SafetyCall recently attended the Canadian Health Food Association’s (CHFA) eastern regulatory conference on September 12-13th and exhibited at the trade show September 14-15th, 2019. This was the first conference and trade show SafetyCall has attended with CHFA. Plans are already in the works to attend the western show in February 2020.
Much of the talk at the conference mirrored the same issue currently facing US-based dietary supplement manufacturers of late: sale of CBD. Cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018, but only approved for sale within a narrow regulatory framework. Consumers wishing to purchase legal cannabis products through licensed stores, including non-psychoactive CBD, must either seek a doctor’s prescription or obtain a product approved for recreational purposes, only. These regulations, coupled with restrictions on the product’s labeled health claims and the stores in which they are sold, have resulted in limited access to legal product and a flourishing black market of products with questionable potency, quality, and safety. CHFA is working with manufacturers and stores across Canada to amend current regulations through their “CBD is Natural” campaign. CHFA’s aim is to ensure CBD products will be legalized for sale via the natural health product regulatory framework. SafetyCall is closely monitoring updates to these regulations and will be keeping stakeholders informed.
What’s happening in the US?
Senator Mitch McConnell recently added language to the proposed 2020 Appropriations Bill calling on the FDA to create regulatory framework for legal sale of CBD products. SafetyCall provides adverse event support and to several medical and recreational cannabis companies throughout the United States and is closely monitoring all updates to CBD legislation and regulations.
