Hong Kong Intends To Prohibit All CBD Products By 2022's End.

Hong Kong, China Bans CBD Products

Recently, the Hong Kong, China government is pushing for "legislation" to ban the use of industrial cannabidiol (CBD) in personal care and nutritional health products, including any topical or ingestible forms. The government of Hong Kong, China, has warned that CBD will become a dangerous product in Hong Kong if it is not banned.

On June 7, 2022, the Hong Kong SAR Government of China issued an external regulation ordinance to include CBD in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, which prohibits the manufacture, import, export, sale, possession, and transit of CBD or products containing CBD unless it is a prescription drug or licensed, etc., and plans to submit an amendment to the ordinance within this year.

Compliance of food and non-food products containing CBD in the Hong Kong, China market has been ambiguous over the past few years. In 2022, the Hong Kong, China government plans to remove this ambiguity through legislative amendments to control CBD under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

The next step for the regulations as currently enacted is to give the industry a "reasonable period of time (e.g., three months) to dispose of these CBD products before the amendments take effect this year.

In addition, the Hong Kong, and China government maintains a zero-tolerance policy for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and the government has committed to continue testing CBD products in the marketplace and confiscating products found to contain THC.

CBD Products Potentially Contain THC

In its proposal, the Government Laboratory of Hong Kong, China, noted that typical CBD isolates used in the production of CBD products contain 0.02-0.03 percent THC, while commercially available CBD isolates contain lower amounts of THC, 0.005-0.007 percent. Even though the product is labeled as THC-free, small amounts of THC can be found in CBD depending on the level of purification.

According to this proposal, CBD products will inevitably contain THC levels. The data show that in the first four months of 2022, CBD products submitted to the Government Laboratory of the Hong Kong Police Force, China, and the Customs and Excise Department contained 42.5% THC.

In addition, the Hong Kong, China, authorities noted that when CBD interacts with moisture and air, it can break down into THC even under normal storage conditions. according to the paper, the risk of conversion of CBD into THC is high, up to 82% through chemical processes or when CBD is added to e-cigarettes. Also, Dr. Albert KK Chung, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Hong Kong, China, said that high temperatures or direct sunlight can cause CBD to degrade into THC.

Since 2019, the government of Hong Kong, China, has conducted nearly 120 inspections in restaurants, stores, ports, warehouses and other places for products including food, health food, oral oil, electronic cigarette oil or additives, skin care products, personal care products (e.g. toothpaste, bath balls), massage products, pet food, etc. These products were then sent to government laboratories where over 3,800 of them were found to contain THC.

CBD safety continues to be questioned

Although CBD is hot in the European and American markets, it continues to be questioned because of safety concerns.

In June 2022, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a statement to the public that the assessment of CBD ingredients as new resource foods would remain suspended due to deficiencies in clinical safety data. According to the existing EU regulations, it is difficult for CBD-containing products to enter the EU market and cannot be legally sold without obtaining marketing approval for new resource food authorization.

In the U.S. market, the CBD industry has also been suppressed by the policies of some state governments, many companies are researching CBD alternative ingredients, and products with CBG, CBN, and other rare ingredients in industrial hemp as the core have begun to appear, these two ingredients are currently not regulated by U.S. law and can be used in dietary supplements, but their safety is still "doubtful ".

In the domestic market, on May 28, 2021, the State Drug Administration's announcement (No. 74 of 2021) on updating the list of banned ingredients for cosmetics officially included cannabidiol, hemp kernel fruit, hemp seed oil, and hemp leaf extract as banned ingredients for cosmetics, directly ending the development of CBD in the country.