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 Online, almost 70 percent of products made from cannabidiol – a
marijuana plant extract also called CBD – had higher or lower
concentrations of this drug than the label described, researchers
report in JAMA. Too little or too much CBD can be unsafe or
ineffective.
For the study, researchers searched online for medical marijuana
products and bought 84 products marketed as containing CBD from 31
different companies.
Roughly one in five of the products also contained THC, the chemical
in cannabis that makes gives people a high. Medical CBD shouldn’t
contain THC, an ingredient that may be harmful to vulnerable
patients including children and infants who use medical marijuana,
said lead study author Marcel Bonn-Miller of the University of
Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
“CBD extracts are often used by people with seizures, anxiety, sleep
problems, and autism, as well as pain and inflammation,” Bonn-Miller
said by email.
Inaccurate labels on online CBD products “could lead to unwanted
side effects from ingredients like THC, or missed therapeutic
effects,” Bonn-Miller added.
Many products are expensive, and the study results suggest that some
parents might be giving sick kids addictive drugs without knowing
it, Bonn-Miller said.
The researchers tested each product to see how much CBD it contained
and what other ingredients it had.
Overall, 36 products, or 43 percent, had more CBD than was indicated
on the label and another 22 products, or 26 percent, promised more
CBD than was actually included.
Another 26 items, or 31 percent, were considered accurately labeled;
in these products, the CBD content was within 10 percent of the
amount advertised on the packaging.
Some forms of CBD had more accurate labels than others, the study
found.
Liquid versions used with vaping devices had inaccurate labels 88
percent of the time, while oils were mislabeled about 55 percent of
the time.
There was THC in 18 of the 84 samples tested, sometimes in
concentrations high enough to make patients intoxicated or impaired,
especially if used by children, the researchers note.
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The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how specific amounts of CBD or other ingredients might be helpful
or harmful to patients using medical marijuana.
Still, the results suggest that patients should proceed with caution
when shopping for medical marijuana products online, said Wayne Hall
of the National Addiction Center at Kings College London and the
Center for Youth Substance Abuse Research at the University of
Queensland.
“Because the industry is still illegal under U.S. federal law, there
has been very little oversight by the FDA and other bodies that are
meant to protect consumer health,” Hall, who wasn’t involved in the
study, said by email.
“The major problems that arise from not getting the dose on the pack
is that you either do not take enough to get any medical benefit or
you take more than you need and increase the risk of adverse side
effects and also pay more than you need to,” Hall said.
Among other problems, too much cannabinoid can alter how the liver
metabolizes medications, which might mean these medicinal marijuana
products interfere with the effectiveness of other drugs people
take, said Dr. Sachin Patel, a researcher at Vanderbilt University
Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, who wasn’t involved in the
study.
“Cannabidiol is being marketed for a variety of conditions from
epilepsy to cancer without a solid scientific support, and in most
cases without any support at all,” Patel said by email. “At this
point it is buyer beware.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2zDeMqO JAMA, online November 7, 2017.
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