Recently the dagga community was abuzz regarding the CBD (Cannabidiol) Hemp Oil sold by Wellness Warehouse however the excitement was short lived as it quickly became apparent that this product is not the same as Phoenix Tears also known as Rick Simpson oil, which is a full extract of the flowers of the cannabis plant, nor was it even a close resemblance to an extract of the famous Charlotte’s Web high CBD strain sought after by parents who’s children are suffering from epileptic seizures.

Members of the South African dagga culture posted their concerns of the product sold by Wellness Warehouse as CBD oil soon after it went viral among the community.

“How can you sell a product that supposedly has healing CBD in but
yet also contains sunflower oil which is GMO & toxic?”

“Even the hemp plant contains a small percentage of THC.”

“It’s made from the Seeds not the plant thats why it doesnt have any trace of D9-THC.”

“Then its useless. Simple!”

We contacted Wellness Warehouse on Twitter and after a delay they responded and asked us to send questions we have regarding the product to the Managing Director of Wellness Warehouse “who would gladly answer any questions” we may have regarding the product.

We then compiled a few question from our readers and sent through our questionare.

A few days later Wellness Warehouse responded by asking if the answers will appear in the magazine to which we replied yes.

Another few days passed and this is the response received from Wellness Warehouse:

“As this isn’t an own brand product we feel this would better be directed to our supplier as a feature. They would be more than happy to answer your questions, I’m sure. If that works for you, I’ll forward your questions to him. Please let me know. Thanks – Wellness Warehouse”

We have since lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa.

The Wellness Warehouse website lists that the CBD Hemp Oil contains hemp oil, grape seed oil, sunflower oil, vanilla bean, vegetable glycerin emulsifier.

Further more the website says:

Cannabidiol CBD is a natural constituent of hemp oil. Cannabidiol
(CBD) is a naturally occurring constituent of industrial hemp/
cannabis. It is the most abundant non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. CBD is extracted and separated from specific varieties of cannabis, often known as hemp. Chemically, CBD is one of 85 chemical substances known as cannabinoids, which are all found in the cannabis plant. CBD has come into the spot light due to its potential benefits across a spectrum of conditions such as
psychiatric conditions, neuropathic pain, epilepsy and certain types
of cancer.

The is a large amount of preclinical evidence and studies on CBD
with large scale clinical trials underway.It is important to note that
CBD cannot make one high or intoxicated and that to date there are no documented studies that show undesirable effects.Our oil is produced in a facility in the US and has specifically been produced to comply with South African regulations. CBD is extracted from industrial hemp and then combined with organic grape seed oil. The result of which provides us with a pure CBD oil which has a 0.0001% concentration of THC and is a food supplement. It is also legal in South Africa as it complies with all of the regulatory requirements.

The unanswered questions:

• What are the ingredients used in Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil and does your product contain Cannabidiol?
• Does Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil contain any genetically modified organisms or any other form of genetically modified ingredients?
• Is Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil an extract from the flowers of hemp or seeds?
• If Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil contains the cannabinoid Cannabidiol how much of the cannabinoid is present in the product?
• If Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil contains the cannabinoid Cannabidiol how did your company manage to get past the red tape to be able to sell cannabinoids deemed illegal by the March 2014 amendments of the Drug & Trafficking Act of 1992?
• Is Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil sourced and manufactured in South Africa?
• Have Wellness Warehouse externally tested the terpene profile of the CBD Hemp Oil? If so what were the results?
• Can the canabanoids in the oil be independently verified? If so, would Wellness Warehouse object to an independent analysis of the product?
• At R66.60 per ml Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil is out of reach for many people, why is this product so expensive?
• Are you aware that the effects of CBD are enhanced/potentiated by using it in conjunction with other cannabinoids including THC? This makes whole plant extracts far more therapeutically valuable than isolated cannabinoids.
• A reader brought this to our attention: “The information on the Wellness Warehouse website is misleading – They explain studies show CBD therapy can achieve some amazing results – however the information is shared in such a way as to convince the reader that one could expect these results from their product. These healing results are generally not achieved through dosing with products created from Hemp CBD; diluted into base oil, but rather achieved through dosing with full plant extract with a high CBD ratio.” Could you comment on this statement?
• Is Wellness Warehouse CBD Hemp Oil safe to use on cancer patients and what is the success rate?