As of February, 1st this year “low-dose cannabidiol (CBD)” has been available in the now lesser regulated ‘OTC’ (over the counter) space.
The TGA had been ‘dancing’ with the ‘vote for medicine’ campaign, and whilst not fully endorsing it, has ushered in a sub-set of classification and rescheduled this particular cannabinoid. Now, this new line certainly opens the door to significantly greater promotion and use of a substance still not fully understood – and a product certainly with clouds over both efficacy and safety – regardless of ‘anecdotal testimony’
According to the CBD Insider
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced their down-scheduling of “low-dose cannabidiol (CBD)” from a Schedule 4 substance to a Schedule 3 substance in mid-December of last year, a decision that just went into effect this Monday, February 1.
This particular jump is a monumental one for Australian CBD producers and customers alike, since it marks the divide between prescription-only (Schedule 4) and over-the-counter (Schedule 3) status.
In order to qualify for this down-scheduling, CBD products have to meet Schedule 3 criteria, chief among which is the requirement on pharmacists to adhere to the newly increased 150mg/day maximum daily dose.
Once a product is approved by the TGA, it is placed in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), and can thereafter be sold over the counter.
Of course, cannabis derived formulations have no curative properties of any kind, and formulations for useful ‘medical application’ are very sparce despite, the now decade long thorough investigation, and at very best current preparations may only alleviate some conditions, but not without potential harmful and/or long-term side-effects. The placebo effect of cannabis-based therapeutics is widely known, and whilst a placebo that does no other harms, can be very beneficial on a subjective level, ones that do have detrimental potential are only emerging, and the trade off of one alleviated symptom for another is not good medicine – particularly when net health outcome may be worse.
Whilst we are all excited about, and look forward to, advances in science and medicine that truly benefit our health, not just alleviate a symptom (or worse simply a ‘felt need’) we want to ensure that best-practice science, not market-driven greed and hype (historically a source of many pharmaceutical catastrophe’s) are what drive health-care compassion.
It’s important all consumers keep across all the research – the good, bad and ugly, and make wise beneficial decisions for both short and long-term.
For more…
https://www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au/resources/next-phase-blog/1282-over-the-counter-cbd-proper-research-caution-regulation-needed.html
Concerns_about_CBD_19-03-20.pdf
ConsumersForSafeCBD_UnsubstaniatedTherapeuticClaims2020.pdf
Compiled by Dalgarno Institute Research Team