Why does the World Health Organization (WHO) find no problems, but many potential medical uses in Cannabidiol (CBD oil), where the U.S. FDA chooses to keep CBD as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance along with heroin?
The WHO recognizes that CBD is essentially non-psychoactive, but the FDA seems fixated on the notion that anything remotely related to Cannabis (marijuana or hemp-derived) must be kept off the U.S. market -- even though the two products are as different in effect as night and day.
To many of us this signals that the FDA is primarily concerned -- not with our health and safety -- but with the protection of U.S. industries the profit from having market competition from these ancient medicinal substances.
This current de-facto function of the FDA with regard to natural medicinal herbs was never intended by Congress, but it seems the FDA has effectively been infiltrated by pharmaceutical industry supporters, causing the agency to lose its way.
Perhaps Congress Should Consider Redirecting the FDA?
Where the FDA's services could be useful would be in quality control and purity regulation, but they seem to prefer simply banning CBD, just as they're trying to do with non-psychoactive kratom. Less work involved for them and more protection for the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries, perhaps.
Quality and processing standards are important in keeping a safe and efficacious product available to the public -- as this report of the WHO findings tells us.
But, with the FDA choosing to ignore the benefits of this herbal product in its effort find reasons to ban it, the FDA is evading its statutory duty to assure the safety and quality of the CBD that is on the U.S. market.
As it is doing with the kratom market, the FDA is allowing a "Wild West" scenario to develop, in hopes they can use this as a reason to justify an eventual ban of these popular and useful substances.
Therefore, it is more important than ever that consumers of CBD find for themselves sources that consistently offer high-potency and pure products. Currently, there is wide variation in the concentration of CBD per dose, which makes it difficult for the purchaser to determine if they're getting a good value.
With the FDA shirking their responsibility, it is truly a "Buyer Beware" market. My advice, as always, is to seek out the best quality providers of CBD.