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It was Hempy Pet CBD Soft Chews, Mile High Labs and Women Grow, among countless others, squaring off against the likes of the Marijuana Victims Alliance, concerned primary care doctors and a lawyer who admitted he couldn’t wait to sue — all jammed into an overflowing auditorium for hours Friday on the Food and Drug Administration campus. F.D.A. hearings are usually tedious affairs. But this one — called to begin the process of figuring out which products in the burgeoning cannabis industry can be legally sold in the United States — was the hottest ticket in the capital. (Kaplan, 5/31)

No decisions are expected immediately, but the hearing is seen as an important step toward clarifying regulations around the ingredient." There is mass confusion in the marketplace," said Peter Matz of the Food Marketing Institute, one of dozens of speakers who addressed the FDA panel. (5/31)

Even though FDA’s regulations make adding CBD to food and supplements illegal, the CBD industry has exploded in recent years with thousands of unproven products flooding the market. Companies have trumpeted the compound’s alleged health benefits — claiming it can reduce anxiety, pain and insomnia and treat conditions from Parkinson’s disease to cancer. But almost all such claims lack rigorous scientific proof, prompting concern among health officials and scientists about safety and deceptive marketing. (Wan, 5/31)

Confusion about the status of CBD dates back to December, when Congress’s farm bill threw a curve ball at regulators and state officials. It legalized hemp production nationwide, and with it the plant’s most profitable byproduct, the non-intoxicating drug cannibidiol, or CBD. The chemical also is found in marijuana, which is still banned under federal law, though plentiful in 33 states that have legalized it for either medical or recreational use. (Owermohle and Rayasam, 5/31)

There were mothers claiming marijuana drove their children to suicide, millennial entrepreneurs who struggled for a good answer when regulators asked what effect CBD has in cosmetics, and high-paid industry lawyers pitching well-vetted regulatory frameworks. More than 60 more people were still scheduled to speak. The wide range of participants, from former FDA officials to CBD retailers, didn’t seem to agree on much, except for one point: The status quo wasn’t working, and the FDA had to act fast. (Florko, 5/31)

Georgia sheriffs are concerned that hemp farming in Georgia, along with another bill that permits cultivation of medical marijuana, will lead to crime and drug abuse, Norris said.What constitutes CBD oil isn’t defined in Georgia law, and the state Department of Agriculture is responsible for creating rules and regulations for hemp production by mid-July, said Carla Rieffel Bozeman, a spokeswoman for the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. (Niesse and Oliviero, 5/31)

The FDA wrote to R3 Stem Cell following a report this month by ProPublica and The New Yorker that the company’s chief executive officer, Dr. David Greene, was touting products made from birth tissue as therapies for a wide range of ailments despite a lack of scientific evidence. Similarly, the FDA’s review found that the Scottsdale, Arizona, company, which markets stem cells through a network of more than 50 clinics nationwide, encourages patients to use the unproven treatment for dementia, Parkinson’s disease, lyme disease, kidney failure, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. (Chen, 5/31)