What does the European Commissions (EC)'s change in opinion on CBD as a narcotic mean?

The announcement is a full reversal from the EC on a position that many found surprising in the first place. It marks a stellar period for the regulation of CBD and other cannabinoids with major decisions in their favour at the Court of Justice of the European Union, United Nations and now the EC.

The resumption of novel food assessment brings a degree of clarity and stability for businesses operating in the EU. It is likely still to be some time before the first officially legal CBD food, drink or dietary supplement product is sold in an EU member state as validation and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessment will likely take some time. In the meantime, it means that products already on the market and operating in a grey area should at the very least not face any uptick in enforcement.

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What remains to be seen is if the EC now changes any guidance on the use of CBD in cosmetics. If harmonisation is the name of the game then surely the same rules should apply to CBD as an ingredient in topicals as well as ingestibles.

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This article was written by one of CannIntelligence’s international correspondents. We currently employ more than 40 reporters around the world to cover individual cannabis and cannabinoid markets. For a full list, please see our Who We Are page.