“CBD Full Spectrum” - why it is being investigated in the EU

It is worth taking the EFSA recommendations as a basis and refracting them into the plane of the situation on the hemp market in our country, for example, by adopting an appropriate interdepartmental order. It is this question that is raised by the specialized association of national cannabis growers in front of the state structures of Ukraine responsible for this.

There are practically no scientific studies examining the characteristics or healing properties of the therapeutically active elements that make up the “CBD Full Spectrum”. In addition, at the moment there are no regulatory documents regulating the mechanisms for using the medicinal properties of “full spectrum CBD” in the EU, which leads to restrictions on its use for industrial, scientific or medical purposes.

Realizing the prospects of using “CBD Full Spectrum” on an industrial scale, a scientific study has been initiated in Europe, within the framework of which the effect of products containing “CBD Full Spectrum” of natural (plant) origin on the livelihoods of 200 subjects and funding of this project in the amount of € 1 will be studied, 6 million. One of the key factors studied during the experiment is a toxicological study of the effect of trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, which are in the "CBD Full Spectrum" on the vital functions of the human body and documenting the fact that the minimum allowable amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are safe and do not affect on the state of the human body.

It should be noted that in the EU there are no general rules governing the amount of THC in the final product, but only guidelines proposed by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA). One of the main problems with these recommendations is the fact that they were compiled by risk assessments based solely on printed sources of information, without conducting special research, and, above all, on documents relating to two experiments in which two samples of subjects participated, which cannot be considered representative. The first study was conducted in 1993 and included 31 patients with HIV infection, the second is from 2011 and is a “Ballard study” conducted with only 11 consumers. The combination of these two studies resulted in the ARfD (Toxicity Risk Indicator) for THC at 1 microgram.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

“Full spectrum CBD” is a substance produced from the hemp plant, which contains not only cannabidiol, but also other therapeutically active compounds (other cannabinoids, terpenes, terpenoids, phinols, flavonoids, acidic forms of cannabinoids, etc.).

The current value suggested by the European Union for THC in foods is 1 microgram (1 μg / kg body weight). For example, in Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand, a value of 7 μg is permissible, in Canada, up to 10 μg is allowed, and in some administrative divisions of the United States - up to 13 μg. 

A study initiated in the EU, which should determine the maximum allowable amount of THC in the final product, is due to the fact that in other economically developed countries the indicated value is much higher and the restrictions recommended by EFSA do not allow European products to compete on equal terms with similar products from other regions of the world. It should be understood that when we talk about “CBD Full Spectrum”, we mean primarily the food sector of modern cannabis growing, which primarily uses hemp grains for the production of oil, flour, as well as various kinds of products made from it. The research initiated in the EU is intended, on the one hand, to remove the artificial restrictions present on the EU market, and on the other hand, to offer the market a more natural product that is in great demand among the end consumer.

The data on the initiation of this kind of research in the European Union speaks of several points at once, to which representatives of the national cannabis business should pay attention:

- in the EU, attention is focused on the need to use natural ingredients of the hemp plant with therapeutic properties, and not on their synthetic counterparts;

- the question is raised about the therapeutic activity not of individual elements of hemp, but of a substance that contains a range of therapeutically active elements, which “working in an ensemble” often demonstrate a much greater therapeutic effect than extracts of specific components of the hemp plant;

- to improve the sales opportunities of manufactured products, the EU initiates research aimed at promoting the hemp products produced in Europe to the global market;

- the maximum allowable level of THC in the course taken products is not regulated by any regulatory legal acts, but is only regulated by the recommendation of the European Food Safety Agency.

From all of the above, an elementary conclusion can be drawn - it is worth taking the EFSA recommendations as a basis and refracting them into the plane of the situation on the hemp market in our country, for example, by adopting an appropriate interdepartmental order. It is this question that is raised by the specialized association of national cannabis growers in front of the state structures of Ukraine responsible for this.