The Latest Big Thing – CBD Oil

I began to wonder about CBD oil when I saw on the local television news a very non-critical report about a new store in town. It was like a press release from the store that the reporters used as an excuse to fill airtime with a very positive interview of the owner, but without questioning any of the exaggerated claims about the its curative powers. I knew that it had been until recently illegal, making good scientific research very difficult and sparce, and that researchers generally look at only one effect at a time when testing any treatment. How could this substance arise out of the blue with so many promises?

This webpage, for example, lists seven benefits including: relieving pain, reducing depression and anxiety, alleviating cancer related symptoms, reducing acne, having neuroprotective properties and benefiting heart health. Of course the last three are conditioned with “may," “might” and “could.” It warns: “Although CBD is generally considered safe, it can cause adverse reactions like diarrhea and fatigue in some people. It may also interfere with certain medications.”

Based on such reviews, it appears to fall into the familiar too-good-to-be-true category. So I was not surprised to find the headline: “FDA warns company marketing unapproved cannabidiol products with unsubstantiated claims to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, opioid withdrawal, pain and pet anxiety.” And if you are going to advertise in the realm of too good to be true anyway, why not throw in that it counteracts the growth of [and/or] spread of cancer, kills breast cancer cells, treats Parkinson’s disease, reduces the severity of opioid-related withdrawal, addresses symptoms of chronic pain, anxiety and ADHD, and helps with PTSD, schizophrenia, fibromyalgia and eating disorders. The FDA objects to all these claims (and more) as “unsupported and unapproved.”

 WebMD calls it “all the rage” but warns that “experts say the evidence is scant for most of these touted benefits." Like many other over-the-counter products and supplements, it is “being produced without any regulation, resulting in products that vary widely in quality.” Dosages vary from one product to another, possibly from one production run to another and from one brand to another. “Only one purported use for cannabidiol, to treat epilepsy, has significant scientific evidence supporting it.”

Last April the USA Today piled on, asking: “Is this hemp plant derivative snake oil or a legit remedy?” In addition to all the powers listed above, they add that it’s also hyped as a cure for inflammation, stress, unsatisfying sex and PMS.  But it's sold at local pharmacies (including the one that stopped selling cigarettes because they care so much about our health) in the form of creams, lotions, oils, tinctures, pills, powder or liquid. But this story also comments that the marketers' therapeutic claims are "rarely supported by medical evidence that CBD is significantly better than a placebo.”

Again from USA Today in a different story: “The head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said there’s no evidence that marijuana [or CBD] weans people from opioid addiction – and promoting such treatment might deny people a chance at recovery.”

The Mayo Clinic sums it up: “While CBD is being studied as a treatment for a wide range of conditions, …research supporting the drug's benefits is still limited." It can cause more serious side effects than those mentioned above and “can interact with other medications” such as blood thinners.

And remember that part about it being unregulated? “Another cause for concern is the unreliability of the purity and dosage of CBD in products. A recent study of 84 CBD products bought online showed that more than a quarter of the products contained less CBD than labeled. In addition, THC [the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana] was found in 18 products.” But don’t sweat those pesky details – it’s all-natural and I heard on Facebook…!