CBD and THC also appear to have roles in the treatment of cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy.


Legalizing CBD


CBD has become widely available in the past couple of years in various forms and dosage strengths. Much of what is on the market is derived from Hemp Oil and can be purchased in capsules, liquids and topicals. Is CBD from all sources legal in all states? Only CBD from hemp oil with a negligible amount of less than 0.3% THC content can be sold country wide. CBD de- rived from cannabis can only be purchased legally in states which have recreational marijuana laws or if one has a prescription cannabis card in a state legal for medical cannabis like Connecticut.


The looming question is what will the


FDA do with the legality of CBD now that there is an approved CBD based prescrip- tion. An FDA Q&A website is reported to assert that CBD products are excluded from defi nition of a dietary supplement under Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA) as amended by the 1994 Dietary Supple- ment Health and Education Act. Will GW Pharma pressure the FDA to redefi ne CBD as a prescription only and remove it from over the counter? The recent signing of the Federal Farm Bill may mitigate this pos- sibility as Hemp has been reclassifi ed as a ‘Commodity” and farmers will not have the previous restrictions on cultivation and sale of this crop and its products.


Given the tremendous potential for its use, and the anecdotal results which I am hearing from and beginning to see in my patients, I truly hope that it will remain available over the counter with the following provisos. CBD, like the herb St. John’s Wort and grapefruit, has the potential for unin- tended prescription drug interactions through interference with the liver’s Cytochrome


P450 enzyme system. This liver detoxifi ca- tion system regulates the metabolism of many drugs including beta blockers and calcium channel blockers used in high blood pressure, Warfarin an anti-coagulent, antide- pressants like SSRI’s and anti-tissue transplant drugs like Cyclosporine, and many other drugs. While generally considered safe and non-toxic, CBD should be taken with other prescriptions only under the monitoring and advice of their prescriber.


The CBD product one chooses should


preferably be organically grown, hemp derived, containing all the “broad spec- trum” ingredients found in hemp including synergistic terpenes and biofl avonoids and have independent lab testing for environ- mental contaminants and accuracy of dose content. The topic of dosing is outside the scope of this article, but the general con-


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sensus is to start low and work up slowly until the desired results are obtained.


It remains to be seen what fate holds for CBD in today's shifting political and regulatory landscape. I am optimistic that CBD will remain available over the counter and that it’s true potential will be proven in a wide variety of clinical trials in the many diseases it appears to hold promise for.


Dr Robert Murphy is a na- turopathic physician and an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Bridge- port College of Naturopathic Medicine. He practices at The


Center for Natural Medicine, LLC, 640 main St., Watertown. 860-945-1004. Dr Murphy is accepting new patients and participates in most major health insurance plans. See ad on page 10.


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