FTC Cracks Down On Deceptively Marketed CBD Products
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the first law enforcement crackdown on deceptive claims in the growing market for cannabidiol (CBD) products. The FTC is taking action against six sellers of CBD-containing products for allegedly making a wide range of scientifically unsupported claims about their ability to treat serious health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, and others.
The six companies involved are Bionatrol Health, LLC, Epichouse LLC (First Class Herbalist CBD), CBD Meds, Inc., HempmeCBD, Reef Industries, Inc., and Steves Distributing, LLC. Details on each case are available at www.ftc.gov.
The FTC is requiring each of the companies, and individuals behind them, to stop making such unsupported health claims immediately, and several will pay monetary judgments to the agency. The orders settling the FTC’s complaints also bar the respondents from similar deceptive advertising in the future, and require that they have scientific evidence to support any health claims they make for CBD and other products.
“The six settlements announced today send a clear message to the burgeoning CBD industry: Don’t make spurious health claims that are unsupported by medical science,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Otherwise, don’t be surprised if you hear from the FTC.”
The crackdown, Operation CBDeceit, is part of the commission’s ongoing effort to protect consumers from false, deceptive, and misleading health claims made in advertisements on websites and through social media companies such as Twitter.
The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register soon. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Instructions for filing comments will appear in the published notice. Once processed, comments will be posted on Regulations.gov.