The number of people suffering harmful side effects of the lifestyle treatment cannabidiol – an active ingredient of cannabis – soared from four in 2017 to 56 last year.
The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency warned that the rise in ‘adverse drug reactions’ among those aged 50 to 59 had been particularly marked, with 28 since 2007.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is taken by up to seven million people attracted by claims that it helps with skin complaints, depression and insomnia, among other conditions.
The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency warned that the rise in ‘adverse drug reactions’ among those aged 50 to 59 had been particularly marked, with 28 since 2007 (file)
The £300 million industry is expected to be worth £1 billion by 2025.
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But the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has told pregnant and breastfeeding women not to take it.
Potential side effects include diarrhoea, drooling and damaged immune and reproductive systems. In April, a US woman of 56 became the first person to die from taking it.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is taken by up to seven million people attracted by claims that it helps with skin complaints, depression and insomnia, among other conditions (file)
CBD is a ‘novel food’ and manufacturers must prove its safety before selling it. But the FSA has given existing firms until March 31 to get a novel food licence.
Tory MP Craig Mackinlay said the industry was ‘a Wild West’.
Source: Daily Mail
