CBD oil-infused candy launched by the Jelly Beans candy founder are sold out everywhere. David Klein sells the cannabis jelly bean candy with about 10 milligrams of CBD oil inside each bean.
Klein founded Jelly Belly jelly beans in Belleville, Ill in 1976. His new company, Spectrum Confections, offers “gourmet” jelly beans, sugar-free jelly beans, and sour jelly beans infused with CBD oil.
According to CBS2 Chicago the entire stock of CBD-infused jelly beans is sold out online.
Cannabidiol oil (CBD) is all the rage in America. The non-intoxicating marijuana extract is credited with treating a variety of ailments including epileptic seizures in children, anxiety, inflammation and insomnia.
But experts say CBD oil has potential health risks as well.
CBD is being produced without any federal regulation at all, says Marcel Bonn-Miller, an adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
“It really is the Wild West,” said Bonn-Miller. “Joe Bob who starts up a CBD company would say whatever the hell he wants on a label and sell it to people.”
Cannabidiol oil is extracted from the flowers and buds of marijuana or hemp plants. It does not cause an intoxicating effect, or marijuana’s “high” which is caused by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
According to WebMD CBD oil is legal in 30 states where medicinal marijuana is sold legally. The drug is baked into cookies, muffins, cupcakes, and other edibles, and sold in pot dispensaries legally.
Seventeen states, including Alabama and Georgia, have CBD-specific laws on the books, according to Prevention magazine.
Last month, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel unanimously recommended approval of the CBD medication Epidiolex to treat two rare forms of childhood epilepsy, according to WebMD.
There is not enough research to confirm whether CBD is beneficial or useful to treat epilepsy in adults.
CBD’s usefulness as an anti-inflammatory medication is being studied using animals, experts said.
CBD’s other uses – as an antipsychotic, antidepressant or sleep aid “have all been studied in animals, with only one or two examples of studies in humans,” Bonn-Miller said.
He added that states struggle to regulate CBD products because they don’t have the deep pockets of the federal government.
Due to the lack of regulation, Bonn-Miller said consumers can’t be sure of what they are getting when they purchase CBD products.
Nearly 43% of the products contain too little CBD oil, while about 26 percent contained too much, Bonn-Miller said.
“CBD is kind of a tricky drug because it’s not very well absorbed orally, said Timothy Welty, chair of the department of clinical sciences at Drake University in Iowa.
“Less than 20 percent of the drug is absorbed orally. If it isn’t made in the right way, you may not be getting much drug into your systemic circulation.”
Even worse, Bonn-Miller said, about 1 in 5 CBD products contained the intoxicating pot chemical TYHC.
“If I were a consumer, purchasing it for myself or my kid, I would want to test it so that I knew what it actually had in it, because I couldn’t trust what was on the label,” Bonn-Miller concluded.
Studies show that CBD oil is harmful to the liver. About 10 percent of people taking CBD in research studies had increases in liver enzymes, which indicates possible liver damage, Welty said.
“About 2 to 3 percent of individuals taking CBD actually had to discontinue because their liver enzymes went so high it was of concern to the people running the study,” he said.
Welty said people should consult with a doctor who understands the side effects of the CBD extract and its potential uses.
He said, don’t “just go out and buy CBD thinking it’s going to be the answer.”
Stock photos by Cathy Scola/ Getty Images, Heath Korvola/ Getty Images, Oneinchpunch/ Getty Images
