Dravet Syndrome

Navigating the Cannabidiol

(CBD) product landscape as a patient can be overwhelming. Fancy websites with glittery products hint

that by adding CBD to your health care regimen that YOU TOO could live the life of your dreams. All your pains will just go away and vitality

is yours for the taking. CBD is being marketed in everything from

hamburgers to pillows, and active wear to coffee. Everywhere, people are talking about the

wonders of CBD. When we listen carefully,

we hear consumers talking about www.foxnews.com/health/just-how-safe-are-cbd-products-experts-weigh-in and products that www.kmov.com/news/cbd-consumers-concerned-about-products-wit.... Patients

are also talking about www.projectcbd.org/medicine/cbd-drug-interactions/p450 they didn’t get warnings for and being misled

about potential negative consequences, like being dismissed from pain

management over a failed drug test. Patients

don’t have the luxury to think about supplements like CBD as nutrition. We have underlying issues and conditions that

these supplements can legitimately affect, especially when it comes to immune

system function. It is important that we

treat cannabidiol just like any other therapy and ask the same questions we would

for pharmaceuticals.

Cannabidiol

has been an amazing tool and according to a blog.arthritis.org/news/patients-tell-us-cbd-use
, many with arthritis and autoimmune arthritis diseases

are trying it out. A statement by www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/Cannabidi...
found that CBD had no potential for abuse, a good

safety profile, and most adverse effects were from pharmaceutical interactions

and underlying conditions.

Unfortunately, those of us with Chronic illness and fighting terminal

illnesses fall into those last categories.

We are almost always on pharmaceuticals and have underlying conditions

or symptoms we need to accommodate. It

is up to us, the patient and consumer, to question claims being made, ask for

science, and check for interactions. Always

double check the information being given with a trusted member of your medical

and/or legal team.

CBD works

because it interacts with receptor systems in our body’s cells. While this is important for a healthy person

to know, it becomes essential when someone is considering CBD to help with

chronic/terminal illnesses. A lot of

these interactions are desired, but people with chronic illnesses need to know

what to expect upfront. Knowing there is

a risk to mitigate, whether legal or medical, can make sure the patient has the

best chance for success. Here are some

common misleading marketing buzzwords that contribute to hype and general

misunderstanding. Marketing is designed

to make you feel safe about a product.

All products have hype, and the CBD industry is no different. Their products have some serious hype, and it

is our job to dig through it.

Here are the top 6 patient

picks as the “most confusing hype-lines”.

CBD,

even from hemp and isolates, are not “legal in all 50”. Internationally, the same ambiguous situation

exists. Always check your local,

state/province, and federal/country laws before choosing a product. You

may find there are THC limits, local areas may have banned hemp CBD, or some

other complication exists. Most

CBD sales sites claim hemp CBD products are www.buscherlaw.com/state-hemp-legality, and will cite either the 2014 Farm Bill or the

2018 Farm Bill. The 2018 Farm Bill did

deschedule cannabinoids found in hemp, but it placed them under the FD&C

Act, giving the FDA full regulatory authority.

The FDA classifies all cannabinoids as “www.fda.gov/media/112426/download
”, which makes them not so legal when introduced into

commerce. Just as before the Farm Bills,

hemp and hemp CBD is subject to state legality.

This has created a very ambiguous legal framework that no patient could

really understand to comply with. Add

this governmental nonsense to the constant hums of CBD marketers trying to

practice law and it becomes next to impossible to follow along. Websites and hemp traders will sing about the

federal deschedule but forget to mention that many areas still consider hemp

CBD and CBD isolate to be illegal. For

example, check out this statement from atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx,

“Current South Dakota law makes industrial hemp illegal and all

forms of CBD oil illegal. The only exception is the prescription drug

Epidiolex which was recognized by this year’s legislature as a controlled

substance under SB 22. Governor Kristi Noem signed that bill into

law on February 19, 2019, with an emergency clause, therefore having the law go

into effect immediately.

This action leaves any other use or possession

of CBD oil as a violation of state law.”

Always check with the local

authorities to see if CBD is legal in your area. Legalities are complex and “legal” doesn’t

always mean “legal”.

2. You will often hear phrases like “FDA

Compliant” or “FDA Approved”. The only

FDA approved CBD product is Epidiolex. If the product is marketed www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved, walk away.

