CBD oil ‘threat to safe drivers and athletes’

SOME cannabis oils being withdrawn from health shops could put drivers and athletes at risk of failing drug tests, and pose a risk to health, a food safety chief has warned.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland last week ordered retailers to remove batches of cannabidiol (CBD oil) after tests showed they contained illegal and unsafe levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

CBD oil has grown in popularity in recent years with some sellers making unproven claims that it helps alleviate anxiety and certain other health problems.

It is extracted by pressing the seeds, stalk and leaves of hemp plants which are grown under licence with low levels of THC.

Users are told to put a few drops under their tongue each day with a dropper.

Most claim to have trace or negligible amounts of THC, but FSAI tests on CBD oils being sold in Ireland found that 37% contained levels of THC which, if the oil was taken at the maximum recommended dose, ‘could result in safety limits set by the European Food Safety Authority being significantly exceeded’.

The FSAI described these products as ‘unsafe’ and issued an immediate recall on batches of 15 brands.

This included bottles of Jacob Hooy CBD oil which seller Holland & Barrett insisted to the IMoS just a week ago was safe and being legally marketed.

Now Dr Pat O’Mahoney, chief specialist in food technology at the FSAI, has also warned that some of the CBD oils recalled, although not the Jacob Hooy one we highlighted, could cause drivers and athletes to fail drug tests if taken at the maximum recommended doses. And the MoS can reveal the FSAI has now referred its test results to the gardaí.

Dr O’Mahoney warned that the levels of THC found in some of the products tested would particularly affect drivers, not just in terms of failing a drug test but also in terms of their ability to control a vehicle. ‘It’s a real issue,’ he added.