This Week in CBD: July 12, 2019

A study of CBD and liver toxicity from researchers at the University of Arkansas recently sparked a flurry of sensational headlines about CBD’s potential to cause liver damage.

This week, Adrian Devitt-Lee, Project CBD’s chief science writer, published an in-depth look at the study and the media coverage surrounding it.

The takeaway? The study had a few problems. Here’s a highlight:

On the first page, the abstract makes a claim that is fundamentally impossible, stating that, with chronic administration of CBD, “75% of mice gavaged with 615 mg/kg developed a moribund condition.” But there were only 6 animals that received this dose! One doesn’t need an advanced degree in science or math to recognize that something is amiss. Seventy-five percent of six equals 4.5.

According to the Little Rock researchers, four-and-a-half mice died because of the dangerous drug known as CBD, while somehow one-and-half mice survived.

This does not mean that concerns about CBD’s effect on the liver are wholly unfounded. CBD can interact with other drugs. In some clinical studies, doctors recorded elevated liver enzymes that could potentially damage the liver over time.

But, as Project CBD notes, these risks can be managed when doctors monitor their patients’ liver enzymes, stopping or reducing the dose of CBD if needed. And there have not been any reports of lasting liver damage in humans after the patient stopped taking CBD.

Would you be stoked to be able to pick up some CBD cream when you buy your next pair of jeans? Don’t worry, you might not have to wait too long for the opportunity.

American Eagle is the newest major retailer to add CBD to its offerings. Products will include CBD-infused lotions, muscle balms and aromatherapy products supplied by Green Growth Brands.

The retailer says that it will begin offering CBD products in October. They’ll appear at nearly 500 stores, and the CBD products will also be available online.

Do you know what’s in your CBD? Investigators from Fox12 News in Portland, Oregon wanted to find out, so they tested eleven different CBD products purchased at local stores.

The lab results showed that three products contained substantially less CBD than the amount that was indicated on the label. Still more products had confusing information on the labels.

The report did not, however, reveal which brands they tested.

Are American farmers poised to start growing too much hemp? That’s the fear that USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue expressed in a recent interview.

According to Perdue, overproduction could drive down prices on what farmers hope will be “a real salvation-type crop.”

With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the USDA is now responsible for regulating hemp as an agricultural product. Farmers are eagerly waiting for the agency to create regulations for the re-emerging crop.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office wants consumers to know that CBD is not yet legal for most people in the state.

Although the Iowa Hemp Act legalized the production of hemp containing less than 0.3% THC, the USDA must approve the state’s plan before it can go into effect. And until that happens, CBD oil is still a controlled substance under Iowa state law.

Furthermore, CBD products that are made to be ingested, like food and tinctures, will still be banned unless the FDA approves CBD for consumption.

CVS and Walgreens will dominate the CBD industry in 2019 and beyond, according to a new report from the Brightfield Group.

According to the market and consumer intelligence firm, mass retail chains will generate 57% of this year’s CBD sales, despite only entering the market in 2019.

The report also notes that topicals and beauty products are chipping away at the lead that tinctures have held on the market. Due to current regulations, the larger retailers have decided that these product categories are less risky than those that are intended for ingestion.

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing to discuss federal cannabis laws.

The hearing, entitled “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform,” focused on the disparate impact that federal cannabis prohibition has had on communities of color. It included discussion of the STATES Act, which would recognize state-level cannabis laws, and on removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act entirely.

Notably, the committee members seemed to agree on the subject of decriminalizing cannabis.

According to Congressman Tom McClintock, a Republican from California, “Marijuana decriminalization may be one of the very few issues upon which bipartisan agreement can still be reached in this session.”

You can watch a video of the hearing below.