JULY 27, 2021 – UNLOCKED
POLITICO Pro highlights CRN’s continued leadership on CBD
CRN’s longtime and sustained lobbying efforts to encourage Congress to pass legislation that would force FDA to act on CBD were featured in POLITICO Pro in an interview with CRN President & CEO Steve Mister.
“I think the agency is sort of locked in a sense of temerity and inertia,” CRN President & CEO Steve Mister told POLITICO Pro. “It's easier for them to keep kicking the can down the road than to make a decision that would require them to then be accountable.”
POLITICO Pro mentioned CRN's endorsement of HR 841, legislation to allow hemp-derived CBD—along with other hemp-derived cannabinoids—to be used in dietary supplements. Similar legislation introduced in the Senate would also create a pathway for CBD to legally be used in food and beverages. CRN supports the premise of that proposal but does have concerns that expanding the framework could complicate the issue for supplements.
CRN notes that a provision in a draft Senate proposal to provide a legal pathway for CBD that would require the HHS Secretary to set a recommended daily dose of CBD is problematic because there won’t be flexibility to change the recommendation as further evidence is amassed about the effects of CBD usage. “They would most likely do it by rulemaking, and it would take a bulldozer to ever change the regulation once it's in place,” Mister said of the provision.
CRN is also concerned that states are increasingly filling the federal regulatory void with rules of their own, POLITICO Pro noted, pointing to our recent position paper. “Even if we eventually get a federal law around this, by the time that happens you're going to have 50 different paradigms of how you're going to regulate it that are all inconsistent,” Mister said. CRN's message to state policymakers: "Write rules that mimic federal guidelines for dietary supplements."
Vitamin D & Me! spotlights breaking headlines, keeping consumers updated on COVID-19, vitamin D coverage
"Lower levels of vitamin D are linked with a higher rate of deaths related to COVID-19," notes an article from DocWire News. The article references a study conducted by the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Princess Royal Hospital that found higher COVID-19-related mortality rates among patients with either deficient or insufficient vitamin D levels.
Less than one third of study participants had recorded vitamin D levels upon hospital admission, the article points out. “Very few [patients] get tested during the acute admission or get started on supplements, [despite] a statistical difference highlighting adverse outcome for those with reduced vitamin D levels.”
The "D in the News" section of the Vitamin D & Me! site features easy-to-read summaries of breaking headlines on vitamin D and COVID-19. New stories are added regularly to keep consumers updated on the latest news coverage.
Visit the Vitamin D & Me! site to access leading research, video interviews with experts and clinicians, news, and educational content about vitamin D and COVID-19.