“CBD is not only safe but also effective. We already have our products in more than 600 health food stores,” Stuart Tomc, vice president of human nutrition for CV Sciences. Tomc spoke with NutraIngredients-USA at the recent inaugural Healthy & Natural trade show on Chicago’s Navy Pier. The show, which was put on by William Reed, parent company of NutraIngredients-USA, brought together dietary supplement companies, natural food companies and personal care brands in the important Chicago area market.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-narcotic fraction of the Cannabis sativa plant. The ingredient’s regulatory status is clouded by several factors, chief among these being the fact that the plant at the federal level still is listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance—an illegal drug—by Drug Enforcement Agency. This is true despite what various states, such as Colorado, Oregon or Washington, might have to say on the subject. CV Sciences and other purveyors of CBD-based products are careful to note that they derive their ingredients from industrial hemp, which is a cultivar of the plant that contains less than 0.05% THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the narcotic fraction of the plant.
Another occluding factor is the opinion issued by the Food and Drug Administration that CBD is not a legal dietary ingredient, an opinion based on the prior filing of an Investigation New Drug application on the ingredient by English company GW Pharmaceuticals. There is also a question of whether CBD ought to have a New Dietary Ingredient notification on file even if the IND situation were not the case.
Nevertheless, CV Sciences (formerly known as Cannavest) has forged forward with the development of its PlusCBD Oil dietary supplement. Tomc said he's confident the regulatory issues will eventually be sorted out in favor of the ingredient's fully legal use in dietary supplements. Tomc said such supplements could target a number of health conditions as the compound has many potential modes of action, all dealing with the body’s endogenous endocannabinoid system.
“With CBD we are trying to gently and in a more nuanced way achieve healthy endocannabinoid tone,” Tomc said.