FDA Approved Cannabis Drug Products

To date, no cannabis infused animal or food products have been approved by the FDA, nor should anyone expect to see that happen until cannabis is legalized on a federal level. However, the agency has approved a handful of drug products containing cannabis for medical use. Cannabis advocates consider this to be great progress in terms of accomplishing the mainstream acceptance and legitimization of the weed.

These are what the drugs are:

Marinol – used to treat the common, well known side effect of nausea as brought on by chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients. This is also used to combat weight loss in AIDS patients as the medicine is taken to help spur the appetite. Available in a capsule form.

Syndros – also used to combat nausea and/or weight loss, available in a liquid version.

Cesamet – another drug to help fight severe nausea in chemotherapy patients, containing synthetic Delta 9 THC.

Epidiolex – designed to treat pediatric seizure disorders, Dravet syndrome, and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, this is a CBD based medicine. Since it is CBD as opposed to THC based, the medicine is not classified as a controlled substance, unlike the previous three drugs.

Additionally, since hemp became FDA approved with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp seed oil, protein powder, and hemp seed are generally recognized as safe for human consumption.

That said, cannabis, in general, is still in flux in terms of FDA approval. While the lack of federal legalization is a driving factor, another reason is that new cannabinoids are simply being discovered more quickly than the legislation can keep up.

There are now more than 100 known cannabinoids to date, when not too long ago, there only two or three. Federal regulatory agencies have a lot of work to do to catch up and stay current.

Sources: FDA, WebMD, Drugbank Online, FDA, Congress.gov, National Library of Medicine