Epidiolex is a prescription CBD tincture that is rarely prescribed for

Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and is the only FDA Approved CBD

product. Also know that hemp CBD

manufacturers are still www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-regulation-c... to come out with their regulations, and as

of this publication, they have not yet done so. (March 2020) “FDA Compliant”

can mean many things. Their farm may be

FDA compliant in some way, not necessarily relating to hemp. The packaging could be FDA compliant. This phrase does not imply the product is

approved by the FDA, or that the product is more trustworthy. Right now, any implied FDA stamp of approval

should raise eyebrows. Make sure the

company is clear about what they are being “compliant” about and whether it is

relevant to hemp.

3. In the United States, CBD (even isolate

use) is illegal in minors unless you participate in the state medical cannabis

program. Make sure you consult with a lawyer that specializes in

CPS cases before you make any decisions.

It seems so

contradictory that www.youtube.com/watch

use when you can purchase it in every corner store. Unfortunately, every state has a loophole

that allows them to investigate, and only a few states have taken steps to

protect families from CPS interference. If your state has a medical cannabis program, protect your

child and your family. We observed that

investigations involving parents who are actively on the state registry tend to

get their cases dropped. Unfortunately,

a lot of doctors and CBD companies are telling parents that they don’t need

medical cards to give their children hemp CBD or CBD isolate. Those parents are finding out the hard way. If a salesperson is forceful and insisting

that you don’t need a medical card, this is a red flag. For more information and

sources, check out this article themighty.com/2019/10/cbd-children-legal

4. Watch carefully if you start hearing

phrases like, “You have an endocannabinoid system, so you need CBD.” Yes, you have an endocannabinoid system, and

yes, it could plausibly be deficient.

However, the www.projectcbd.org/science/cannabis-and-immune-system, and not something you just want to throw

stuff at. Right now, everything is

theory and pre-clinical and only the most popular theory (endocannabinoid

deficiency) is getting press time. There

could be other issues like over stimulation, receptor issues, and more at

play. Not every issue is going to be an

endocannabinoid deficiency, or specifically related to what CBD has to

offer. Research is finding new

endocannabinoids, new receptors, and new functions all the time. Chronic illness is hard on our body, and we

don’t have the extra leeway if we make a mistake. Be on the lookout for those implying that CBD

is something your body needs. This is a commonly used phrase with no real

meaning. Your body also has an opiate

receptor system. That doesn’t mean you need

opiates or insinuate opiates are “good for you”.

5. Be wary when someone implies CBD is safe

because it is from a plant. Always

check with a pharmacist to see if there are any important interactions you need

to be watching for. Make sure

you critically think about any blanket statements being made. As children growing up in the hills, we were

always told not to eat random berries in the woods because they could kill people. There were mushrooms we couldn’t eat, and

plants we had to take great care not to touch.

Trying to make someone believe an active chemical compound is safe

simply because it’s a plant is nothing more than a comfort zone marketing

ploy. The truth lies more in the

middle. Cannabis does have interactions

within the body. If it didn’t interact

with the body, patients wouldn’t be fighting so hard for access. Cannabis works on multiple receptor systems, www.projectcbd.org/how-to/cbd-drug-interactions, and can even cause some adverse

reactions. That is okay. Often these interactions in the body are how

we get relief, start healing, and can then talk to our doctors about lessening

the pharmaceuticals. I’d rather someone

be honest than to find out when liver ALTS measure 588. We watch for interactions and side effects

with every other active therapy, whether supplements or pharmaceutical. CBD and cannabis are no different.

6. Is CBD from hemp or CBD from “marijuana”

better? Guess what marijuana with a THC content at 0.3% or lower is? Hemp. Cannabidiol

the molecule is the same whether it comes from something someone calls “hemp”

or something called “marijuana”. The

only difference is going to be THC levels.

Most CBD extracts come from low-THC cannabis, or hemp. Whether an extract is effective depends on

how your body reacts to it, and what other things are in the extract keepitlegalcolorado.org/targeting-therapy not whether it was sourced from hemp or

“marijuana”. If your body responds

better to higher THC levels, then CBD from “marijuana” (or CBD with higher

levels of THC) would be better. If you

respond to low-THC CBD extracts, then hemp could be the way to go. The plants are all cannabis. Patients really should know what cannabinoids

and terpenes are in their products anyway.