Congress adds 5 Marijuana, Hemp & CBD stipulations to the 2020 Federal Spending Bill.

The House and Senate have agreed to include a variety of marijuana, hemp and CBD stipulations in reports attached to appropriations legislation that President Trump signed into law this past Friday.

The bill earmarks $2 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop regulations for hemp-derived CBD. The $2 million is to be used for research, market monitoring, and the issuance of an enforcement discretion policy.

Congress also directed the FDA to “perform a sampling study of the current CBD marketplace to determine the extent to which products are mislabeled or adulterated” and report back to legislators within 180 days.

Another stipulation directs the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to “provide a brief report on the barriers to research that result from the classification of drugs and compounds as Schedule I substances” under federal law within 120 days.

There’s popular acceptance, including from the head of NIDA, that the Schedule I status of marijuana has hindered studies into the benefits of cannabis.

Another passage encourages the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to “consider additional investment in studying the medicinal effects and toxicology of cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG).”

GW Pharmaceuticals currently holds patents for both CBD and CBG patents.

The arbitrators also agreed that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality should issue at least $1 million in grants to research whether CBD and kratom can serve as alternatives to opioids.

Source article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/congress-attaches-marijuana-hemp-and-cbd-provisions-to-federal-spending-bills/

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