Politics
FDA And FTC Issue More Warning Letters To Hemp Businesses Allegedly Marketing Delta-8 THC Products That Appeal To Children
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have sent another round of warning letters to several companies for allegedly marketing products containing delta-8 THC “in packaging deceptively similar to many foods children eat such as Froot Loops and Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies.”
In notices posted on Tuesday, the agencies noted that this is the second time they have sent joint cease-and-desist letters to hemp companies over unapproved marketing of the cannabis products. They made contact with another set of businesses about the “copycat” issue last July.
“Companies that market and sell edible THC products that are easily mistaken for snacks and candy are not only acting illegally, but they are also putting the health of young children at risk,” Samuel Levine, director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a press release. “Those that prioritize profits in front of children’s safety are at serious risk of legal action.”
The market for delta-8 THC and other novel cannabinoids has rapidly expanded in recent years following the legalization of hemp and its derivatives under the 2018 Farm Bill. FDA and FTC have generally exercised discretion in taking enforcement action against businesses that are selling products containing substances like CBD or delta-8, targeting those whose packaging or claims about medical benefits are especially misleading.
FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Namandjé Bumpus said “inadequate or confusing labeling can result in children or unsuspecting adults consuming products with strong resemblance to popular snacks and candies that contain delta-8 THC without realizing it.”
Today, the FDA and @FTC issued warning letters to five companies for illegally selling copycat food products containing Delta-8 THC and introducing them into the marketplace in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
These warnings serve as part of the FDA and… pic.twitter.com/71cmdHNk3S
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) July 16, 2024
“As accidental ingestion and/or overconsumption of Delta-8 THC containing products could pose considerable health risks, the companies who sell these illegal products are demonstrating complete neglect for consumer safety,” Bumpus said. “The FDA will continue to work to safeguard the health and safety of U.S. consumers by monitoring the marketplace and taking action when companies sell products that present a threat to public health.”
FTC also published a blog post with guidance for businesses as well as a consumer-oriented page that offers tips on how to identify potentially intoxicating products that resemble snacks that may appeal to children.
In the background of this latest advisory, there’s a contentious debate playing out in Congress about proposals to ban consumable hemp-based cannabinoid products.
As part of recently House-approved appropriations legislation and the latest iteration of the Farm Bill, those products would be effectively banned—a controversy that has pitted hemp businesses against certain marijuana companies that are backing the proposal.
A report attached to a spending bill also discusses the committee’s worries about unregulated cannabis products, including those for which a business is making unsanctioned claims about therapeutic potential. It wants FDA to “continue and increase” efforts to take enforcement actions against bad actors in the hemp space.
“It is also imperative that FDA continue to exercise its existing authorities to preserve incentives to invest in robust clinical study of cannabis so its therapeutic value can be better understood,” it said.
The letters from FTC demand that the companies—Hippy Mood, Life Leaf Medical CBD Center, Shamrockshrooms.com, Mary Janes Bakery Co. LLC, Miami Rave LLC and Earthly Hemps—immediately stop marketing the intoxicating cannabinoid products that “imitate conventional foods using advertising or packaging that is likely to appeal to young children.”
They’re requesting that the companies get in touch with the agency within 15 days to “detail the specific actions it has taken to address the Commission’s concerns.”
FDA issued an earlier set of warnings in 2022 to different companies over the allegedly illegal sale of products containing delta-8 THC, publicizing information about what it described as unsanctioned medical claims about the items.
Meanwhile, at a House committee hearing in April, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf responded to criticism about FDA’s failure to regulate CBD, arguing that, under the current system, the agency will require additional congressional action to get the job done.
Lawmakers and stakeholders have also been eyeing a number of other proposals that could be incorporated into the next Farm Bill—and which could come up as proposed amendments as the proposal moves through the legislative process—including measures to free up hemp businesses to legally market products like CBD as dietary supplements or in the food supply.
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Overall, the hemp market started to rebound in 2023 after suffering significant losses the prior year, the latest annual industry report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that was released in April found.
The data is the result of a survey that USDA mailed to thousands of hemp farmers across the U.S. in January. The first version of the department’s hemp report was released in early 2022, setting a “benchmark” to compare to as the industry matures.
Bipartisan lawmakers and industry stakeholders have sharply criticized FDA for declining to enact regulations for hemp-derived CBD, which they say is largely responsible for the economic stagnation.
USDA is also reportedly revoking hemp licenses for farmers who are simultaneously growing marijuana under state-approved programs, underscoring yet another policy conflict stemming from the ongoing federal prohibition of some forms of the cannabis plant.
For the time being, the hemp industry continues to face unique regulatory hurdles that stakeholders blame for the crop’s value plummeting in the short years since its legalization. Despite the economic conditions, however, a recent report found that the hemp market in 2022 was larger than all state marijuana markets, and it roughly equaled sales for craft beer nationally.
Meanwhile, internally at USDA, food safety workers are being encouraged to exercise caution and avoid cannabis products, including federally legal CBD, as the agency observes an “uptick” in positive THC tests amid “confusion” as more states enact legalization.
Photo courtesy of Pexels/Kindel Media.
