Less than 30% of CBD products are accurately labeled. IAMA neuroscientist using third party, independent lab testing to find high-quality CBD products. Let’s chat about what CBD is good for, what it’s not good for, and everything in between. AMA.

What are some things CBD is actually good for? And what are things we think it might be good for but don't have enough data to prove it yet?

CBD might possibly be beneficial on many therapeutic fronts. Although the only FDA approved medication of pure CBD is Epidiolex that is prescribed for seizures (Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet Syndrome). Sativex is not available in the US but is a 1:1 THC:CBD available in other countries for spasticity and pain.

Here are a couple of reviews of what it might be good for:
* neuro/psychiactric: Psychiatric disorders like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and more. Potentially mechanism related to serotonin, PPAR gamma, and a broad variety of other targets.
* anxiety: Anxiety is one big area that CBD might have benefits. Whether it is generalized, social, OCD, PTSD, and more, the data looks promising, but not many clinical trials yet.
* pain 1. This is cannabis-based medicine, but they talk about CBD as well. The lab I worked in focused on pain research and I believe CBD can be beneficial for multiple types of pain.
* pain 2 : CBD may be good for pain and inflammation related to osteoarthritis.
* inflammation: CBD is good for inflammation through potentially a broad variety of actions.
* epilepsy: This one is the most apparent since we have the FDA approved medication Epidiolex.
* many more issues like nausea: CBD might also be useful for nausea, blood pressure, insulin metabolism, reducing tumor growth (*added note from a comment below -- a suggestion of reducing tumor growth does not mean a cure for cancer, although there is ongoing research with CBD and other cannabinoids in oncology), and other diseases and disorders. Although I want to stress more research needs to be done.

Edit: spelling

EDIT 2: I wanted to add potential benefits for those with substance use disorder (e.g. alcohol or opioids) and there are many current and past clinical trials - https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=&term=cannabidiol&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=

EDIT 3: Since this is the top comment I wanted to post an additional resource. Although not 100% CBD based, it is cannabis-focused and contains a lot of great information about CBD, including the opening talk "The Endocannabinoid System: The Biological Foundation of It All" and a wonderful Canadian neurologist whose talk is titled "Pediatric Epilepsy: Novel Cannabinoid-Based Treatment". https://be.arizona.edu/iics

As a treatment for anxiety, does it share the same problem as THC? Specifically where one time use is extremely effective as short term immediate relief, but regular use compounds the issue?

We do not think CBD and THC act on the body in similar ways. The general thought now for CBD is actually consistent everyday use would be the best for symptom relief.

Does it not have a similarly immediate, short term effect then? Is it more akin to something like an SSRI that requires a slow build up through regular use?

What I'd really like is something I can take reactively to counter panic attacks, rather than being constantly medicated. CBD wouldn't work in this way then?

It can definitely have short term acute effects, including for public speaking anxiety.

The interesting thing about SSRIs is that the serotonin concentration is actually pretty high even after the first use. We think the effect of serotonin starts to take effect because it is modulating how neural circuits are wired rather than just more serotonin = more happy

The quickest effects you will get in from inhalation. Usually, it will start to take effect within minutes. If you cannot inhale, then other routes are going to be slower. Oral might take 30min-1hour to start working depending on your biology and the last time you ate.

I have a CBD shop around the corner from me. Ironically the anxiety has stopped me ever actually going in. Knowing what to ask for so I could just go in and out would help. I googled Sativex after you mentioned it and it looks like it's a nasal spray. I assume something like that would have the most immediate effect?

Yes, a nose spray does have very immediate effects, but there are not any consumer products currently available in that form. Sativex is available by prescription only.

Is ocb -> ocd?

Yes. Thank you! Fixed.

The "reducing tumor growth" claim is so wildly irresponsible.

I do not think people should stop using traditional cancer treatment for CBD. But CBD is being looked at in conjunction with other cancer medications. And although some of the preclinical models are not great, I wanted to succinctly state the gist of the review.

