White House.

Federal officials are moving forward with a series of White House meetings this week that could help shape how cannabidiol (CBD) products are treated under a forthcoming enforcement policy from the Food and Drug Administration.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, part of the White House Office of Management and Budget, has placed four stakeholder meetings on its calendar for April 1 and April 2. The sessions are tied to an unpublished FDA guidance document called “Cannabidiol (CBD) Products Compliance and Enforcement Policy,” which is currently under review.

The process allows outside stakeholders to meet with OIRA while a policy is being considered, giving industry representatives, researchers and others a chance to weigh in before guidance is finalized.

Among those scheduled to participate are David Heldreth of Panacea Plant Sciences, Trent Woloveck of Jushi Holdings, Mackie Barch of Story Cannabis and Iowa hemp farmer Earl Ramey. The meetings are spread across Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the total number of scheduled discussions to four.

Heldreth has indicated he wants federal regulators to consider a broader framework for CBD products rather than focusing narrowly on isolated cannabidiol. That issue has become increasingly important for businesses that sell full-spectrum or otherwise more complex hemp formulations.

There has also been speculation about whether the guidance now under review is connected in some way to President Trump’s December executive order which directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (a final ruling has yet to be published, but is expected any day now). That order also directed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish a CBD program.

The move comes as the hemp industry prepares for a nationwide ban on hemp-derived products which is set to take effect in November.