New_Scientist_-_17_08_2019

20 | New Scientist | 17 August 2019

An extensive range

of CBD-containing

products are on sale

“One salesperson told me

the products work because

CBD will ‘regulate the cells’

of my body”

“IT WILL cure, eliminate or

definitely help any disease,” an

assistant in a shop just around the

corner from New Scientist’s office

in London tells me. Although

these extraordinary claims aren’t

made on the product’s packaging,

the substance it contains is quickly

gaining a reputation among

consumers as a cure-all. Pain,

anxiety, depression, cancer,

psoriasis, Alzheimer’s, irritable

bowel syndrome – you name it,

someone somewhere is saying

this substance will help.

This apparently miraculous

compound is cannabidiol, better

known as CBD, a component

of cannabis. Growing health

claims coupled with a relaxing

of laws around the sale of

CBD-containing products has

seeded a surge in interest.

Despite the willingness of some

to tout CBD’s curative powers,

there is limited evidence to back

up these bold health promises.

“The range of claims is actually

quite startling, and I don’t know

whether to be worried or amused,”

says Harry Sumnall at Liverpool

John Moores University, UK.

Cannabis has long been

suspected of improving health by

those who use it. Since November

2018, UK doctors have been

allowed to prescribe it in special

cases (see “Medicinal cannabis”,

right). The change in legalisation

came after high-profile

campaigning, including from

parents whose children have a

severe form of epilepsy that seems

to respond to cannabis products. A

growing number of US states have

legalised the plant for medicinal

and recreational use too.

The chemical in cannabis

that gets people high is called

tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Products with more than 0.3 per

cent THC are illegal in the US and

products with any THC at all are

illegal in the UK. But CBD is

different – you do not even need

a prescription to legally buy

products containing it.

We don’t know all of CBD’s

effects, but some claim that it

can give the touted health benefits

of cannabis without the high. As

a result, CBD is rapidly becoming

big business. The US market

for CBD products in 2018 was

estimated at nearly $1.5 billion.

There are 1.3 million people using

CBD in the UK, where the market

is expected to be worth nearly

£1 billion by 2025.

The recent explosion of CBD

products in the US is partly due to

the passing of a piece of legislation

known as the Farm Bill in 2018.

This legalised the growing of

hemp and the selling of cannabis

products with very low THC levels.

Companies have heavily

marketed the supposed health

benefits of these products and

they have spread to the UK.

As a result, CBD can now be

found in everything from face

creams to shampoos and pet

foods, sold in dedicated shops

and health food stores across

the UK, US and elsewhere. It is

also a food trend, with bars and

restaurants selling CBD-infused

drinks, meals and desserts.

How much do we really know

about CBD? One salesperson told

me the products can work on so

many different disorders because

CBD will “regulate the cells” of

my body. The evidence to support

claims like this is lacking, to say

the least.

Most of the early research

into the effects of cannabis

and its components focused on

negative effects, says Ziva Cooper

at the UCLA Cannabis Research

Initiative in Los Angeles.

Lack of evidence

More recently, some studies

have hinted that CBD and other

chemicals derived from cannabis

might be useful for treating

chronic pain and other conditions.

For example, CBD seems to

improve some symptoms of

schizophrenia in people who are

already taking other medication,

and trials based on giving a single

dose of CBD suggest that it might

help with anxiety, says Cooper.

But there is very little of the

gold standard of evidence:

randomised clinical trials

comparing CBD to a placebo.

Only Epidiolex, a drug with CBD

as an active ingredient for children

with severe epilepsy, has been

approved for medical use in

the US. It is currently being

Cannabis plants contain

many different

chemicals, including CBD

Cannabis

HEROIMAGES/GETTY

News Insight

What’s the point of CBD?

Consumer products infused with a component of cannabis claim to have

many health benefits. Where’s the evidence, asks Jessica Hamzelou

REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR