Regulation of Cannabis as Medicinal: Playing the Game of ‘Licensed Credibility’ in a State and Federal Legislation Disconnect.

It appears that here in Australia the same State and Federal problems are emerging that are being experienced in the U.S now? 

In the U.S. the States were able to ‘go on their own’. Early inconsistencies between state and federal cannabis regulation prevented and/or discouraged the cannabis industry from complying with Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) requirements. Cannabis products are promoted as safe and attributed with providing effective therapeutic treatment for numerous medical conditions.

The FDCA is Cultivating Evidence-Based Pathways for Cannabis Product Development: Implications for Consumer Protection The Australia community also needs and this protection, if we are going to have any semblance of reasonable ‘safety’ in cannabis products offered as ‘medicinal’.

From the Abstract of the above research

Disparities between federal and state cannabis regulation, coupled with protracted federal enforcement, have facilitated the proliferation of a multi–billion dollar cannabis industry that generally evades compliance with federal consumer protection laws. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) established regulatory pathways for the lawful development of products such as food, drugs, and dietary supplements. The FDCA uses a science-based approach to protect consumers from harmful products, but early inconsistencies between state and federal cannabis regulation prevented and/or discouraged the cannabis industry from complying with FDCA requirements. Cannabis products are promoted as safe and attributed with providing effective therapeutic treatment for numerous medical conditions, yet the claims often lack the rigorous evidence-based support typically expected by regulators and the medical community. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its expectation that cannabidiol (CBD) products comply with the FDCA and follow a science-based approach to product development. The FDA is addressing violations involving unsubstantiated CBD health claims and is working to clarify the future regulatory pathway for CBD products. Meanwhile, the state-approved cannabis market continues to operate, selling numerous products that have circumvented the FDCA consumer protections. This article examines the need for strengthening consumer protections in the cannabis market. We use evidence-based medicine as a model to address the importance of science-based product development and to contextualize a science-based comparison of regulatory pathways for cannabis drugs, food, and dietary supplements.

For complete research https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ablj.12173

Also see Cannabis as ‘Medicine?’: Pot Propaganda, Emotive Anecdote, Marketing Manipulation, and the Side Stepping of Science

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