Something that many CBD consumers don’t know about the hemp industry is that there are many rules about what a company can and cannot say about both CBD itself, and the individual products that they produce. Currently, CBD companies are forbidden from making any kind of health claim regarding their products, which is why you’ll notice that when you’re shopping for CBD, it’s very hard to find out whether or not a particular product can help you with a particular issue that you’re having.
That being said, it’s easy for you to assume that it’s because there’s not enough research to back up health claims about hemp’s unique compounds. However, a quick search online will show you that that’s not the case.
Perhaps the strangest thing of all, however, is the fact that the United States Government has a patent on CBD, and the literature within that patent is loaded with very precise and detailed health claims about what hemp is capable of.
How the CBD Industry is Currently Regulated in the United States
So, why is it that CBD companies can’t make health claims about their products? If you follow hemp-related news, you know that by now, there’s a massive number of clinical, peer-reviewed studies regarding hemp’s effects. You also know that hemp has been around for a long enough time for us to have a decent idea of whether or not it’s safe. And, you know that now, even medical professionals are beginning to suggest CBD to their patients based on the studies that we have access to.
Hemp became fully legalized in 2018, and so you would think that by now, companies would be legally allowed to make health claims. But that’s not the case, thanks to the FDA. It’s because of the FDA that these restrictions exist. Also, that’s due to the fact that the FDA has not yet approved CBD.
Now, the FDA does tend to take its time when approving a new product. But, they’ve had ample amounts of time, and have basically shown that they simply aren’t interested in making CBD approval a priority, which is odd considering the fact that CBD is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable industries of the decade.
Because of the FDA’s refusal to approve CBD, companies cannot legally state that CBD is capable of being used as a treatment for something specific, whether it be anxiety or headaches.
The Government’s Patent on CBD
Now, let us go back a couple of decades. As you may recall, CBD and hemp itself were illegal until very recently, due to the close association with marijuana. But, while hemp was illegal according to federal law, the same government that maintained its illegal status put a patent on CBD. Why? Because they found that CBD actually offers unique health benefits.
You can easily find the U.S. Government’s patent for CBD online. It was filed in 1999 and awarded in 2003. In the literature, you’ll find very specific health claims. One particular claim is that it offers neuroprotective properties, which can help with neurological conditions as well as cognitive decline. The patent also states that CBD can help with inflammatory, autoimmune, and age-related conditions.
It’s also worth noting that the same patent clearly notes that CBD is safe, which is yet another claim that companies are not legally allowed to make.
The literature is very straightforward and declarative. In other words, the patent can boldly make these claims, while companies that actually sell CBD cannot. If the United States Government was able to discover and confirm these health claims three decades ago, and if the government has been certain that CBD is beneficial for so long, why is that same government stopping companies from promoting these claims?
Now, first, let’s remember something about the FDA. Their main job is to keep the general public safe. Plus, there are definitely CBD companies out there that make health claims that are not verified by science-based research. The FDA is responsible for stopping these companies from putting people’s health at risk. In that sense, one could sort of understand why the FDA is going after companies that make lofty claims that cannot be backed up.
But, what about the claims that can be backed up by scientific research? Well, we don’t really have an answer. What we can tell you is that CBD is an industry that could potentially be threatening to other industries – mainly the pharmaceutical industry.
The man who helped pen the government’s CBD patent is the same man who played a large role in the development of Prozac, a pharmaceutical antidepressant drug. Prozac is an extremely profitable drug, and there’s good reason to believe that doctors are given financial incentives to prescribe it. The pharmaceutical industry in our country has a long history of encouraging the medical industry to push extremely profitable drugs, regardless of whether or not patients actually require them specifically. There’s also reason to believe that the FDA benefits from the profitability of these drugs, and you can find plenty of research on the topic if you wish to dive deeper. This produces a conflict of interest, where the government can directly benefit from pharmaceutical companies being as profitable as possible through the FDA, and through all of the lobbying that takes place in Washington.
Independent CBD companies do not make pharmaceutical companies any money. Further, they take away money from these companies, by offering a natural alternative that has the potential to be highly effective. Therefore, it’s not unreasonable by any means to suggest that the pharmaceutical company, quite plainly, wants to suppress the CBD industry. Thus, that could explain why the same government that was awarded a patent in 2003 is not allowing the industry to thrive in the way that it should.
Final Thoughts
In case you didn’t know about the struggles that CBD companies face when it comes to being able to make claims about their products, we don’t blame you. But, now that you do know, you can draw your own conclusions about why these rules exist, especially when the U.S. Government itself has been able to be awarded a patent making the same claims that we as hemp companies cannot. What we hope is that in the near future, things will change, which will allow us, the CBD industry, to better help customers satisfy their highly unique needs with hemp.