Last week North Carolina regulators followed suit with public health officials in several other states and began cracking down on CBD infused products.  Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is one of over a hundred cannabinoids, such as THC, found in the cannabis plant, but unlike THC it doesn’t have conscious-altering effects and can’t give you a “high.”  Many believe that CBD consumption has a variety of health benefits from pain and anxiety relief to treating epilepsy, which has gained CBD popularity as a food and drink additive.  While the 2018 Farm Bill made the sale and production of hemp-derived CBD oil legal, the FDA has stated that it is unlawful to add CBD to food or dietary supplements, regardless of whether they are hemp-derived.  Recently New York, Ohio, and Maine have banned the sale of CBD edibles.  Now the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) has started sending out warning letters to businesses selling CBD in food, drinks, or animal food and notifying them that doing so violates state and federal law.  It is the NCDA’s position that CBD oil can’t be added to human or animal food for sale and CBD products can’t make health claims, such as claiming to cure or prevent a disease. For now the NCDA will take an “educate before regulate” approach, informing businesses who sell these products about the NCDA’s stance on them before taking a more assertive approach in the future, if necessary, that could potentially result in seizures and embargoes, or fines and penalties.

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