A UK official has accepted recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) for controlling the level of delta-9-THC and other phytocannabinoids in CBD products.

Industry members have been calling on the UK government to develop a framework for regulating and selling CBD products since it had vowed to do so in 2021.

Kit Malthouse, former minister of state for crime and policing, acknowledged in January 2021 that a framework was needed and called on the ACMD for insight.

“There is currently not a legal framework in place specifically exempting CBD products from control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and with this in mind, the Government wishes to explore the possibility of creating a specific exemption in the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (‘the 2001 Regulations’) for CBD products which contain no more than a defined trace percentage of controlled cannabinoids,” Malthouse wrote. “Primarily THCV, Δ9-THC and CBN and the cannabinoid Δ9THCA-A. We are interested to hear if you believe other controlled cannabinoids require consideration too.”

The ACMD issued recommendations in December 2021, and Chris Philp, current minister of state for crime and policing, responded to them in a letter on Oct. 24. Specifically, Philp accepted recommendations that:

  • The total dose of delta-9-THC (including delta-9-THCA) and all other controlled phytocannabinoids in consumer CBD products should not exceed 50 micrograms per unit of consumption. A unit of consumption or ‘single serving’ being defined as the typical quantity of a CBD product consumed on one occasion.
  • Regulatory authorities ensure that any consumer CBD product permitted to market has the limits on the content of controlled phytocannabinoids that do not exceed 50 micrograms per unit of consumption.
  • A further inter laboratory comparison trial should be commissioned to support the capability of testing laboratories to detect controlled phytocannabinoids below the recommended maximum levels in a representative range of consumer CBD products.
  • Development of more accurate testing for controlled phytocannabinoids is supported to allow testing capabilities to develop and be fully regulated.

Philp noted the government intends to bring forward legislation around the phytocannabinoid limit, as well as work with law enforcement and other regulatory authorities on implementing the recommendations.

In August, the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI) launched the #SaveOurCBD campaign to encourage the UK government to develop a legal framework for CBD.

“It is imperative for the nascent UK consumer cannabinoid sector that a legal framework is put in place to provide comfort for companies operating in the space and reassurance for consumers and retailers,” ACI co-founder Steve Moore said. “That this will also help accelerate the regulatory process that businesses have invested in only adds to the importance of the explicit commitment to bring forward the necessary amendments to the Misuse of Drugs 2001 regulations. The ACI will comment further after meetings in the coming days with senior Home Office officials who have engaged with this issue honestly and openly in the past three months.”