| Posted 29 November 2022 By Filip Gedin: Postdoctoral Researcher, Pain research, Karolinska Institutet The Conversation Cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. While there are only a few countries where cannabis is legal for recreational use, many more countries have legalized the use of cannabis for medical reasons. Reducing pain is one of the most common reasons people report using medical cannabis. According to a US national survey, 17 percent of respondents who had reported using cannabis in the past year had been prescribed medical cannabis. When it comes to self-medication, the numbers are even higher – with estimates that between 17-30 percent of adults in North America, Europe and Australia reporting they use it to manage pain. Although cannabis (and cannabis-derived products, such as CBD) may be widely used for reducing pain, how effective it really is in doing this is still unclear. This … Read the rest Posted 19 October 2020 “CBD is this generation’s snake oil,” argues lead author Eric Leas, who studies public health at UC San Diego, “as millions believing to have discovered a new medical breakthrough are actually taking a product without evidence of a benefit.” Carly Cassella 19 October 2020 ScienceAlert Cannabis-derived compounds like cannabidiol, better known as CBD, are often marketed as over-the-counter cure-alls, said to fix pretty much anything that ails you, from acne and chronic pain, to depression and sleep disorders. Despite the lack of evidence to support any of these claims, new research suggests more and more people are buying into the supplement, even when other substantiated treatments exist. With few available surveys on CBD use among the American public, researchers turned to the internet for answers. Analysing hundreds of randomly selected testimonials from Reddit’s r/CBD forum between January 2014 and August 2019, the team found … Read the rest November 20, 2019 Rita Rubin, MA JAMA. 2019;322(22):2156-2158. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.17361 General internist Brent Bauer, MD, sees patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, one of the most esteemed medical centers in the world. And yet, some of his patients have sought relief from a variety of ills with ubiquitous, unregulated products they can pick up at 7/Eleven or order online (although not from Amazon, whose selling guidelines prohibit them). The products’ labels say they contain cannabidiol, or CBD, 1 of more than 100 identified compounds in the cannabis plant, commonly known as marijuana. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the other well-known cannabinoid in cannabis, CBD doesn’t make users high. Bauer’s patients take CBD products to reduce pain, sleep better, and ease anxiety. “Right now we have [CBD] popping up everywhere,” said Bauer, director of research for Mayo’s Integrative Medicine program. “I’ve heard it described as the Wild West meets Wall Street. … Read the rest Posted 07 November 2019 SAHPRA MEDIA RELEASE Warning: SAPS warns that dealing in cannabis is still illegal For immediate release Joint media statement issued by the South African Police Service and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) Pretoria: 4 November 2019 – The South African Police Service is issuing a stern warning that the establishment of illegal dispensaries/outlets, online sites and social media platforms which are marketing and selling cannabis and cannabis-related products to the public remains illegal, except where specifically allowed in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act. Some of these illegal businesses, purporting to be operating legally in terms of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act (No. 22 of 2007), are also being sold to members of the public as franchises authorised to deal in cannabis and cannabis-related products. In terms of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act, the definition of “traditional medicine” means an object … Read the rest Posted 07 November 2019 04 NOVEMBER 2019 – 12:23 TAMAR KAHN BusinessLive Almost all the businesses in SA cashing in on the growing demand for medical marijuana are breaking the law, despite their newfound confidence in the wake of the Constitutional Court ruling in 2018 which permits the personal use of cannabis in private, SA’s medicines regulator and the police warned on Monday. The size of the SA medical cannabis market is unknown. However, local businesses are aiming for a slice of the global cannabis market, worth about $150bn (R2.2-trillion), according to the Green Fund. The rapidly growing market could surge to $272bn by 2028, according to Barclays projections. Products containing cannabidiol (CBD) oil are particularly popular, which its advocates claim has an array of benefits, ranging from pain relief to staving off heart disease. CBD, which is not psychoactive, is one of the key components of cannabis, and is … Read the rest Posted 07 November 2019 Wendy