Maybe I should have stated it differently, but I did try to stress that there is only one condition CBD is FDA approved for and that more research needs to be done in the other realms.

EDIT: forgot to link to a CBD and cancer study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25660577 - and again this is not to say that CBD is curing breast cancer, but suggesting research is being done. And many scientists think there is enough promise to spend millions of dollars studying this. That is not to say it means CBD is a cure because of this, but it also doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it.

Seriously. Does it really help with damn near everything? Because every commercial I hear lists off 100 different types of relief or cure.

It doesn’t help with everything and everyone responds differently to CBD. Everyone’s biology is different and will respond differently to the same compounds; think about caffeine: some people cannot even have a sip of coffee without getting the jitters, while others need a double shot of espresso to get the morning started.

But CBD is definitely doing something though. When you can see Dravet syndrome patients go from 100 seizures a day down to 10, they can then start to maintain a much better quality of life.

EDIT: I also wanted to add a link to this comment. Although we don't know exactly how CBD is working, we also do not know how tylenol is working, yet everyone uses it. https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i29/Does-Acetaminophen-Work-Researchers-Still.html

Speaking of caffeine, can a person build up a tolerance to CBD like they can with THC or caffeine? Anecdotally, I've hear that consuming a cup of coffee every day causes your brain to produce less of the chemical that wakes you up naturally. Do we expect patients with chronic problem eill need an increasing amount of CBD to maintain the same level of relief?

We do expect some tolerance to build, but so far it seems to be a very minor tolerance.

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If there was a clear mechanism of action I would be happy to provide that. GW Pharmaceuticals doesn't even state a clear mechanism for Epidiolex. I wrote a very brief blog post on mechanisms, but there is a ton of suggested targets for CBD (e.g. 5HT1a, PPAR-gamma, TRP channels, CB1 allosteric modulation, opioid modulation, CYP450s and more).

Edit: To add we don't actually know how tylenol works, but millions of poeple use it and get relief.

For real. There's a podcast I listen to, about sex, and one of the products that the female host is hustling is a CBD cream for a female's lady parts. Out of all the ridiculous applications for CBD, that one takes the cake (until CBD anus cream comes along)

CBD may actually be able to increase blood flow to the clitoris. CBD will activate TRPA1 receptors leading to an increase NOS and then blood flow.

This is all I want answered. Have we proven with repeatable double-blind tests that it is good for anything? Anything at all?

Here are clinical trials currently ongoing for CBD. Many actually related to substance use disorders, epilepsy, pain, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions.

I have tried lots of CBD products, looking for relief for inflammation and as a sleep aid, because inflammation pain wakes me often. I have found the best relief with cbd's that also contain a small amount of THC. I use Flow topical and find it to be an excellent product. The results are similar to diclofenac cream, a prescription topical for bone pain. Everyone I have spoken to who has used Flow gives it good reviews. I have several barely used topical CBD creams that contain no THC because they just dont help me.

From my understanding cbd works best when all hemp's other components (including thc) are present. This is why full spectrum is usually better than isolate. Hopefully u/TruPotency_Science can follow up on this??

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ecupsk/less_than_30_of_cbd_products_are_accurately/fbe0zwo/

When looking to buy CBD products as a consumer, is there a reliable way for me to know which products are legitimate versus not? If not, is there any inherent danger that comes with the > 70% of "false products" on the market?

The best thing you can do is to make sure a product has a certificate of analysis (COA). This shows that the product was tested at an analytical laboratory and should have what the label states. Although there is a little gray area there. Labs are known to alter COAs for customers for “correct” results.

That is one reason we double check all the products on our site, because some companies have COAs, but they’re actually falsified or the COA is for the isolate used and not the final product. There is also a lot of variance from lab to lab in the quality of results. We really need better regulation, so we do not have to worry about the quality of product testing information.

The main inherent danger comes from having THC in a THC free product for those trying to avoid that, or there are other harmful chemicals like pesticides or synthetic cannabinoids.

