CBD edibles have become a popular supplement for relaxation — but that hasn’t stopped the EU’s top court from taking a high-strung approach to the bloc’s food rules. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled Thursday that CBD-based food products cannot be certified as organic. The hangup: they’re not technically legal on the EU market.
It’s a bummer for consumers looking to grab some gummies with CBD derived without pesticides — and for the Professional Hemp Trade Association, which launched the case in France. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive chemical component found in marijuana that’s gained a reputation as a way to take a chill pill without getting high. In some European countries, wellness shops are using a legal grey zone to sell CBD products that aren’t explicitly marketed for human consumption — often with a wink.
In France, some hemp sellers wanted to sell them with an organic label. But the the judges shut that down. The European Commission classifies natural CBD as a so-called novel food, and it has yet to receive authorization to be sold on the EU market.
The hemp sellers had challenged the refusal by France’s National Institute for Origin and Quality to grant organic certification to CBD edibles. The high court said that CBD can be certified as organic only after it is authorized for sale on the EU market. The certification is more than a decorative badge, the court reasoned, saying it “conveys a more general promise of quality and acceptance of a given product in the eyes of consumers, with this positive image being an intended commercial effect.” Putting it on a product that has not been approved for sale could be misleading.
The Court’s ruling is also consistent with earlier national-level measures. The organic label setback looks to be the least of hemp sellers’ problems in France: Paris ordered edible CBD products to be pulled from the shelves completely this past May.
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