The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) cannot guarantee the safety of cannabidiol CBD in Oil. This finding is based on a report by an expert group that identified gaps in safety knowledge.
CBD is derived from cannabis Sativa plants or chemically synthesized. Alongside tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, CBD is the most abundant cannabinoid in marijuana.
The European Commission has received more applications for CBD as a novel food, more than 150. For this reason, the committee asked EFSA for an opinion on the safety of human consumption of this compound. Suggested uses of CBD as a novel food ingredient include oils, sprays, vitamins, and minerals, and even claim to promote healthier skin.
Most of the human data on CBD comes from Epidiolex, a prescription drug used to treat seizures that contain high-purity CBD. Some side effects have been observed. This may be acceptable for a drug given its benefits, EFSA says, but the side effects are unacceptable in food.
There was insufficient data on its effects on the liver, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system, nervous system, and psychological well-being. Some participants in the CBD study received other medications besides CBD, which blurs the picture, the report notes.
Toxicological studies have been conducted in both animals and in vitro. But “a big problem with the interpretation of many of these studies is that they were performed with different extract preparations containing different concentrations of CBD and other cannabinoids,” wrote the EFSA advisory group.
EFSA concludes that these studies indicate significant side effects, in particular on fertility. “It is important to determine whether these effects are also seen in humans”.
Medical College of Wisconsin pharmacologist Cecilia Hillard welcomes the report. “CBD is metabolized in the liver by enzymes that are also responsible for breaking down other drugs,” she says, “so significant interactions between pharmaceutical compounds and CBD are likely.”
He is concerned about its effects on human brain development, where evidence is lacking. “We are seeing quite significant effects in the offspring of animals exposed to CBD during development,” she adds, citing the research in her lab.
Hillard wonders why anyone would want to put CBD in edibles when this has already happened in the United States. “I went to a restaurant for Mother’s Day and they offered me these CBD chocolate pieces,” says Hillard, describing the situation in America as the Wild West.
However, he is confident that the gaps in knowledge will be filled. “There are many ongoing clinical trials on CBD. In a few years we will know a lot more about this drug, ”she says.
EFSA concluded that the gaps in the area of données devront être comblées Dans le cadre du processus d’évaluation et d’autorisation de la sécurité, et que est aux demandeurs que souhaitent utiliser le CBD dans les aliments qu’il appartient to do and “We have identified several dangers associated with consuming CBD,” said jury président Dominique Turck in a statement, but “at this stage, we have not concluded that CBD as a food is unsafe.”
