In late December, the Wall Street Journal published an article stating that FDA “plans to make recommendations for how to regulate the growing number of cannabis-derived products in the coming months.”

The article quoted FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock, who has been leading the agency’s review of cannabis regulation, as saying: “Given what we know about the safety of CBD so far, it raises concerns for FDA about whether these existing regulatory pathways for food and dietary supplements are appropriate for this substance.”

Meanwhile, according to an interview with the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said he intends to question FDA Commissioner Robert Califf regarding FDA’s inaction on issues within its jurisdiction, including hemp-derived CBD and medical devices.

Given that the U.S. House of Representatives is now controlled by Republicans, what can we expect from a divided government—aside from investigations and battles over the debt ceiling? Efforts to push mandatory product listing (MPL) legislation through the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill last year didn’t pan out. So what’s next? Could industry, and legislators, agree on other regulatory changes to supplement law, such as the drug preclusion issue that has put ingredients like CBD, NAC, and NMN on FDA’s chopping block?

In China, the government abruptly reversed its “zero-Covid” policy in December by withdrawing mitigation measures, basically overnight, which led to a wave of infections and deaths around the country, along with economic disruption. Some analysts have speculated this reversal could lead to more normalization for the country’s economy following the Lunar New Year, which began Jan. 22. Yet others are more cautious and uncertain given the potential health impacts on the country of 1.4 billion people.

For industry, supply chain issues have been a hallmark of the Covid years, and by now everyone should know to expect the unexpected.

Looking globally at the economic picture, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed for the World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists Outlook expect a global recession in 2023, while a third consider a global recession to be unlikely this year. All of the chief economists surveyed expect weak or very weak growth in 2023 in Europe, while 91% expect weak or very weak growth in the U.S. 

However, the U.S. market for wellness products and services—including health, fitness, nutrition, appearance, sleep, and mindfulness—is estimated at more than $450 billion, growing at more than 5% annually, according to a 2022 report from McKinsey. Particularly with Covid becoming an endemic disease, consumer focus on health and wellness appears to be a fixture in the current economy.