CBD: Supplements OK, food illegal

Forget the pharmaceutical side — if you’re confused about the legal status of CBD products, you’re not alone.

Thanks to the nationwide legalization of hemp*, CBD oil has appeared all over the place. “Sales of CBD have nearly quadrupled since 2015 and they’re projected to hit $1.8 billion by 2022,” reports the Washington Post.

And while some studies have shown that CBD oil seems to help some health conditions, there hasn’t been any kind of major, detailed study. That hasn’t stopped the marketing folks from promising miracles, though … but very carefully. (They can’t actually say that CBD treats a particular disease or condition. They leave that to the rumor mill that is “Dr. Facebook.”)

But the FDA has just now made one thing very clear: It is illegal to sell foods or beverages that contain CBD.

You see, the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements other than to keep them from being sold as cures. But it does regulate foods, and it has not determined that CBD is “generally recognized as safe” — ergo, keep it out of food.

And that announcement has some companies — those that are ready to pump their products full of CBD — left waiting.

Brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever and Anheuser-Busch have announced CBD products in development, and stores such as Walgreens, Kroger and CVS have vowed to sell them.

Some great AIDS news

Generic-drug manufacturer Cipla has developed a strawberry-flavored AIDS treatment for infants, which the company said it will sell for $1 per day per child (less for newborns). If approved by the World Health Organization, it could save 80,000 lives per year.

Down, down, down

Down: U.S. life expectancy for the third year in a row, making us the only wealthy country to have this happening. The biggest culprits: 25-64 year olds, thanks to overdoses, obesity, and suicide. “We may think we have best medical care in world and highest life expectancy … but that’s not the case.”

Down: Abortions in the U.S. — a 2% percent drop in 2016 over the year before, and a 24 percent drop over the last 10 years.

Down: Births in the U.S. for the fourth year in a row, including a 7% drop in teenage births from 2017 to 2018. The country’s birth rate is at a record low, and is “below what’s needed for the population to replace itself.”

Side effects

Patients taking the anticoagulant coumadin (aka Warfarin) might find their risk of fracture is increased — especially if they also take apixaban (aka Eliquis).

And patients taking statins, even for just a few months, have an increased risk of developing diabetes and skin infections.

The researchers found statins to be associated with a significant risk for SSTIs. The greatest risk was found to be associated with statins atorvastatin and simvastatin.

Amazon in pharmacy

Amazon has been dipping its various toes into the pharmacy space — a license here, a PillPack acquisition there. If you haven’t paid attention, you might want to read “Amazon’s plan to dominate the pharmaceutical industry is taking shape” for a bit of an overview … and possibly a preview of the future.

Vaping twist

Life insurers may start treating vapers like smokers — raising premiums or refusing to insure them at all.

Medical stories that make you go “Huh”

Living near an irregularly-shaped park is better for your health than living near one with a simple shape.

“We showed that the complexity of the park shape was positively associated with a lower risk of mortality,” they said in the paper. “This association might be attributable to the increased number of access points provided by complex-shaped green spaces.”

Elsewhere: Bay State Edition

A bill in Massachusetts would allow pharmacists to dispense 72-hour emergency supplies of insulin to patients. The state legislature there already passed a bill excluding insulin from insurance deductibles.