sheri orlowitz founder and managing director of the council for federal cannabis regulation cfcr a nonprofit based in washington dc told cannabis insider’s elliot lane that she predicts by the end of the year cbd will moved from its onerous schedule i status and orlowitz is speaking with some authority as herself by the way and not for the cfrc as it turns out she just happened to have met with the food and drug administration fda before coming on to tuesday’s cannabis insider about which lane was clearly delighted tell us more orlowitz reported that the fda is very much engaged in the movement the cannabis industry is currently undergoing “i predict that cbd will be legitimized this year” orlowitz said what does this mean orlowitz said she doesn’t see the fda continuing the distinction between more and less than 03 thc notwithstanding the agencys various rules regs and limits on allowable percentages “cbd is after all a molecule a simple molecule and whether it is in a high thc or low thc product it doesn’t matter it’s the same molecule she said and what i mean by legitimizing is coming to the point of giving guidance as to how cbd can be in products as well as dose levels” lane asked whether the conversation with the fda involved discussion about rescheduling cannabis and the agency’s participation in that as well as its role in the cannabis industry going forward “the fda as always been the gatekeeper until the say cbd is safe it cannot be put into products while it is still federally illegal it cannot cross state lines nor be purchased on the internet” orlowitz said clearly aware that both of those situations already exist albeit in violation of federal law on a fairly regular basis the fda warns cbd companies against selling unauthorized cbd products this past september a group of bipartisan house members sent a letter to the fda commissioner to complain about the agencys “completely insufficient response” to a draft bill which called for hempderived cbd to be permitted and regulated as a food additive and to address product safety is the fda listening it seems so though now the agency has to make a move “i think it’s time for regulations to catch up with the marketplace” orlowitz said and then added with a note of optimism “i think the proliferation of cbd is going to be addressed by the fda” listen to the entire interview with sheri orlowitz on cannabis insider