Dollar General’s assortment will be limited to topical cosmetic products including creams, ointments, bath bombs, bath salts and face masks. ", CBD — short for cannabidiol, a key compound in cannabis plants — remains unregulated in the US, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration in November that "a number of questions remain regarding CBD's safety" after it cracked down on 15 companies that were illegally marketing CBD products. (Abbey Oldham | MLive.com) MLive Media GroupMLive Media Group. CBD is currently unregulated in the US, and the Food and Drug Administration recently warned that "a number of questions remain regarding CBD's safety." as well as other partner offers and accept our, Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru, to get more stories like this in your inbox. CBD is a naturally occurring substance derived from the hemp plant and, used by itself, does not cause a high. since. And can it cause you to fail a drug test? Dollar General’s CBD assortment is limited to topical cosmetic products including creams, ointments, bath bombs, bath salts and face masks. According to a Dollar General press release, the items will be "limited to topical cosmetic products" such as creams, ointments, and face masks, as opposed to ingestible oils and edible items. "It's hard to know when they're purchasing bulk materials if those bulk materials are safe.". Sign up for Insider Retail. To me, priority one is safety. ". I'm assuming everything's going to be fine. The move will further democratize CBD, which has already proliferated across the US, while helping Dollar General reach new demographics with the buzzy product. "The problem is that without some level of regulation, you're always going to have some players cut corners," Marler said. Dollar General will soon sell CBD products at select locations in Tennessee and Kentucky. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. In August, the companies were collectively fined $1.2 million by New York Attorney General Leticia James over their sales of expired products such as over-the-counter drugs. Complicating matters, Dollar General and competitors Dollar Tree and Family Dollar were recently embroiled in controversy after selling products deemed to be a threat to consumer safety. "We partner with our vendors to provide safe, reliable products manufactured in compliance with both the law and our own expectations," Ghassemi said in a statement to Business Insider. You may soon be able to purchase CBD products at select Dollar General stores, but some experts say that doesn't necessarily mean you should. “At Dollar General, the customer is at the center of all we do, and the addition of CBD items is an extension of our ongoing commitment to provide customers with a curated and affordable assortment of the products they seek,” said Jason Reiser, Dollar General’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. Dollar General will roll out CBD products in select stores. The Company does not have current plans to provide ingestible or edible CBD merchandise. It … By doing this, shoppers can also avoid false and misleading advertising in which companies claim products contain more cannabidiol than they actually do. Priority two is making sure I'm not wasting my money and that what I'm actually buying has CBD and it has the amount of CBD that the package claims. Subscriber You want consumer prices to go down, but at some point the safety measures that prices afford a business are compromised.". Dollar General (NYSE:DG) is jumping on the CBD bandwagon, announcing it intends to start selling products infused with cannabidiol in 1,100 stores across seven states by spring 2020. Dollar General is rolling out CBD products in select stores. "It really comes down to making sure that [manufacturers] are doing safety testing so that they're not accidentally introducing something that's harmful to people," Marelius said. "We took immediate action to address the situation, and we continue to work with our store teams to ensure that the Company's expectations regarding expired products are clearly communicated, understood and implemented.". These are just worst case scenarios.". Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/20). The company does not have current plans to provide ingestible or edible CBD merchandise, it said in a statement. "I don't think that there's going to be any safety concerns with people selling CBDs. Account active “As with many of the products we carry in our stores, our decision to offer CBD products is based on customer interests or demands.”. All of the products will cost between $7 and $20, a Dollar General spokesperson told Business Insider. For it's part, Dollar General claims that it partners with manufacturers that are working above board, according to Crystal Ghassemi, executive vice president and general counsel at Dollar General. collectively fined $1.2 million by New York Attorney General Leticia James over their sales of expired products, Inside the trendy retailer that wants to create a 'new type of department store' with brands that are hugely popular on Instagram. "I would go to a place where I know there has been testing done and I know what I'm buying. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. By 2020, availability of the products will expand to Dollar General stores in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont. "As with many of the products we carry in our stores, our decision to offer CBD products is based on customer interests or demands," Jason Reiser, Dollar General's executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, said in a press statement. Dollar General is rolling out CBD products in select stores. ", "I wouldn't go [to Dollar General] day one and buy CBD products," he said. Despite CBD's growing ubiquity, Dave Marelius — chief scientific officer at Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, which runs quality-control tests for cannabis companies — said consumers should be cautious when purchasing CBD items, a product category his team describes as "the wild wild west. As a result, some experts told Business Insider that consumers should be cautious when buying these items from mass retailers. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Marelius suggested that consumers interested in dabbling in CBD should visit either a licensed cannabis dispensary or else ensure a retailer transparently shares manufacturing information. Further, the FDA stated that due to a lack of scientific evidence, it "cannot conclude that CBD is generally recognized as safe.". The discount store chain announced earlier this month that it will introduce 20 CBD products at 1,100 locations in Tennessee and Kentucky, with plans to expand availability to seven additional states by spring 2020. "Our commitment to serve customers with quality products includes sourcing products from vendors that are expected to meet, or in some instances, exceed all applicable local, state and federal safety requirements relating to product ingredients and components, labeling and packaging.". While Marelius said the risk of experiencing negative symptoms from these products is fairly low, the worst case scenario could involve manufacturers using carcinogens or harmful cutting agents like vitamin E acetate, the chemical causing illness among Juul users. The items will be part of a collection of 20 topical cosmetic products priced at $20 and below. Dollar General was further cited for selling motor oil that was incompatible for most engines manufactuered after 1930. CBD oil: What is it? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Marler added that due to the lack of oversight of CBD, consumers should be mindful about usage, particularly when considering items at lower price points that may be less thoroughly tested.