The fate of recent wellness rockstar, CBD—a cannabis derivative—remains unknown as the FDA debates regulation amidst growing public demand.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted its first-ever hearing on cannabis and its nonintoxicating ingredient CBD all day Friday with more than 100 speakers offering views, including researchers, health professionals, advocates, manufacturers and opponents,” according to an article on MarketWatch. The mixed results of the hearing led cannabis stocks to fall slightly on Monday, according to the article.

After hemp was legalized via the 2018 Farm Bill, a “crop of hemp-based products” began to be sold “online and in stores, including at mom-and-pop stores,” said the article. “But CBD, which is widely held to have wellness properties, particularly in treating pain, inflammation and anxiety, was not included in the lifting of the federal ban and was instead placed under the regulatory purview of the FDA. That’s because it’s the key ingredient in the only cannabis-based drug to win FDA approval, GW Pharmaceuctical’s PLC’s GWPH, +3.16%  Epidiolex, a treatment for severe forms of childhood epilepsy,” the article said.

The FDA identifies CBD as a drug, meaning that it “cannot be added to food or beverages or marketed as a dietary supplement in interstate commerce,” according to the article. Last Friday’s FDA hearing included discussions on “the messy state of the industry, with widespread use of CBD products with minimal standardization,” the article said. Despite this, “given the strong public interest in CBD as a wellness aid, [the FDA] will seek to help provide pathways to regulatory approval,” according to the article.

Read the full article here.