The US Food and Drug Administration this week warned a company founded by a former professional football player to stop making claims that CBD can treat COVID-19, or face legal action.
Las Vegas-based NeuroXPF (which has an EU office in Ireland) was founded by former NFL player Kyle Turley.
Among statements on NeuroXPF’s website was a claim that CBD would “Crush Corona!”, with supporting text stating “Your best defense against the COVID-19 blitz starts with a strong immune system”.
In a letter dated 31 March, the FDA writes that it “has determined that your website offers cannabidiol (CBD) products for sale in the United States and that these products are intended to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure COVID-19.”
The letter warns NeuroXPF that its products “are unapproved new drugs sold in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act”, and additionally are “misbranded drugs” under the the same Act.
The regulator has instructed NeuroXPF to “take immediate action to correct the violations cited in this letter” and to confirm that it has done so “within 48 hours”. It adds: “Failure to immediately correct the violations cited in this letter may result in legal action, including, without limitation, seizure and injunction.”