Your Health

People in pain need protection from false pot promotion

W. Gifford-Jones MD & Diana Gifford-Jones

January 16, 2021

BY W. GIFFORD- JONES MD & DIANA GIFFORD-JONES

What’s the worst kind of pain? At the top of the list is debilitating chronic pain that, despite painkillers and other treatments, is unrelenting day after day. Chronic pain gradually destroys the soul. A study of suicide cases between 2003 and 2014 found evidence that as many as 10% of cases involved chronic pain. Now, with the availability of marijuana for medical treatment in Canada and most US states, is new hope being corrupted by false advertising?

No one should suffer pain that can be safely managed. The addition of medical marijuana as a treatment option has helped many. But despite heavy regulation, there are unscrupulous entrepreneurs ready to make a quick buck, and they are banking on your trust. What hurts, is that they are taking your money while also betraying your hope for pain relief.

People enduring chronic pain have probably heard their doctor say, “You have intractable pain and there is no cure.” Given new availability of medical marijuana, it should not be surprising that many have wanted to try it.

Chewable gummies are particularly attractive because they are so easy to take. You can find dozens of products online marketed as “300mg CBD Gummies.” CBD is short for cannabidiol, derived from the hemp plant. Hemp contains less THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana plants. While research continues, there is substantial evidence that CBD can help with both musculoskeletal and nerve pain.

Unfortunately, the marketing and labeling of these gummies is a despicable mess.

Let’s focus on the dosage. Getting the dosage right for any medication is important, and for hemp or marijuana it can be tricky, so it’s good advice to consult your doctor. Don’t rely on the misleading information found on websites promoting these products. Typical dosages for CBD can range from less than 10 to more than 300 milligrams daily. That’s a big range. Finding the dosage that meets the needs of different people usually means starting with a low dose and gradually increasing by about 5 milligrams daily until the desired effect is achieved. Most research to date suggests it’s safe to take up to 1,500 mg daily.

Let’s get back to those CBD gummies. It is very important to know what dose is in a single gummy. We shopped around to find out.

Misleading and downright fraudulent information abounds. Dozens of products mislead consumers into thinking there are 300 mg of CBD per gummy. Not true. This is the total CBD in each bottle of 30 gummies. Other products falsely state on the label “300 MG Per Gummy” when in fact there are only 10 mg in each gummy. Indeed, a single gummy at 300 mg of CBD is an extremely high starting dose! Just two gummies would be 600 mg of CBD. It’s absurd. A phone call to these producers confirmed the outright error, and yet, these products remain on the market. Some companies have received warnings, but seemingly with no consequence.

For unsuspecting consumers seeking pain relief, this amounts to gross negligence by producers and regulators alike. Product websites show people cured of pain. But there’s scant information to clarify dosages and guide consumers on how to use this kind of medication in the treatment of pain. How can this be allowed by health authorities?

P.T. Barnum, the circus promoter, said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Entrepreneurs make a lot of money with such deceptive slick promotion. How many people in chronic pain with limited funds are fooled by ads about quick relief of pain and are still suffering. It’s shameful, and people in pain deserve better.

If readers have experience in easing chronic pain with CBD gummies, feel free to reach out to us.

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Written By W. Gifford-Jones MD & Diana Gifford-Jones

Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, MD is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Harvard Medical School. He trained in general surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University and in Gynecology at Harvard. His storied medical career began as a general practitioner, ship’s surgeon, and hotel doctor. For more than 40 years, he specialized in gynecology, devoting his practice to the formative issues of women’s health. In 1975, he launched his weekly medical column that has been published by national and local Canadian and U.S. newspapers. Today, the readership remains over seven million. His advice contains a solid dose of common sense and he never sits on the fence with controversial issues. He is the author of nine books including, “The Healthy Barmaid”, his autobiography “You’re Going To Do What?”, “What I Learned as a Medical Journalist”, and “90+ How I Got There!” Many years ago, he was successful in a fight to legalize heroin to help ease the pain of terminal cancer patients. His foundation at that time donated $500,000 to establish the Gifford-Jones Professorship in Pain Control and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto Medical School. At 93 years of age he rappelled from the top of Toronto’s City Hall (30 stories) to raise funds for children with a life-threatening disease through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Diana Gifford-Jones, the daughter of W. Gifford-Jones, MD, Diana has extensive global experience in health and healthcare policy. Diana is Special Advisor with The Aga Khan University, which operates 2 quaternary care hospitals and numerous secondary hospitals, medical centres, pharmacies, and laboratories in South Asia and Africa. She worked for ten years in the Human Development sectors at the World Bank, including health policy and economics, nutrition, and population health. For over a decade at The Conference Board of Canada, she managed four health-related executive networks, including the Roundtable on Socio-Economic Determinants of Health, the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, the Canadian Centre for Environmental Health, and the Centre for Health System Design and Management. Her master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government included coursework at Harvard Medical School. She is also a graduate of Wellesley College. She has extensive experience with Canadian universities, including at Carleton University, where she was the Executive Director of the Global Academy. She lived and worked in Japan for four years and speaks Japanese fluently. Diana has the designation as a certified Chartered Director from The Directors College, a joint venture of The Conference Board of Canada and McMaster University. She has recently published a book on the natural health philosophy of W. Gifford-Jones, called No Nonsense Health – Naturally!

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