With fears over the nationwide vaping crisis and contaminated nicotine, THC, and CBD products being sold, consumers and pharmacists are in need of a way to determine which products are safe and reliable.
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has developed a new resource to guide pharmacists in identifying quality CBD products. NCPA CBD Source is an online resource that lists verified products tested by independent laboratories.
“The CBD market is growing rapidly,” NCPA states on its website. “There are thousands of products and hundreds of manufacturers. Sifting through all of the claims, misinformation, and choices can be daunting, so we did it for you. NCPA has partnered with PRS to create a digital resource for CBD products, as well as an educational platform for pharmacists designated to give them the information they need to confidently advise their patients on all things CBD.”
NCPA CBD Source includes tests for all cannabinoids, including THC and CBD. Some products classified as CBD only have actually been found to contain more than scant traces of THC. There have been multiple reports of employees and athletes testing positive for THC when they thought they were only taking CBD. NCPA’s directory also will include contacts for pharmacists to reach out to with questions about product information or how to acquire the product from producers.
Carter High, doctor of pharmacy at Best Value Pharmacy in Rhome, Texas, already has plans to consult with NCPA CBD Source to learn more about available products. Since CBD is relatively new to most consumers and traditional pharmacies, High certainly has some questions. However, identifying reliable information can be difficult. He is rarely speaking with knowledgeable chemists, rather he is bombarded by sales pitches from CBD companies hoping to be carried by his store.
“It gets a little confusing as to whether or not they’re just talking a really good sales pitch, or if they really do have a genuine product,” High told Pharmacy Times.
While pharmacists are expected to do their best to stay up to date on available products and treatment options for patients, it can be quite difficult in an unregulated market with an ever-growing selection of CBD products and a vast array of supposed health benefits.
“Understanding just how CBD affects the body is a very good avenue for a pharmacist to delineate themselves as a knowledge expert on a new upcoming way of how to help patients out,” High said. “A marketplace such as [NCPA CBD Source] fills a very big gap that was missing, and helps from an efficiency standpoint at the store level.”
As federal regulations on CBD have yet to be finalized, pharmacists are in need of any resource that can help ensure they are providing patients with safe options, making the NCPA CBD Source an essential tool for pharmacists if it operates as intended.
