• A group of researchers from a trio of universities have examined research relevant to CBD for pain relief and were left wanting.
• The researchers found that CBD products are ineffective in treating chronic pain and could potentially cause harm to users including increased liver toxicity.
• It was found that CBD concentrations in products can range from nothing at all to much more than advertised.

Expensive, ineffective, and potentially dangerous is how a group of researchers have labelled products containing CBD or hemp extract.

A team of researchers have compiled their findings about CBD products in an article published in the Journal of Pain and there is very little to be hopeful about. The team was comprised of researchers from the Universities of Bath and Oxford in the UK and the University of Alberta in Canada. Their report was compiled by examining research relevant to using CBD to treat pain in scientific journals up to late 2023.

As you may be aware CBD is Cannabidiol and is one of the main compounds found in cannabis plants. CBD is often touted as giving users the benefits of cannabis without the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive component of cannabis plants that gets users high. Purveyors of products containing CBD often tout the pain relief, calming or assistance with sleep the compound provides.

South Africa excluded CBD from illicit substance schedules in 2019. Regulations surround the substance including limitations of 600mg per sales pack and a maximum daily dose of 20mg.

However, even though it’s legal, it may be doing absolutely nothing for those suffering from chronic pain.

The researchers examined the results of 16 randomised controlled trials of CBD in various forms. Of those 16 trials, 15 found negative results in that there was no greater pain relief from the CBD or a placebo. Worse still a study in 2019 found that 7 percent of patients using CBD experienced liver toxicity. The researchers also found that veterans using cannabinoids for chronic pain would more often just switch to straight cannabis. The same study also found that CBD wasn’t risk-free for animals so keep that in mind before feeding your animals CBD-laced treats.

“There should be no excuses for misleading the public, and yet it is likely that the public is being misled and possibly placed in harm’s way,” the researchers wrote.

“Other than being told to desist using incorrect advertising, it is unclear whether there are any penalties. It is also unclear why there is tolerance for the marketing and use of a product without proven benefit but with risk of harm to a large population of people suffering from debilitating pain. This may be due to a misplaced perception of safety, a desire of governments to create markets in what is perceived as a new area for national gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the Western dominance of libertarian societies reluctant to legislate over individual behavior, or simply an expression of desperation in needing any response, even an ineffective one, to a public health disaster hiding in plain sight,” the researchers wrote.

One of the more concerning aspects of the research is that CBD products vary wildly in how much of the component they contain. Researchers noted that some products contained more than advertised while others contained no CBD at all. For an average consumer, there is no way of knowing if you are getting the right dosage of CBD or a 400mg edible containing pure THC until you take it and that’s just not good enough.

As mentioned, CBD can be purchased easily in South Africa but with this research in mind, we recommend exercising caution when using those products. At best you’ll get a product that you paid a lot for but does nothing and at worst you could – like the Veterans – develop a cannabis dependency.

[Image – Erin Stone from Pixabay]