Is there a COA for a COA

I wish there was. The best chance for honest quality is if it was tested at an ISO lab. But that is one reason we started our company was to essentially wade through the saturated market of who are making false claims about the quality of their product. I really want better regulation, so that we can be confident COAs are legitimate.

Testing labs such as yourselves should have a search box on your site where I can type in a product name and verify that the COA the seller is showing matches your records.

We do not test products in the house. The process we use is to first vet brands that we believe have good products that fit with TruPotency. We then reach out to that brand for samples of their whole line of products.

After receiving the products, we will anatomize the samples so that the lab testing the products are blind to the brand and concentration. We use a variety of labs, including many ISO certified labs, like SC Labs in California, Botanacor in Colorado, and ACS Labs in Florida.

We have debated showing our COA alongside the manufacturer's but thought that might be too confusing for some. It might be something we can revisit in the near future though.

I don’t care whose COA you show, I care that it’s hosted on your website. When buying CBD online some sellers show COAs and the reviews don’t match the COAs. If I could see the same COAs on your website I’d trust them.

We host all of our COAs on the site and all the data is available to you.

Link?

Every product has a download link on the page.

here is one direct download link and the link to the product page.

How are COAs accessed? Are they made available online from the company, a regulatory body, or is that something a consumer would have to request directly from the company?

What analytical method is considered the most accurate?

Are there any tell-tale signs of falsified or exaggerated results on a COA?

Any labs that have a history of stretching the truth?

All of the COAs we have are available on every product page. Most companies are now posting their own COAs because people are becoming more aware of quality issues and COAs.

The analytical method will vary by what you want to detect. Usually, HPLC-UV is used for cannabinoids, GC-MS or GC-FID for terpenes, and other tests for bacteria, heavy metals, and mycotoxins.

Unfortunately, I do not know of any tell-tale signs of falsified results.

I do not want to throw anyone under the bus, but nobody we have worked with is known to alter results.

So what is in the "CBD" products that aren't labelled accurately?

There can be heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, and other harmful chemicals. Generally, the labeled amount of CBD is just way off (e.g. 500 mg on the label, but tested for less than 300 mg). We most often see missing cannabinoids or terpenes from the label (e.g. CBG claim yet no tested CBG) or cannabinoids that shouldn’t be there (e.g. d-9-THC in an isolate product).

Are there certain companies that are found to be more pure? Or certain companies that are worse offenders?

I don't want out anyone, but I can vouch for any brand that we sell. I think we have tested products from over 40 companies at this point and there are some great brands out there that we do not carry.

Just a quick list of quality brands:
* Plant People
* RE: Botanicals
* Populum
* Global Xtracts
* CBDforLife

Although, again there are other great brands out there as well.

EDIT: We vet all of the brands on our website, so you can trust that they passed rigorous testing, and that we presently have many more under scrutiny. There are so many new products flooding the market, we do our best to keep up with them, and it is more effective for us to promote the good ones rather than demote the long list of low quality brands.

Amazon commonly carries products, made only from hemp seeds, that contain NO CBD. The product is designed to imply or “trick” the consumer into thinking it is a CBD product. All of those products offer little or no benefit. Some brands do try to game the system to get past Amazon’s “no CBD” policy, but I wouldn’t trust any of them.

In developing our website, we at first included failing products but they took all of the wind out the products that deserve notice.

EDIT 2: All the testing data for each product is available on each product. We only make available the COA for what is actually there and do not post every single test we have done. You are able to see the labs we use on the available COAs. Currently, othe major labs we use are Botanacor, SC Labs, and ACS labs.

I know this is not going to be satisfactory as you want a list of bad brands, but I thought I would still make some further clarifications.

There's a lot of claims of what CBD is good for. What's the greatest myth about it to you?

I think some of the biggest myths are that CBD will cure X disease. At most, we think CBD might help with symptoms of various ailments, but a cure for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, and more is probably not the case. I would be more than happy to eat my words as more data and research comes in though.

I would be more than happy to eat my words as more data and research comes in though.

If it turns out that it does cure something, eat them in the form of CBD edibles.

That sounds like a great plan!

