FDA: CBD Products Mostly Illegal

Cannabis stocks were moving lower Monday morning after the Food and Drug Administration suggested hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, is mostly illegal.

What Happened

The farm bill signed by President Donald Trump last week designated hemp as an agricultural crop.

Yet CBD oil is a drug ingredient and cannot be included in products without FDA approval.

"Selling unapproved products with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims is not only a violation of the law, but also can put patients at risk, as these products have not been proven to be safe or effective," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement.

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Why It's Important

Parts of hemp are already safe as food ingredients in the FDA's view, including hemp seeds, hemp seed protein and hemp seed oil.The FDA said these are safe for use in food products under the condition they are not marketed as a treatment for diseases.

What's Next

Cannabis stocks were trading as follows at the time of publication Monday: 

• New Age Beverages Corp NBEV: down 4.78 percent. 
• Aphria Inc APHA: up 13.81 percent. 
• Tilray Inc TLRY: down 3.62 percent. 
• Cronos Group Inc CRON: up 1.47 percent. 
• Aurora Cannabis Inc ACB: up 2.4 percent. 
• Canopy Growth Corp CGC: up 2.78 percent. 
• Pyxus International Inc PYX: up 1 percent. 

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