Companies who market CBD-laden medicines were sent letters from the FDA warning them against making claims of health benefits, according to Cannabis Benchmarks Weekly Report.
CBD stands for cannabidiol, a chemical found in cannabis, especially when plants are bred for that purpose. Cannabis-derived CBD medicines are currently available to patients in 23 licensed medical marijuana states, the District of Columbia, and 15 additional states where CBD-based treatments are the only form of medical marijuana legally available to citizens. Where as hemp-derived CBD-based medicines are available to patients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The FDA warned American companies, that market and sell CBD, about the language used on their websites and that even marketing CBD products as dietary supplements is still against the law. CBD is classified by the FDA as an Investigational New Drug (IND) in 2013 and human trials of the drug were announced later that year. It is the position of the FDA that the IND status, and its references to the substantial clinical trials of CBD medicines through large pharmaceutical companies, means that no claims can be made about the effects of CBD until the trials deliver their results.
As per the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, the following are the summarized properties and effects of CBD:
Medical Properties of CBD
- Antiemetic – Reduces nausea and vomiting
- Anticonvulsant – Suppresses seizure activity
- Antipsychotic – Combats psychosis disorders
- Anti-inflammatory – Combats inflammatory disorders
- Antioxidant – Combats neurodegenerative disorders
- Anti-tumoral/Anti-cancer – Combats tumor and cancer cells
- Anxiolytic/Antidepressant – Combats anxiety and depression disorders.
The FDA pronounces that until the clinical trials are completed, these medical benefits cannot be claimed in product marketing by the target companies and they were given 15 days to correct their public statement regarding effectiveness of CBD-laden medicines and foods.