Have you seen any encouraging studies that point towards any kind of Parkinson's symptom relief?

CBD may help Parkinson's patient sleep, improve quality of life, and improve psychosis symptoms.

I'm a progressive candidate for the Texas State Legislature, and former harm reduction nonprofit executive and county health department associate director of POD / MRC response and logistics, among other things.

What role should state lawmakers and other officials take to work with the industries to ensure purity standards, promote awareness, and aside from the health and scientific aspects, what would you advocate for in terms of general policy, research, and legislative or other mechanisms regarding CBD?

It's been brought up by some constituents, but generally not negatively. It's very difficult to find comprehensive policy proposals, as of yet.

Kudos for your former work in harm reduction. There is some promising research regarding CBD use for substance use disorders that I am sure you are aware of.

That is a complex question and I don’t think this answer will be fully satisfactory, but I think CBD should be federally regulated to ensure purity standards. With CBD showing up everywhere from online to CVS, gas stations, and corner stores outnumbering Starbucks, we need to make sure people have safe products.

I think the first thing to do is to talk to industry experts in analytical chemistry and manufacturing to find the best solution for a unified testing protocol. We should have confidence that if I test at lab A, then I should get the same results at lab B (within reason, of course, as there is always some variation). The exact variation that we should expect might be tough, but I think a +/-10% variation from the label amount might be a good target as well as a full panel for safety required (e.g. heavy metals, mycotoxins, and more). But the actual implementation would need more debate than we have room on Reddit.

There is also a huge amount of misinformation and I think public education is key. We do education events and even talked at a Plant Medicine conference recently. We need to let people know the good, but also the bad. CBD can interact with other medications (similar to grapefruit juice) and lead to issues.

Overall we do need more research into both positive and negative effects and that can start from a government funding aspect. NIH and NSF are the two biggest sources for research money for most PIs, but it can be very hard to actually get the funding for research into CBD.

Is it true you need a bit of THC to activate CBD? Why is this true?

I use medical marijuana and was told this.

This is from the idea of the entourage effect and it seems that CBD and THC can work synergistically. There is some good data backing this as can be seen in this review. This meta-analysis suggests a CBD rich extract is much better than a pure CBD for treating epilepsy, using about 4 times less.

I live in a state where thc is illegal but I can get cbd. Is the cbd I can get my hands on legally of any use if there's no thc involved?

Yes, CBD has benefits by itself as seen with the FDA approved drug called Epidiolex. Entourage effect can improve the effectiveness, but is not necessary.

Are there any concessive studies done that prove any of the CBD effects for treating anxiety? I have used CBD in the past and did not really get any results with it. Currently using L-theanine and that does wonders.

Everyone responds differently to CBD. Everyone’s biology is different and will respond differently to the same compounds; think about caffeine: some people cannot even have a sip of coffee without getting the jitters, while others need a double shot of espresso to get the morning started. There is even a website, similar to 23andMe, that will analyze your genetics then come up with a theoretical “best” THC to CBD ratio based on your particular genes. Although there is no FDA backed treatment using CBD for anxiety, here are a couple of reviews and studies looking at various forms of anxiety and CBD effects.

1 2 3 4 5

There is even a website, similar to 23andMe, that will analyze your genetics then come up with a theoretical “best” THC to CBD ratio based on your particular genes.

What is that website?

https://www.endocannahealth.com/

Do you think the research behind it is sound?

I would think the data is somewhat sound, but at this point it is probably more of a suggestion on what might work best rather than a hard rule. Some of what they are using is data based on which form of receptors you have (e.g. THC might bind to Person A's CB1 receptor 10x stronger than yours because your CB1 receptor is slightly different). So, while it is based on scientific data the effect on your whole body is hard to gauge.

How many products did you encounter that didn't have any meaningful amount of CBD oil at all?

I've tried CBD to help with insomnia but I have no idea if the products I tried truly have CBD and/or what the actual dose may have been.

