advertising food containing CBD, rules UK ASA
Written by Freddie Dawson || 22nd October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Companies can advertise food and drinks as containing CBD, however, they should be careful about implying any link to illicit drugs like cannabis, according to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ...
Swedish court rules CBD does not make a product pharmaceutical
Written by CBD-Intel || 14th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
A Swedish court has ruled that a product containing CBD for oral consumption cannot automatically be classified as a pharmaceutical, but that the legal status of each product must be assessed individually ...
CBD across the US still caught up in a tangle of inconsistent enforcement
Written by CBD-Intel || 8th October 2019 || Regulatory briefing |
Despite various bodies making steps towards legalisation, the existing legal environment for CBD across the US remains a patchwork of contradictory policies ...
CBD-Intel regulatory news in brief, 26th-30th September
Written by CBD-Intel || 30th September 2019 || Alerts roundup , Regulatory briefing |
Moves are under way in a number of US states to take executive action against various vapour products. Meanwhile, a Kentucky CBD firm is suing for $44m an Oregon company it says sold it “nearly worthless” hemp seeds...
