The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced a crackdown, dubbed “CBDeceit,” on deceptive claims made by sellers of CBD products that those products are able to prevent or treat a multitude of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, and others.
 
FTC reports that each of the companies will be required to stop making unsupported health claims immediately, and that several of those companies were ordered to pay monetary judgments to the agency. The orders also bar the companies from making similar deceptive advertising claims in the future, and that claims about CBD or any other products without scientific substantiation will be subject to further penalties.
 
“The six settlements announced today send a clear message to the burgeoning CBD industry: don’t make spurious health claims that are unsupported by medical science,” Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said. “Otherwise, don’t be surprised if you hear from the FTC.”
 
The companies named by FTC which were subject to complaints, a handful of which faced fines, were Bionatrol Health, Epichouse (makers of First Class Herbalist CBD), CBD Meds, Inc., HempmeCBD, Reef Industries, Inc., and Steve’s Distributing.  Most of the health claims cited by FTC included those suggesting that CBD is safe for all users, has the ability to treat pain better than prescription medications such as OxyContin, and could be used to prevent or treat a number of serious health conditions.
 
CRN Responds
“CRN commends the FTC for taking action to protect consumers by calling out marketers making illegal and unsubstantiated scientific claims on cannabidiol (CBD) products. We remind industry that CBD when marketed as a supplement may not claim to treat, cure, prevent, or mitigate any disease, and any claims must be substantiated with competent and reliable scientific evidence. CRN supports strong enforcement action from FDA and FTC against companies who market CBD products with illegal or unsubstantiated claims,” Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN, said.
 
Mister expanded upon CRN’s position, stating that a legal pathway to market for CBD products will make it more difficult for unscrupulous marketers to make illegal claims about CBD while competing with reputable companies.
 
“Many products come from responsible manufacturers that comply with federal regulations,” Mister said. “However, these responsible products must compete with unsafe and illegal products from less reputable companies, some of which are poorly manufactured, make illegal disease claims, or are improperly labeled or contain unsafe adulterants.”
 
“To help protect the safety of the public, CRN renews its repeated and persistent petition to FDA to exercise the statutory discretion provided to it in the Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act,” Mister continued. “As we have pointed out in testimony supporting legislation, meetings with the agency, position papers, remarks at open forums, and in our citizen’s petition, this would allow CBD to be marketed as a dietary supplement and impose the legal and regulatory requirements that currently exist for other dietary supplements to CBD products marketed as supplements. That action – and that action alone – will allow the FDA and FTC to truly protect the consumer in this rapidly growing market.”