Last Updated on 15th September 2020

A popular day-time radio show on BBC2 hosted by Jeremy Vine recently discussed the prevalence of and what is CBD oil and the unfathomable rise of the industry over the past few years which has seen CBD become a common talking point within households across the UK and Ireland.

However, several parts of the discussion raised questions over the level of knowledge demonstrated by people talking about the cannabis extract on the show, and showed the importance of how an increase in education into CBD, cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system would be beneficial to aid people’s understanding of the physiological effects that CBD exhibits.

Discussing the CBD industry

The first thing to note is that lots of valid points were raised about the CBD industry being a new and unregulated industry. They discussed how this has had a knock-on effect on product quality from people trying to jump on the CBD bandwagon and have essentially been selling products that contain less than the advertised amount of CBD within them.

Defining a standard by which availability of bulk CBD isolates are described is becoming increasingly important as the industry grows, which means that the top players within different parts of the industry should come together and decide production quality, what the labels should include and a display of information from test results that consumers can understand.

Jeremy spoke to Blair Gibbs from the Centre for Medical Cannabis who stated, “The irony is that CBD hasn’t been proven in enough clinical studies to be classed as a medicine, so none of these companies that sell CBD oil can legally claim to have any medical benefit for the people buy them. But, anecdotally it’s a different story. It wouldn’t have got the level of 1.3 million regular users if people weren’t buying it, spending £25 a month or more if they weren’t receiving some benefit themselves.”

However, in this discussion with Mr Gibbs, Jeremy went on to state several times that a 30mg bottle of CBD oil can set back a consumer £90. Another consumer of CBD who spoke on the show, Ben View from Cheltenham, who uses CBD for fibromyalgia and anxiety stated he purchases a 5mg bottle from Holland & Barrett for £29.95. However, using two reputable companies as reference; CBDVillage has a 500mg bottle for £23.99 and Holland & Barrett has a 500mg for £29.99.

Although it may only be semantics, when you get into a discussion surrounding the cost of CBD oil or anything for that matter, it is important that the accuracy of the discussion is correct to not misinform consumers. 500mg is a vast increase compared to 5mg for a similar price.

Discussing the uses of CBD

Several discussions throughout the broadcast asserted that CBD has been effective for multiple conditions, with Jeremy Vine stating, “The chemical compound at its heart is known to alleviate symptoms for those with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis but is also used by people to help with anxiety, sleep disturbances, arthritis or depression.”

“It’s become so popular as a supplement that the market for CBD oil is now larger than that for vitamin C supplements in the UK”.

And one caller, Katie Day from Hastings who runs a menopause workshop stated that multiple people within the group found that CBD helped with hot flushes, anxiety and depression, as well as helping increase confidence. However, she went on to state that CBD capsules can cause hallucinations.

Extensive clinical research into CBD has shown that no matter how it is consumed, it does not cause any psychotropic effects, or feelings of being “high”. So, in order to qualify her statement, it must be that the capsules she had consumed may have a certain amount of THC or other another compound that caused these side effects. Even products with residual amounts of THC shouldn’t cause “hallucinations”, so it would be interesting to hear what product she has consumed.

Discussing CBD as a snake oil

Even after the legalisation and use of CBD and medical cannabis as a medicinal drug in the UK, and Jeremy Vine stating that it is used for epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. One caller still stated, “People who are claiming it’s a miracle are most likely seeing a placebo effect, which means you might as well call it snake oil and until it has been shown to work in clinical conditions, people shouldn’t waste their money”.

Whilst I would agree that more clinical studies are required in order to fully quantify the effects of CBD, to state that CBD is a placebo after there is documented evidence of it reducing seizures in multiple patients with epilepsy, it makes the above statement appear like the ramblings of a cynic who has read too many internet blogs stating how more research is necessary.

Either the compound works or it doesn’t, and the science is needed to prove it. A compound doesn’t suddenly go from snake oil to medicine with the backing of science if it still worked for people all along. It just means that it is a medicine that has been granted the status of medicine after the research is conducted. So, if it works for you, you should still use it.

Overall thoughts on the discussion

To have CBD discussed in such a setting shows how far the industry has come, and all credit to Jeremy Vine for putting it on his show. CBD is something which needs to be documented in mainstream media so it may reach the varied audience who may require it.

It is through these discussions that people’s level of education will increase. However, it is important that all aspects of the discussion are accurate in order to provide the public with the correct facts so they can make their own choice.