The novelty of adding CBD, or cannabidiol, to foods has infiltrated the fast food world with the debut of a Carl’s Jr. burger topped with a CBD-infused sauce on Apr. 20—the international day for weed.

The 4/20 festivities are long over, but the stunt involving the US$4.20 burger—which took place at a single Carl’s Jr. location in Colorado where cannabis, including CBD, has been legal for recreational use since 2014—lives on.

In New York, where only medicinal cannabis is allowed, several cafés began serving CBD-infused lattes as early as March 2018, before the recently amended, so-called Farm Bill removed hemp-derived CBD from the Controlled Substances Act. Despite even this measure, the laws around adding CBD to foods in the U.S. remain sticky.

For fun-loving gourmands who get stressed out just choosing their next meal, the idea of having CBD added to a restaurant order may be exciting, but Canada could be very far from allowing any restaurant to dose its culinary offerings. Besides regulatory issues, there is the hurdle of effectively communicating the benefits of CBD as a functional food additive, like turmeric or adaptogens.

What’s the science say about CBD side effects?

In a 2017 review of clinical data and relevant animal studies involving CBD, most of which were focused on the treatment of epilepsy and psychotic disorders, the most commonly reported side effects of CBD ingestion were tiredness, diarrhea and changes in appetite or changes in weight. The review states that “in comparison with other drugs, used for the treatment of these medical conditions, CBD has a better side effect profile.”

The reviewers also found “chronic use and high doses of up to 1,500 mg per day have been repeatedly shown to be well-tolerated by humans.” The side effects observed at this level mainly occurred in vitro or animal studies.

There are currently no proposed limits to CBD added to foods in Canada, though there will likely be a 10 mg per package limit for THC-infused foods and beverages.

Clinical chronic use studies in humans are crucial to understanding both the relevance and risk of adding CBD to various foods. So far, those kinds of studies are scarce and the testing period for even “chronic” studies is about two weeks. Chronic CBD use studies done on human subjects over a longer period could, for instance, help with understanding whether CBD always delivers an anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) effect or whether that conclusion is merely a product of the animal models used in previous studies on depression and anxiety.

Strict rules stem restaurants from adding CBD to foods

When it comes to the specific regulations keeping restaurants from adding CBD to foods, Brenna Boonstra, director of quality and regulatory for Cannabis Compliance Inc., says there are several factors at play. “First, it’s worth noting that Health Canada does not differentiate between CBD and THC products in terms of permitted distribution channels: Both are considered cannabis products and are legal for sale only under the cannabis framework,” Boonstra tells The GrowthOp in an email.

“Cannabis products can only be sold directly from a cannabis licence holder to medical patients via the medical stream or in provincially licenced recreational cannabis stores. That said, edible cannabis products like CBD-dosed foods are not yet legal for sale in Canada, period, because Health Canada has not yet authorized the edible cannabis class,” she notes. “Edible cannabis products are expected to be made legal for sale in October 2019. When this occurs, however, there is still the limitation that cannabis products can only be sold direct-to-consumer for medical purposes or in provincially authorized stores. Most provincial governments have set regulations prohibiting cannabis consumption at the point of sale, so, even when legal, CBD-containing foods could not be consumed in the place they are legally sold, which practically limits cannabis restaurants and cafés,” she adds.

Further limiting the restaurant option, notes Boonstra, is the proposed requirement for edible cannabis products to be shelf-stable and not in need of refrigeration or freezing.

Obtaining CBD for restaurant use

The hemp-derived CBD oil used for the Carl’s Jr. burger was provided by Colorado company Bluebird Botanicals, but for a restaurant in Canada to use a similar product could be a difficult enough task that it deters even the most daring pioneers. It should also be noted that hemp oil sold in a grocery store is made from pressed hemp seeds and is not a significant source of cannabinoids.

“CBD is considered cannabis by Health Canada, and under the current cannabis framework, may only be imported for medical and scientific purposes with specific permits,” Boonstra notes. “Since cannabis restaurants would ostensibly be selling recreational (not medical) products, the CBD in these products would have to come from Canadian licensed processors,” she adds.

So where will the next CBD burger—or pizza, or salad—pop up?

Although an operator like Canada’s CBD Acres Manufacturer Inc. has plans for up to 4,500 acres of proprietary industrial hemp for “a range of unique, low-regulatory-barrier dietary and topical cannabinoid products for the global market,” it’s more likely to occur in a state like New York where Canopy Growth Corporation just announced its plans to create a hemp industrial park.