Most products we vetted had at least some CBD in them, but I would say maybe 1-2% were completely void of any CBD. The major issue we saw was just having too little CBD. You may look for a CBN-based product to help with sleep. It is reported to be a sedative, but with a major lack of data to date. Always verify the product with a certificate of analysis.

Im an analytical chemist who only does potency testing. 10% of all the compounded medicine we test is OOS. The vast majority is a misunderstanding in salt to salt or salt to freebase conversions to be USP compliant because compounders get confused about drug specs. Could a large portion of your results be due to them adding CBD compounds together ex. CBD A is 300mg/mL, CBD B is 100mg/mL, and CBD C is 50mg/ml and they label their product CBD 450mg/mL but only CBD A is tested or has specs?

I do not have a formal manufacturing background, but this could be the case. We hope companies are doing the math right on their formulations and of course mistakes will happen, but formulators that we have talked to usually have a chemistry background or come from pharmaceutical based careers.

As for the actual cause of poor results... it is hard to say. Outside of your suggestion, it could also be that the machinery used for manufacturing is of low quality and producing heterogeneous samples. Or analytical labs might have poor extraction and testing protocols that cause large variations. Trying to find the cause would take a lot of R&D.

What CBD should I use for IBS?

Although CBD is not approved for IBS, CBD can help with inflammation. This is by no means a cure, but may help with symptoms. ProjectCBD (one of my favorite CBD information websites) has some great info for you. The best might be an ingestible (tincture, edible, or capsule), so the CBD can get straight to the gut.

Which particular brands are actually honest about their products? And which brand would you recommend for a beginner or someone’s who’s new to CBD oils?

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ecupsk/less_than_30_of_cbd_products_are_accurately/fbdxypx/

Since THC is poison toxic to cats, but CBD isn't. How accurate is the specific animal CBD products sold on the market? Have studies been done to check or is the formulation coming from a source without THC.

Edit: a word change for accuracy.

The accuracy of the results should be pretty good. Most pet products are isolate-based and have non-detectable THC levels before the product is even made. I would look for these products if you are shopping for your cat. And the level of THC would probably need to be somewhat high to really have a major intoxicating effect on your pet, but it is always safer to avoid it just in case.

I’ve failed dipstick home drug tests for thc (not gc/ms tests, the cheap kind) after taking CBD, and so I’ve stopped taking it because I’m worried I could get into trouble with work. Is this a sign the cbd I was taking wasn’t isolated well enough? Would love some advice for what to do. Testing positive for weed is a big no-no in this line of work. If I did pop dirty for thc, is there a way I can prove I was only taking cbd?

Thanks guys.

LabCorp, who does a lot of work-related drug testing, has a fairly recent new test they will run. It gives a CBD to THC ratio. This might be something to consider.

When deciding on a CBD topical for muscle soreness, what should I specifically be looking at to tell me if it’s a good topical or not?

Is it the amount of CBD(more Cbd = more effective)? Where it comes from? Or other ingredients?

Topicals actually might not be great for pain. Everyone's skin is different and while CBD can get through, it tends to be at low amounts unless it is made with nanoemulsion properties or with other skin penetration enhancers. But typically more is better and a higher concentration might help force its way through the skin. DMSO is one ingredient used as a transdermal agent, but there are many more that could be used.

EDIT: You can also try transdermal patches that slowly release their contents over the course of your day or night, like a lidocaine patch, but with CBD.

How can I know if a shop has products that are labeled properly?

Always ask for a COA (certificate of analysis)

How harmful is CBD during pregnancy? Can it be used as an alternative to sleeping medications to combat chronic nausea? Can you point me in the direction of any conclusive studies on this?

I am not an MD and unfortunately, I don' think there is good information one way or the other on this. We were running preclinical studies in my old lab in regards to this, but the data is very lacking. The FDA warns against the use of CBD during pregnancy.

What do you think about anal CBD Suppositories? I really have been curious about them. Does it hurt?

Although I cannot say I have tried them, anal suppositories can be good for those who cannot ingest by other means. [Suppositories also tend to have a pretty high absorption rate.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1717195)