EU states may ban CBD cosmetics
C
BD-Intel submitted a Freedom of
Information (FoI) request to
European Union authorities seeking
their current interpretation of the
rules governing the use of hemp oils
and CBD in cosmetic products such as
creams and balms.
The EU responded to our request by providing 19
emails from the European Commission’s Internal
Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG
GROW) department, which is responsible for EU
policy on the single market, industry, entrepre-
neurship and small businesses. These emails mostly
reflect internal communications between EU insti-
tutions and cosmetic industry operators, and to a
lesser extent communications with member states.
The documents CBD-Intel received mostly date
from the second quarter of 2018.
The exchange of emails was triggered by the fact
that “[European] Commission services modified the
information in the CosIng database as regards the
ingredients cannabis extract and oil” as they inter-
pret that there is “no indication that the status of
cannabis as a narcotic/drug would depend on the
tetrahydrocannabinol level. Therefore we removed
the sentence as reported before in CosIng database
‘with the exception in case of Cannabis sativa L.
varieties with a tetrahydrocannabinol content not
exceeding 0.2%’.”
In other words, since international conventions do
not take into account THC content of the cannabis
plant, it makes no sense to introduce an exception
for very low THC varieties for cosmetic regulation
purposes. If there is no longer any such exception in
place, it is possible any extract of cannabis —
regardless of THC content — may fall under the new
understanding European authorities have for
scheduled cannabis products.
Thus, since “[…] a restriction is reported for the
ingredients related to cannabis”, because those
extracts potentially fall under international conven-
tions as cannabis, and EU cosmetic regulations — in
principle — ban the option of using scheduled sub-
stances in cosmetics, extracts are potentially illegal
in cosmetics (as per official interpretation).
Specifically referring to cannabidiol (CBD), it is
stated: “Provided cannabidiol qualifies as an extract
of cannabis within the meaning of the Convention,
it should then be prohibited from use in cosmetics”.
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