NYC is making CBD edibles illegal

NYC is making CBD edibles illegal

If you like cannabidiol cupcakes and live in New York City, it’s time to learn how to bake your own. The city’s health department confirmed in a statement that it had begun a crackdown on restaurants that use the compound—better known as CBD—as a food additive, embargoing products and warning of fines to come. In doing so, New York becomes the first major American city to begin enforcement on CBD’s questionably legal but enormously popular use in prepared food and drink. Until now, NYC consumers could find CBD in a wide range of products, including brownies, lattes, cocktails, and empanadas.

Even with the recent buzz about CBD, its medical applications, and how it can serve as an alternative medicine for a wide range of disease conditions across the world, there seems to be a grey zone in the area of their legality in New York City. Despite the City’s location amid a CBD boom, recent reports and happenings have shown that the use of CBD in New York may soon come to an end, all thanks to the strict laws banning the use of CBD edibles by the City’s department of health.

There are reports of the City’s Department of health forbidding people from selling CBD-infused drinks or food containing the substance. Data gathered from Eater has revealed that the City's Department of health is confiscating CBD infused pastries, foods and drinks and labelling them as embargoed. When asked the reason behind their actions, the Department of health made it known that it is part of the city’s effort to regulate the sales of CBD products.

Although the use of hemp-seeds and hemp-seeds derived products  have been declared legal by the FDA with GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) status, the Drug Enforcement Administration is of the view that CBD should be labelled illegal since it was derived from the cannabis plant even with the FDA’s approval of epidiolex (the first CBD based medication) for clinical purposes in the United States. Please note, the FDA is yet to release an official approval for the use of CBD-infused products in dietary supplements, or sold in any food crossing the state lines.

It is quite evident that the laws restricting the use of CBD in dietary supplements or food products are local to New York City since there are reports of CBD usage in places like California and Miami and Coca-Cola is considering to manufacture and sell a line of CBD-infused drinks.

With effect from July 1 2019, the City’s health department is set to place a complete ban on the use and marketing of CBD in food and dietary supplements. By effecting this law, CBD can only be sold as long as it is not in edible forms. This will be in agreement with the laws guiding the use of CBD products in Maine and Ohio.

While the City’s health department may be trying to curb the excesses in using CBD in a non-legalized manner, there is no evidence that consuming CBD-infused products can elicit any adverse negative effects. According to the findings of Esther Blessing, a professor and researcher at NYU who performs and reviews clinical trials on CBD’s effectiveness in the treatment of conditions like anxiety, Post-traumatic Stress and substance addiction, “there’s no evidence that doses below 300 mg of CBD have any effect in any psychiatric measure.” The standard dosage for most CBD-infused products is 20mg, which is way less than the lethal dose capable of causing adverse effects.

CONCLUSION

While the New York City health department may mean well for the teaming populace and avid CBD users, there is need to remember that the health benefits and side effects of CBD are still being studied and until proven otherwise, CBD is wonderful and does not produce any adverse effect when consumed in CND edibles.

Don’t forget to share this article with friends or contact us if you have any questions regarding the use and legality of CBD in New York.