“ Marijuana-derived CBD is not legal at the federal level.
Recent federal legislation legalized hemp-derived CBD in the
United States. In the United States, although not approved at a federal level, it is possible to buy
over-the-counter products such as sweets containing CBD in several states.
In Australia, it became legal to purchase products containing low-dose (less than 150 milligrams a day) CBD
over the counter after the TGA down-scheduled the substance from a Schedule 4
(prescription medicine) to a Schedule 3 (pharmacist-only medicine).
In fact there is only one regulatory-grade CBD product
approved for use in Australia, Epidyolex, which is approved for treating forms of severe childhood epilepsy,
and only available on prescription. Getting a medicine to market in Australia, even a non-prescription one,
requires extensive research and investment.
It might be too much for small cannabis producers to take on, and a
turn-off for big pharmaceutical companies if that investment is at the expense of
upcoming blockbuster drugs. And the process might
not be worth it if research shows the benefit of cannabinoids is small compared with other therapies.
Derived from marijuana, CBD, or cannabidiol,
could help treat a range of medical conditions,
early research suggests - but its Schedule I status has made it hard to study, leaving
researchers and patients in the dark. ”