A new report sheds light on how medical crowdfunding sites are spreading misinformation about the efficacy of using CBD products to treat cancer, with possible adverse impact for patients. There is no robust clinical evidence to support the use of CBD—the non-psychoactive component of marijuana—for any type of cancer. Yet most campaigns seeking funds for CBD for cancer-related care on GoFundMe portray the compound as a curative or life-prolonging drug for cancer patients.
Commercial businesses cashing in on CBD’s popularity make unsupported claims about using the product as a complementary treatment for cancer—thereby disseminating misinformation that can cause unnecessary financial strain and delay or even exclude evidence-based cancer treatment. Crowdfunding platforms have a responsibility to check the validity of such claims and must intervene to stop spreading this misinformation.
Meanwhile, more misinformation: a new study challenges previous assumptions that opioid use and opioid-related deaths have declined in states with legal marijuana. Instead, an analysis by researchers at Columbia University finds that opioid use actually doubled on days that participants used marijuana, meaning that cannabis is not being substituted for illegal opioids. Pro-pot groups had used the previous finding to claim that marijuana legalization could be deployed to help curb the opioid epidemic.
And finally, Johnson & Johnson has added $1 billion to its contribution to a possible settlement of nationwide opioid lawsuits, bringing the company’s total to $5 billion. Settlement talks are continuing between opioid makers, drug distributors and pharmacy chains that are being sued by states, the federal government and Native American tribes for their alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis.