FDA Asserts Authority to Remove Cannabis Products From the Market

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An official with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the agency has the power to remove cannabis-infused foods and beverages from the market.

FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods James Jones.

During a House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing , FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods James Jones was questioned about the agency’s ability to address intoxicating cannabis products, including hemp derivatives that are legal under federal law (due to the passage of the 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp).

Jones explained that marijuana falls largely under the jurisdiction of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), but under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act, the FDA can intervene when food or drink contains an unapproved “adulterant” like THC.

Congressmember Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) asked “When the FDA is inspecting convenience stores or working with states to do so, if an inspector sees food marketed that contains THC, what is the inspector instructed to do?”

Jones responded, “We can certainly remove those products from the market.”

Jones added that he expects “that they would ultimately issue a report that would then be followed by a compliance action”, prior to any removal.

“[There is] definitely is joint jurisdiction [between FDA and the DEA]”, says Jones, “so we would work with with our federal law enforcement colleagues”.

Jones later said “We do not have even remotely the same presence in communities as local law enforcement do. These products, these ingredients used in food, make the food adulterated. We have opportunity periodically to take them off the market, but again, we’re not going to have nearly the presence in communities that that the local law enforcement would have.”

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