Natural CBD-extracted from industrial hemp, legitimately grown in the EU-could be classified as a narcotic, rather than a food ingredient, although it has no psychotropic effect. Delirium tremens.
It is the European Commission’s latest gobbledygook. Committed for years-as this writer (Dongo) has repeatedly denounced-in obstructing the agro-industrial supply chain of Hemp Sativa L.
Brussels tries hard to ban all use of hemp’s most valuable phytocompound, cannabidiol or CBD precisely. While authorizing synthetic replication of the same molecule. With the obvious goal of exclusively reserving its conspicuous economic benefits for Big Pharma.
Brussels, stench of burning
The European Commission has communicated its ‘preliminary decision’ to qualify CBD as a narcotic to some of the industry players who had applied for its use as a food ingredient under the Novel Food. (1) Four French organizations of natural CBD producers have therefore asked the transalpine government to intervene.(2)
Classifying cannabidiol as a ‘narcotic substance’-besides being false, as the scientific literature is uniform in proving otherwise-would have very serious repercussions for a sector emblematic of sustainability and circular economy:
– farmers would lose the primary source of income associated with Cannabis Sativa L. Challenging the promising activities of using hemp fibers in different materials (green building, textiles, paper, bioplastics),
– producers would thwart investments in innovative extraction facilities, which have also been built in Italy. Plants that today allow cannabidiol, like other cannabinoids, to be extracted without chemical solvents,
– consumers would be forced to give up a naturally derived wellness ally regularly used by several million citizens in Europe. Except having to buy its synthetic ‘equivalent’.
About ten thousand research papers on cannabidiol have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals over the years. And the health benefits associated with its consumption have been demonstrated (often through experimental clinical trials as well) on natural CBD, it should be noted, and not on the synthetic molecule. Indeed, it is not a given that synthetic replication will be as effective, nor in any case appreciated. Instead, the stench is strong, once again, in Brussels.
WHO in favor, UN on hold
Extracts derived from industrial hemp, currently sold in several states as dietary supplements, have no psychotropic effects and are well tolerated by humans. They are successfully used in the treatment of chronic pain, inflammation, and bacterial infections.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has favorably evaluated the beneficial effects of these phytocompounds. To the point of asking UN Secretary General António Guterres on 1/24/19 to remove cannabis and its resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), where they are formally equated with heroin and cocaine. (3)
The UNExpert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), however, has already repeatedly postponed a decision whose outcome should be a foregone conclusion. Fueling suspicion that special economic interests trump public health.
EU Court of Justice, no to ban on CBD sales
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Evgeni Tanchev, on 5/14/20, published an opinion in favor of the freedom to market CBD in the domestic market. Highlighting at the outset that cannabidiol is not psychoactive and any limits on its sale through national regulations cannot be justified with assumptions of public health protection. (4)
The case brought to the Court of Justice’s attention is that of two French entrepreneurs who had placed on the market cannabidiol (for e-cigarettes) produced in the Czech Republic. And they had been condemned by the Marseille court on the basis of national legislation that-in banning the import of CBD (as it is extracted from the whole plant)-offers no health justification.
British paradise, post Brexit
Britain is preparing to become the first European CBD market. The National FoodStandard Agency (FSA) has clarified that cannabidiol will not be classified as a narcotic, whatever the European Commission’s decision.
Applications for authorization as Novel Food will therefore be reviewed by the FSA starting in January 2021. Just a few more months and the freedom of action guaranteed by Brexit will make Britain a haven for natural CBD producers.(5)
Dario Dongo and Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) CBD should be authorized under reg. EU 2015/2283 (Novel Food), as an ingredient in food or food supplements. The latter in turn in fact fall under the macro-category of ‘foodstuffs’ (EC reg. 178/02, Article 2)
(2) The 4 organizations signing the document are Syndacat due chanvre, Synadiet, Iteipmai, Phytolia
(3) See the letter from the WHO in ANNEX.
(4) In the case at hand, CBD imported from the Czech Republic was extracted from the entirety of the hemp plant, including leaves and flowers, while French law restricts cultivation, import, export and use to fibers and seeds only. See the Conclusions of Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev delivered on 14.5.20 – Case C-663/18
(5) Oliver Morrison, UK cannabinoid industry spots opportunity as EC considers reclassifying CBD a narcotic. Food Navigator 5.7.20
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
