European trends on the CBD market

One of the solutions to the problems of using CBD products in civilized countries is to determine at the level of regulatory legal acts the maximum allowable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol in products / goods / preparations on the market.

In order to navigate the processes taking place in the European CBD market, we will put one after the other two information received from different countries of the continent.

CBD product testing

A laboratory specializing in quality control of CBD products has tested 40 CBD products on the market. Based on the results of the analyzes, the following conclusions were published:

•  only 9 of the 40 drugs tested had CBD levels within 10% of those indicated on the label. 31 out of 40 drugs contained the wrong amount of CBD;

•  11 products had CBD less than 30% of what was stated on the labels. In some of the above products, the amount of the therapeutically active substance did not reach 12-20% of the declared one.

It is normal for the amount of herbal cannabidiol to be varied in the final formulations, but this should be within reasonable limits. Industry experts recommend that hemp products contain cannabinoid levels within 10% of the advertised amount. Therefore, a CBD product must contain between 90% and 110% of the amount stated on the label to be considered accurate.

According to the laboratory staff involved in the above tests, “They are extremely important when buying CBD drugs because there are no rules prohibiting companies from selling low-quality products with the wrong levels of therapeutically active elements or containing pollutants. Verifying the accuracy of a CBD product label is important for several reasons, in particular, it ensures that a consumer who may be looking for cannabidiol as a potential remedy for any medical problem gets what they paid for. "

UK restrictions 

Collecting cannabis flowers is prohibited in the UK. Because of this, all CBD products available for purchase here are imported. Any business importing CBD must obtain a controlled drug license as the hemp plant is listed as a controlled substance. Effective March 31, 2021, new food laws coming into force require any CBD product to have a verified dossier with the UK Food Standards Agency.

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

The test results clearly demonstrate that inaccurate labeling is an extremely common CBD drug problem in all cannabis markets. 

The UK CBD market is one of the largest in Europe - more than 1.3 million people buy CBD products in excess of £ 300 million annually - already a larger market than the vitamin D and C markets combined.

The current limit for THC in UK marketed products is 1 mg. In January 2021, it was announced that the legislation will be amended, according to which the maximum allowable amount of THC will be determined not only in weight, but also as a percentage of the total amount of the product.

Of the above two materials, the following key points should be noted:

- problems in the market of therapeutically active elements of hemp exist literally in all economically developed countries of the world;

- one of the solutions to the above problems in civilized countries is to determine at the level of regulatory legal acts the maximum allowable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol in products / goods / preparations on the market;

- taking into account the negative consequences that arise in cases of misuse of, first of all, synthetic cannabinoids, in Europe, the mechanisms for the withdrawal and presence on the market of products containing therapeutically active elements of hemp are regulated. One of the first countries to impose severe restrictions on this issue is the UK.

The possibilities of the legal use of therapeutically active elements of the hemp plant will be substantively considered in the course of training the students of the 6th stream of training of the Hemp University within the framework of the round table “Problems and prospects of the use of therapeutically active elements of hemp as a basis for nutraceuticals, medicinal cosmetics, animal feed, or other products with medicinal properties of the plant ".