Debunking Cannabidiol as a Treatment for COVID-19: Time for the FDA to Adopt a Focused Deterrence Model?

ABSTRACT

Many cannabidiol (CBD) retailers make unsupported medical claims about their product. In recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to CBD retailers who promoted CBD to treat Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, and other serious conditions for which there is no evidence of its efficacy as a treatment or preventive. Compliance with these warning letters has been low. During the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the FDA has begun sending more strongly worded warning letters that appear to have better compliance in that most of these companies have removed COVID-19-related claims. However, many continue to present other unsupported medical claims on other serious medical conditions like cancer, depression, addiction, and bone fractures, among many others. We argue that adopting a strategy of focused deterrence where the FDA prioritizes enforcement related to COVID-19 claims - but when COVID-19-related claims are found, pursues all other violations by that company - would present an opportunity to efficiently cut down on harmful claims overstating CBD's benefits.