FDA Sends Warning to CBD Companies

FDA Sends Warning to CBD Companies

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to multiple companies involved in the distribution of products containing cannabidiol (CBD).

fdaThe FDA sent warning letters today to four CBD-related companies claiming them to be making unsubstantiated claims “related to more than 25 different products spanning multiple product webpages, online stores and social media websites”. The companies are Natural Alchemist (California), Greenroads Health (Florida), That’s Natural! Marketing & Consulting (Colorado), and Stanley Brothers Social Enterprises LLC (also Colorado).

“As part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers from health fraud, the agency today issued warning letters to four companies illegally selling products online that claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer without evidence to support these outcomes”, states a Wednesday press release. “Selling these unapproved products with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims is not only a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but also can put patients at risk as these products have not been proven to be safe or effective. The deceptive marketing of unproven treatments may keep some patients from accessing appropriate, recognized therapies to treat serious and even fatal diseases.”

The release states that the FDA “has grown increasingly concerned at the proliferation of products claiming to treat or cure serious diseases like cancer. In this case, the illegally sold products allegedly contain cannabidiol (CBD), a component of the marijuana plant that is not FDA approved in any drug product for any indication.” The companies receiving warning letters “distributed the products with unsubstantiated claims regarding preventing, reversing or curing cancer; killing/inhibiting cancer cells or tumors; or other similar anti-cancer claims. Some of the products were also marketed as an alternative or additional treatment for Alzheimer’s and other serious diseases.”

“Substances that contain components of marijuana will be treated like any other products that make unproven claims to shrink cancer tumors”, said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb “We don’t let companies market products that deliberately prey on sick people with baseless claims that their substance can shrink or cure cancer and we’re not going to look the other way on enforcing these principles when it comes to marijuana-containing products.”

According to The Cannabist, the FDA issued similar warning letters to CBD product makers in 2015 and 2016.