The Federal Trade Commission should have their first “public health enemy number one” on their list of companies that mislead consumers with unsubstantiated product claims: Big Marijuana. The Commission recently sent to hundreds of companies guidance on advertising health-related products, not to make unsubstantiated claims and warned them of penalties if violated.
The FTC has a long and storied history as a watchdog agency guarding the public against false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims from merchant marketers, most notably Big Tobacco. Ironically the regulators will be kept busy by a questionable growing cottage industry that is being built by state governments, as the federal government turns its back on legalizing marijuana use — medicinal or recreational.
Since the late 1990s, state governments have passed medical marijuana laws under a cry for “compassionate care,” yet no state’s Act gives compelling evidence that the use of cannabis meets the hallmarks of quality patient care, i.e., the care is a) safe; b) effective; c) evidence-based; d) standard practice; and e) patient centered. It is understandably unpopular to be against something that will help placate conditions or diseases that plague people, such as cancer, PTSD, Alzheimer’s and AIDS. Yet for all the talk lately about