By Neil Trainis

The Food Standards Agency has lowered the recommended safe daily dose of cannabidiol to no more than 10 milligrams a day after concerns were raised that greater consumption of CBD could lead to long-term health problems such as liver damage or thyroid issues.

The FSA’s guidance, which sees the recommended daily dose come down from 70 milligrams, does not compel retailers, including any pharmacies that stock CBD products as well as online pharmacies, to remove items from their shelves or websites.

The FSA said its “precautionary” change in recommended dosage for adults to 10mg a day, which equates to 4-5 drops of five per cent CBD oil, is based on new evidence from the industry and updated advice from its independent scientific committee.

“The more CBD you consume over your lifetime, the more likely you are to develop long-term adverse effects, like liver damage or thyroid issues. The level of risk is related to how much you take, in the same way it is with some other potentially harmful products such as alcoholic drinks,” said the FSA’s chief scientific advisor Robin May.

CBD products can be sold as oils, drops, tinctures and sprays as well as gel capsules, sweets and confectionery, bread and drinks. The General Pharmaceutical Council says pharmacies that stock, or are considering stocking CBD products, “should use caution when deciding what, if any, CBD food products to sell” and ensure products comply with the regulations by checking the FSA’s database.

The FSA advises that groups of “vulnerable” people including children, patients taking medication who have not consulted a medical professional and pregnant or breastfeeding women, do not use CBD.

The Association for the Cannabinoid Industry said it “acknowledges the updated consumer advice” and insisted it understood “the importance of evidence-based recommendations to protect public health” but added it would “examine the scientific evidence to better understand how the FSA have come to their conclusion.”

“We urge retailers to take this as guidance, which it is. Nothing will change immediately in terms of products included on the FSA’s public list,” the ACI said.

“We highlight to consumers that this guidance demonstrates the FSA still considers CBD to be safe and their advice relates to lifetime consumption of daily high doses of CBD.”

The ACI also said the FSA should “find a suitable solution for companies that have invested heavily to submit novel foods authorisation applications for their products.”

However, Marika Graham-Woods, the executive director of the Cannabis Trades Association which has 200 members, said the FSA’s decision will “frighten consumers and retailers” and unfairly penalised the CBD industry.

“I don’t see any benefit in what they (the FSA) have done,” she said.

The FSA’s CEO Emily Miles said: “We understand that this change to our advice will have implications for products currently on the market that contain more than 10mg of CBD per serving.

“We will be working closely with industry to minimise the risk, to ensure consumers are not exposed to potentially harmful levels of CBD.”