A new report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has outlined its recommendations to the UK Government on establishing guidelines for the CBD industry
The ACMD published its recommendations for the appropriate levels of THC in individual servings of CBD, on Friday 17 December.
It has suggested that the dose of each controlled phytocannabinoid ‘should not exceed 50 micrograms per unit of consumption’,
The current limit is set as 0.2 or 0.3 per cent per serving of CBD, although many have debated that this is too low, with some other European counties already introducing a 0.05 per cent limit, such as the Netherlands.
Now, in the new report, the ACMD has said that an increase to 0.05 per cent was ‘unlikely to produce any harmful effects.’
It went onto suggest there may be a need for additional testing around the area of vaping to determine if CBD could, at extreme heat, be converted into THC.
The report follows the establishment of a working group by the ACMD to examine the appropriate levels of THC in products as well as advise the government on establishing a legal framework for CBD products.
The group consulted CBD industry professionals, analytical laboratories, reviewed literature and issued a public call for evidence. They also sought information regarding testing from the Government Chemist’s Team and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
The result was a series of recommendations including the THC-level increase. The report also noted that setting a single concentration limit to all consumer CBD products would not be appropriate.
Dr Parveen Bhatarah, regulatory and compliance lead at ACI and CBC, met with the ACMD and consulted on the report.
Speaking with Cannabis Wealth, she said the ACMD has gone beyond what she was expecting.
“ACMD’s report released today is certainly a step in the right direction. I am so pleased that the ACMD team have accepted all our ACI recommendations, touching analytical, manufacturing, environmental and economic aspects of the CBD industry,” Dr Bhatarah commented.
Although she added that the ACMD has not clarified what the maximum dosage allowed should be.
“Speaking as a scientist, the limit of 50µg for Delta-9THC (combined with THA) in a single-serving of CBD consumer product needs little more clarity, as it could be open to misinterpretation without a maximum per day limit or similar,” she said.
“However, I do agree it has to be taken into account, with the maximum daily limit of no more than 70mg per day for CBD by FSA.”
Look out for further insight and reaction from the industry via Cannabis Wealth next week.
