Guide To Selecting A CBD Product

Nonprescription CBD products lack consistent oversight to ensure their purity and safety or verify manufacturer claims. The CBD that you can buy over the counter is regulated more like food than medication. This is because the FDA only enforces quality and safety standards if a safety issue arises once a product is on the market. 

The standards for CBD products, like herbal supplements, are based on manufacturers making ethical and honest claims. An independent party such as the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) should verify the manufacturer’s claims to be sure that CBD is free from contaminants such as THC, pesticides, or heavy metals. 

1. Does it meet one of the following quality standards?

• Look for certifications on the manufacturer’s website: 
  • Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) certification from the US Food and Drug Administration 
  • European Union (EU), Australian (AUS), or Canadian (CFIA) organic certification 
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) International certification 

2. Does the company have an independent adverse event reporting program?  

• Manufacturers are not required to track adverse events. Many manufacturers do not collect this data.  

3. Is the product certified organic or eco-farmed?  

• Avoid synthetic chemical additives. Look for CBD companies that are Certified Organic on the USDA website: https://organic.ams.usda.gov/integrity/

4. Does the product have a certificate of analysis (COA) from an independent, certified laboratory? 

• A certificate of analysis (COA) should be available that details the products in a CBD product, including Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels, pesticides, and heavy metals. If a product does not have a COA, do not use it. 

CBD is one of many chemical compounds isolated from the Cannabis plant and it has been studied and used for a variety of conditions.   

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is also isolated from Cannabis plants, but its actions are very different from CBD. THC is the compound that produces the high that people associate with marijuana. CBD does not have psychoactive effects—in other words, it won't cause you to get high. But CBD’s effects have been helpful in a variety of other conditions.  

CBD has been studied as an anti-convulsant agent for rare seizure disorders, and the FDA has approved a pharmaceutical-grade CBD (Epidiolex®) for these rare seizure disorders. Some newer indications are also being investigated.   

There is limited evidence that suggests patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), schizophrenia, social anxiety disorder or temporomandibular disorders (TMD) may POSSIBLY BENEFIT from CBD.   

There is limited evidence that suggests patients with COVID-19, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, or acute pain receive NO BENEFIT from CBD.  

There is NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE to know whether or not CBD is helpful for other conditions such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, or arthritis.

CBD has limited approved uses. Talk with your care team about CBD if you have questions about its use and if it could help your child.

• Is CBD use approved for my child’s diagnosis? 
• Will the medicine create conflicts with other medicines I take? 
• What side effects might I expect?  
• Will this medicine change how my other medicines work? (Ask about both prescription and over-the-counter medicines.)