Cannabis foods have indeed landed on the chopping block in New York City. The Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday that restaurants, bars, and other venues under its purview cannot sell cannabidiol (or CBD)-laced edibles — noting in a statement that it’s not “safe as a food additive” according to federal guidance.

Inspectors started to embargo products in January, which means that though restaurants were asked to stop offering them, DOH staff did not take the goods away. So far, officials have asked five restaurants to end CBD food and drink and sales.

CBD is a legal, non-psychoactive chemical compound derived from the hemp plant. It’s a relative of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the illegal weed compound that gets people high. As cultural acceptance and legalization of marijuana has become more widespread, CBD-infused food products have grown in popularity due to its purported (albeit sometimes questionable) therapeutic effects.

But although CBD can now legally be sold on its own, DOH is not allowing sales of any food or drink with added CBD, following rules from the Food and Drug Administration.

“Restaurants in New York City are not permitted to add anything to food or drink that is not approved as safe to eat,” a statement from a New York DOH spokesperson says. “The Health Department takes seriously its responsibility to protect New Yorkers’ health. Until cannabidiol (CBD) is deemed safe as a food additive, the Department is ordering restaurants not to offer products containing CBD.”

This will impact an increasingly robust market in New York, one that’s following a national swell of CBD food and drink sales. Bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries have all jumped into the game. A few businesses have even opened with a primary selling point of offering CBD edibles, including Flower Power Coffee in Ridgewood and Adriaen Block in Astoria. Places from vegan phenom By Chloe to Greenpoint-based ice cream company Van Leeuwen have dabbled in CBD edibles, too.

The embargo is similar to one last year on activated charcoal, another legal product that the DOH deemed not safe to put into foods.

The health department says it will now be “alerting” restaurants about the embargo on CBD products.

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