Scientists who tested a number of CBD products, a popular pain reliever, found that most contained illegal drugs.
The tests were carried out on behalf of various local authorities by Kent Scientific Services (KSS), the official testing laboratory run by Kent County Council.
Products were tested by Kent Scientific Services
Test results on 61 products found that 44 samples contained one or more of the psychoactive elements of cannabis.
They are controlled and illegal drugs.
KSS public analyst Jon Griffin who led the tests said: “CBD is the non-psychoactive element of cannabis.
“It is suggested that it may have benefits such as reducing anxiety, helping with sleep and controlling pain.
“CBD alone is not an illegal controlled drug.”
Pieces of glue: one of the products with illegal ingredients
CBD is classified as a novel food and is currently being assessed for safety by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has allowed around 6,000 products to be marketed in the UK, pending final approval
The product can only be sold if it is listed.
Products at the other end of the scale were found to contain almost no CBD, despite claiming so, making them up to 99% deficient.
Two did not claim to contain any CBD but did, and two others contained products that are not on the FSA list.
In total, of the 61 samples, 72% contained one or more of these psychoactive elements of cannabis.
Mark Rolfe, the head of KSS, said: “The problem with this, in my view, is that people don’t know what they’re consuming.
“We tested a sample for a member of the public who has failed a workplace drug test without having touched drugs in his life, according to him.
“However, he has consumed this product which we have found to contain the drug for which he failed the test.”
A wide range of products were tested, including foods that were covered by the FSA, as well as cosmetics and vapors that were not.
Examples of products include gummy bears, jam, gummies, cookies, lollipops, and CBD drinks.
Others were CBD oil, vapors in various flavors including lemon, watermelon and raspberry, muscle balm and beard oil.
The result of the analysis of each product is sent to the agency or service that commissioned it to KSS for them to determine what action to take.
