Cannabidiol (CBD) products are CBD extracts from Cannabis Sativa plants, they are produced in a variety of forms such as E-liquids and food supplements with the most popular product being CBD oils. They are on the rise within the United Kingdom and worldwide but with the risk of confusing or little regulation/legislation. Research has shown that there is currently a lack of knowledge surrounding the analysis of these products to see if their contents are accurately labelled. This study aims to determine the current legislation that is present and the extent to which this mis-labelling is occurring to demonstrate the need for regulation of these products. An online search for journal articles with relevant key words and topics such as “CBD” and “CBD product analysis” produced a total of six research papers, these had been selected from a larger search volume due to their titles and abstracts. Four of these papers were then selected to perform a meta-analysis on the analysis of over-the-counter CBD products. The results demonstrated discrepancy between product content and their label showing mis-labelling with both under and over labelling of CBD concentrations across all of the research papers, concerningly with some products containing double the concentration of CBD than stated on their packaging. This led to the acknowledgement that the current legislation/regulations surrounding CBD products can often be ambiguous. Further to this an internet search showed a rise in CBD interest escalating since 2016. The results thus help to conclude that change in regulations is needed in order to ensure the safety of these products for consumers. On this basis, it is recommended that further research is carried out that covers products on the market from 2020-2021 and to ensure that regulations are continually updated to enable CBD products to be accurately labelled.
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