Natural, legal and with no major side effects (so far), CBD is a marketer’s dream. Hemp-based health products are launching left, right and centre, cashing in while the research is in its first flush of hazy potential. As well as ingestible CBD (also sold as hemp or cannabis oils or capsules) the compound has become a buzzword among upmarket skincare brands such as CBD of London.
This piece highlights the push and pull between commercial opportunity, efficacy and longer term considerations around the exponential rise of cannabis related products.
New data – from the first such investigation across the NHS – reveals that in total, more than 5 million people are being signed off work every year in the UK with 31% being mental health related issues and a 14% rise in notes relating to anxiety and stress in one year.
“Cannabidiol is the hottest new medicine in mental health because the proper clinical trials do suggest it has clinical effects,” says Philip McGuire, professor of psychiatry and cognitive neuroscience at King’s College London. “It is the No 1 new treatment we’re interested in. But although there’s tons of stuff in the news about it, there’s still not that much evidence.” Longer term impact trials are being called for, in particular, whether longer term use has an impact on hormones.