*This article first appeared on SFGate.com and is reposted with permission
The Food and Drug Administration warned a California cannabis company on Monday that its injectable hemp CBD could be posing “serious harm” to public health, telling the company that its product is violating federal law.
Pico IV sells a purified version of CBD, a non-intoxicating compound produced by cannabis, that is designed to be injected into the bloodstream through an intravenous infusion. The Sacramento company has testimonials on its website that say the CBD IV therapy can help treat chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, and arthritis.
The FDA, however, warned Pico IV in a Monday letter that it is breaking the law by marketing CBD as a “dietary supplement,” even though it is explicitly designed to not be ingested and instead be injected. The agency also said the product is “especially concerning” because injectable drugs “can pose risks of serious harm to users.” The FDA said injecting anything directly into a person’s bloodstream can “lead to serious and life-threatening conditions.”
Pico IV CEO Joe Young said in an emailed statement to SFGATE that “public safety is our top priority” and that the company’s product undergoes a process “designed to ensure sterility and safety.”
“We are confident in the safety profile of our product and are working diligently to provide the FDA with the necessary information to resolve their concerns,” Young’s statement said.
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Pico IV’s website states that it offers the world’s first injectable CBD product. The product is produced from American-grown hemp plants, a legal category for some cannabis plants, and is “completely sterile and safe for intravenous use.” It is not available for regular retail sale; only “physicians, providers, and IV therapy clinics” can purchase vials of the injectable CBD, according to the company’s website.
Toxicologists have long been concerned about cannabis products because they do not face rigorous federal safety standards. Cannabis products are also at a higher risk of being contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides. Pico IV says on its website that all of its products are tested by third-party labs for purity.
