The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has opened a public comment period and is requesting individuals submit statements concerning the “abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking, and impact of scheduling changes on availability for medical use” of cannabis and fifteen other substances now under international review.
Comments received by the FDA will be considered in the preparation of the US’s response to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) request for information regarding the “abuse liability and diversion of the drugs,” according to Leslie Kux, FDA’s associate commissioner for policy.
WHO is requesting the information ahead of a meeting scheduled for November in Geneva where their Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) will convene to review the international classification of cannabis and other substances.
Earlier this year, ECDD determined that cannabidiol (CBD), should not be scheduled under international drug control conventions.
The ECDD also agreed to review cannabis and all of its resins and extracts, as well as THC itself.
That new review is what triggered the FDA’s most recent request for public comment on Oct. 10, 2018.
In late September, the FDA made public a letter it had sent to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) earlier this year suggesting that CBD does not meet the criteria for federal control as a Scheduled 1 drug and should be removed from that classification.
Meanwhile, speak your mind…they’re asking.
Here’s how:
Electronic entries for the current comment period must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 31, and paper submissions must be postmarked on or before the same date. All comments received after the cutoff day will not be considered.
Paper Submissions:
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
