CBD oil still in studies, but it’s spreading
BY GABE HERMAN
CBD oil has been growing in popularity nationwide,
which can be seen locally in the number
of stores offering the cannabis-based product.
In Downtown Manhattan, the oil can be found in
shops like Dramatics NYC, at Fifth Ave. and E. 16th
St., which offers back massages with CBD oil; CBD
Oil Bros NYC, an herb shop at 1 Irving Place; and
CBD oil New York, a vitamin and supplement store
at 99 Battery Place.
There are also over-the-counter products made by
a new company called CBDMedic available at many
CVS stores, as well as at Sage Fitness, at 139 Fulton
St. near City Hall.
CBD stands for “cannabidiol.” It is a chemical compound
that naturally occurs in the cannabis plant but
won’t get you high.
But people have started to use the oil for many other
purposes, with some of the top ones being relaxation,
stress relief, improved sleep and relief of joint
and muscle pain.
A recent poll found that about 85 percent of Americans
have heard of CBD, and about one in fi ve have
tried it.
There is little scientifi c data to show whether or not
CBD oil is effective for various types of treatments.
Clinical studies are just starting to be done after many
decades of having been prohibited. Studies can take
years to get proper results, but that isn’t stopping people
from using CBD in edibles, for massage oils and
as droplets to put under the tongue. And, yes, people
are even giving CBD to their dogs.
CBDMedic, a company that launched this year, just
released 10 new over-the-counter products with CBD
oil for uses such as pain relief and treating eczema.
This adds to the company’s previously released products,
including one called Active Sport and another
for arthritis.
The company is the fi rst to offer topical medications
that combine pharmaceutical ingredients with
CBD oil. Their products include other natural ingredients
like oils and moisturizers. They use CBD oil
from hemp that contains no THC or other psychoactive
ingredients.
CBDMedic was developed and is distributed by
Abacus Health Products, which worked on formulas
and tested the products for fi ve years before the company’s
launch, according to Alex Joseph, their events
and partnerships manager.
“The cool thing is there’s a lot of technology behind
our products,” said Joseph outside a recent promotional
event near Madison Square Park.
Joseph said there are natural ingredients in the
products that help one absorb the CBD oil. These include
cottonseed oil and jojoba seed oil.
In the Active Sport product, there is also menthol
and camphor, which are approved pharmaceutical ingredients
for topical pain relief. They also create cooling
and warming effects on the skin, which could be
felt at the free massages offered at the Madison Square
Park event on April 22 and 23 at a “Relaxation Studio”
set up in a “Meditation Bus” being used to spread
the word about the products. The event featured free
chair massages with CBDMedic products.
Joseph said at the pop-up event that the feedback
COURTESY CBDMEDIC
CBDMedic is using CBD in massage oil to
provide pain relief and relaxation.
from people was very positive, and he wasn’t trying to
sell as much as trying to educate people.
“We want people to try the product,” he said. Joseph
added about the massages in the bus, which created
an atmosphere with cool air and fi lled with blue
LED lights, “we’re also creating an immersive experience.
All your senses are completely enveloped.”
Joseph said that CBDMedic has been doing some
of its own research into their products’ benefi ts. The
company found that nine out of 10 healthcare practitioners
say the CBDMedic products are more effective
for patients’ pain relief than other products, and prefer
them to other topical pain-relief products by the
same margin of nine to one.
“As more Americans become familiar with the
benefi ts of CBD, we anticipate that it will become
mainstream,” said Perry Antelman, C.E.O. of Abacus
PHOTO BY
GABE HERMAN
The CBDMedic massage bus.
Health Products. “That said, we know that CBD is not
a cure-all for everything. We know, through science,
how CBD plays a vital role in the treatment of pain
and skincare issues like eczema and acne, and we look
forward to the public learning more about this.”
In June 2018, the Food and Drug Administration
approved for the fi rst time a drug using CBD oil. It
was Epidiolex, an oral solution that treats seizures
from two types of epilepsy. And Joseph noted that
CBDMedic’s products are registered with the F.D.A.
and are made in an F.D.A.-compliant facility. He said
the company has strict quality controls that include
testing products after they are made in the lab.
In early April, F.D.A. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb
laid out steps for further evaluating CBD health effects
and curbing false claims from some companies.
These steps included an upcoming public hearing on
May 31, a working group to explore how CBD products
can be responsibly marketed, and issuing warning
letters to companies making reckless claims. Such
claims about CBD have included treatments for cancer,
Alzheimer’s, tumors and substance abuse.
“Ultimately, we remain committed to exploring
an appropriate, effi cient and predictable regulatory
framework to allow product developers that meet the
requirements under our authorities to lawfully market
these types of products,” Gottlieb said in the announcement.
Joseph of CBDMedic said that educating the public
with proper information is a big need for the CBD
business.
“I think an issue with the industry is there’s a lot of
false claims out there, a lot of companies claim it can
do a lot of things,” he said.
But with CBDMedic confi dent in the science and
technology behind its products, Joseph said the key
is to teach people about the benefi ts, and then see
their positive reactions after trying the products for
themselves. He said people were leaving the bus with
smiles.
“It’s the ‘wow face,’ ” he said.
“It is a great ingredient,” Joseph said of CBD. “I
think overall education is key.”
Schneps Media TVG May 2, 2019 27