The FDA is warning CBD companies to stop claiming their products can treat COVID-19

Through Nina Zdinjak

The FDA has issued a letter warning seven CBD companies against falsely claiming that their products may help treat or prevent coronavirus infections.

It’s been over two years since COVID-19 turned the world upside down and we still don’t have a viable treatment for the often devastating viral disease. While there are vaccines and other treatments aimed at helping people avoid or mitigate the effects, there are still very few reliable treatment options.

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Still, that hasn’t stopped some CBD companies from selling their products to falsely market them as a cure, treatment, or prevention for COVID-19.

Therefore, the FDA accused seven CBD companies of “using research studies to misleadingly claim or imply that their CBD products” can alleviate or treat the coronavirus.

“The FDA has not approved or approved any CBD-containing drug for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19,” the agency previously noted.

Joint warning letters have been issued with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to these companies: Cureganics, Heaven’s Organics LLC, Functional Remedies LLC, Greenway Herbal Products LLC, CBD Social, UPSY LLC, and Nature’s Highway.

“We ask that you take immediate action to stop the sale of any unapproved and unauthorized products used to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19,” the FDA wrote.

What does the research say

The FDA’s warning letters come at a time when more and more studies are exploring how certain cannabis compounds may help fight infection.

One such study was published in January. According to the report “Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants” published in the Journal of Natural Products, it has been postulated that certain cannabinoid acids from hemp (Cannabis sativa) can prevent infections from the virus that causes COVID-19. 19 by obstructing entry into the cells.

Some CBD companies are clear

The study was led by Richard van Breemen, a researcher at the Global Hemp Innovation Center, the College of Pharmacy and the Linus Pauling Institute of the State of Oregon, who discovered that two cannabinoid acids in hemp — cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid (also known as CBDA ) have the ability to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein – the virus that causes COVID-19. By binding to the spike protein, these acids can stop the virus from entering cells and causing infection, the research concluded.

RELATED: Not So Fast With Cannabis-COVID Treatment: Researchers Clarify

A few months after the discovery, Dr. van Breeman started his own company, The van Breemen Company, which strives to bring herbal and natural wellness products to the consumer market. Shortly thereafter, the company launched its first hemp-based wellness product, the Original Wellness Formula. This is a proprietary blend straight from the research of Dr. van Breemen comes from.

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Contrary to the above FDA-warned companies, the van Breeman Company has made it clear that the product is not FDA-approved for the treatment of COVID-19, although van Breeman intends to have elements of this formula approved in the near future to submit.

Don’t make the request

At the end of the letter, the FTC issued a “cease and desist” order, emphasizing that “it is unlawful … to advertise that a product can prevent, treat, or cure human disease unless you have competent and reliable scientific evidence.”

RELATED: How is cannabis helping so many people recover from COVID-19?

The FDA has urged CBD companies to review their websites and product labels to ensure they are not falsely promoting them as “safe and effective for use in connection with COVID-19.”

“Failure to adequately correct violations may result in legal action, including but not limited to seizure and injunction,” the FDA concluded.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.