“If it seems too good to be true, it normally is.” This age-old saying can be applied to the ‘Greatest Party That Never Existed’ Fyre Festival, Nigerian price email scams and sadly now, the accessibility of CBD edibles.
In recent years, loosened regulations around CBD (cannabidiol—the therapeutic compound in cannabis) in the US has seen it pop up in everything from beauty and self-care products to supplements. Unsurprisingly, one of the most popular ways to ingest CBD oil is in the form of edibles. Because who doesn’t want to eat delicious foods and absorb those chilled vibes at the same time? In NYC, the buzzy (literally) ingredient can be found in lattes, cocktails and even baked goods!
But unfortunately, this won’t be the case for much longer The New York Times has announced that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is cracking down in CBD oil in food and drink products. Under the new regulations, NYC eateries will no longer be able to infuse their products with the ingredient.
The restriction seems to have less to do with CBD oil itself and more to do with putting unregulated ingredients in food and drink—we saw the same thing happen with charcoal last year. Indeed, the health officials state that the eateries are not “permitted to add anything to food or drink that is not approved as safe to eat.”
Damned health police, ruining all the fun! But of course, these kinds of restrictions are put in place to protect us. With CBD oil being new and unchartered territory, there’s still not a lot of regulation around safety, quality and authenticity. Without proper regulations, it can be hard to know if the CBD oil we are ingesting is the real deal. NYC isn’t the only city being affected by the CBD edible restrictions—it’s also off the table in Maine and Ohio (where marijuana has been legal since 2016).
Of course, the US is still leaps and bounds ahead of us in Australia, where CBD oil is still criminalised. Americans will still be able to get their CBD oil in various other forms, whether it’s vaping, tinctures or teas. Here’s hoping greater regulations and loosened restrictions around CBD across the board in the near future!