Knowler Consumer journalist 05 November 2019 – 06:35 TimesLive Sell a cannabis product without a licence and you’ll be arrested, SAPS has warned. “We’ve already arrested quite a few people selling it illegitimately in various forms,” SAPS spokesperson Brig Vishnu Naidoo told TimesLIVE. “The Hawks have confirmed that they’ve made multiple arrests in connection with hydroponic (soilless) cannabis laboratories and our visible police have also arrested many for dealing in cannabis,” he said. Naidoo was unable to say exactly how many arrests had been made. A “stern warning” issued by SAPS and the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has pointed out that while the private use and cultivation of marijuana (cannabis) was decriminalised by SA’s highest court in September 2018, dealing in cannabis remains a serious criminal offence in terms of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. “It seems many people are under the … Read the rest Posted 07 November 2019 – 06:30 BY KGAUGELO MASWENENG TimesLive 05 November 2019 The South African Police Service (SAPS) and the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) have issued a warning against the illegal manufacture of cannabis products. Sahpra spokesperson Yuven Gounden said these illegal businesses, purporting to be operating legally, are being sold to members of the public as franchises authorised to deal in cannabis and cannabis-related products. “We have a situation where people are growing and producing cannabis products and pushing them into the public. We are warning against this as not only is it illegal, it’s not safe. “Some are even smoking it in public spaces [smoking shops]. We want to reiterate that this is not legal,” said Gounden. The two organisations said the sale of cannabis and related products – via retail outlets, online sites and social media platforms – remain illegal, except where specifically allowed … Read the rest Posted 26 October 2019 In September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned three unnamed companies marketing cannabidiol (CBD)-containing products that it is illegal to advertise that a product can prevent, treat, or cure human disease without competent and reliable scientific evidence to support such claims. CBD is a chemical compound derived from the cannabis plant.
Reference: FTC sends warning letters to companies advertising their CBD-infused products as treatments for serious diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. FTC press release, Sept 10, 2019 According to the FTC: - One company’s website claimed that CBD “works like magic” to relieve “even the most agonizing pain” better than prescription opioid painkillers. To bolster its claims that CBD has been “clinically proven” to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), fibromyalgia, cigarette addiction, and colitis, the company states it has participated in “thousands of hours of research” with Harvard researchers.
- Another company’s website
… Read the rest Posted 21 October 2019 What happens when you try all the CBD products you can find? Would the alleged magic of cannabidiol have an effect on me or is it all snake oils and placebos? Rebecca Flint Marx The Guardian Thu 17 Oct 2019 Shortly before I sat down to begin writing this, I squirted a 1 milliliter dropper of full-spectrum hemp extract, also known as CBD oil, under my tongue. It contained – according to the bottle – 6.25 mg of CBD per dosage, and tasted – also per the bottle’s label – of cold-pressed oranges. I wasn’t sure what to expect, if anything. But with the mania around CBD approaching fever pitch, I was curious to know if I, too, could in some way be touched by its allegedly remarkable powers of stress reduction, relaxation, and all-around wellbeing. We live in dire times. What’s the harm in trying … Read the rest Posted 10 April 2019 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have jointly sent warning letters to Nutra Pure LLC, PotNetwork Holdings, Inc., and Advanced Spine and Pain, LLC (d/b/a Relievus) because they believe the companies are illegally marketing products containing cannabidiol (CBD) to treat a variety of serious diseases and conditions. [FTC joins FDA in sending warning letters to companies advertising and selling products containing cannabidiol (CBD) claiming to treat Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other diseases. FTC Press Release. April 2, 2019] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/04/ftc-joins-fda-sending-warning-letters-companies-advertising CBD is a chemical compound found in marijuana and hemp that does not produce a high. In 2018, the FDA approved a cannabidiol preparation (brand name Epidiolex) to treat two rare, severe forms of epilepsy. But since 2015, the FDA has ordered many companies to stop making unapproved claims. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm484109.htm The market for unapproved CBD products is nevertheless burgeoning, as consumer … Read the rest | |