While there has been anecdotal talk of cannabis with THC as a potential solution to weaning opioid addicts to a less dangerous level of drug use, it has never been proven to be a fail-safe alternative.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to two companies for illegally selling unapproved products containing cannabidiol (CBD) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The FDA said that BIOTA Biosciences and Natures CBD Oil Distribution were claiming their CBD products could be used to treat opioid addiction.

The FDA has requested responses from the companies within 15 working days stating how they will correct the violations. Failure to correct the violations promptly may result in legal action, including product seizure and/or injunction.

“The opioid crisis continues to be a serious problem in the United States, and we will continue to crack down on companies that attempt to benefit from selling products with unfounded treatment claims,” said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D. “CBD has not been shown to treat opioid addiction. Opioid addiction is a real problem in our country and those who are addicted need to seek out proper treatment from a health care provider. There are many unanswered questions about the science, safety, effectiveness and quality of unapproved products containing CBD, and we will continue to work to protect the health and safety of American consumers from products that are being marketed in violation of the law.”

The two warning letters were issued to:

• BIOTA Biosciences, LLC of Washington state for marketing and distributing injectable CBD products as well as an injectable curcumin product. These products are marketed for serious diseases and as an alternative to opioids. BIOTA Biosciences markets private label CBD and wholesale CBD extracts, and their products include beverages, bulk CBD extracts, and water soluble CBD, as well as injectable curcumin.
• Homero Corp DBA Natures CBD Oil Distribution of New Hampshire for marketing and distributing CBD products as a treatment to opioid addiction as well as other serious diseases. The firm is an own-label distributor for CBD products as well as a retailer for Green Roads CBD products.

The FDA noted that Natures CBD website claimed that its product “Has had success in alleviating severe withdrawal symptoms associated with opiate dependency. Natures Pure CBD also has taken off the ball and chain around the opiate addicts’ neck and has relieved the addiction totally by using Natures Pure CBD restoring the person back to a quality of life worth living.”  “The Opiate addiction rate of recovery is low and Natures Pure CBD oil offers promise for those suffering from chronic opiate use.”  “Natures Pure CBD oil works for these medications which all have addictive properties to them: opium, fentanyl, heroin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, morphine and hydromorphone. Natures Pure CBD Oil has been effective in the treatment and eradication of opiate use.”

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For BIOTA, the FDA pointed out claims on the website like “CBD . . . and its ability to suppress pain and aid in the detoxification processes has highlighted it as a promising therapeutic for a wide array of disorders such as epilepsy, including many challenging neuropathy conditions. When patients consider trying a new therapeutic like CBD, there are many options for delivery that can be more efficacious to the patient. One delivery option is BIOTA CBD Sterile Vial Therapy.”  “Instant relief for patients that are symptomatic of inflammatory auto-immune diseases”

While there has been anecdotal talk of cannabis with THC as a potential solution to weaning opioid addicts to a less dangerous level of drug use, it has never been proven to be a fail-safe alternative. There have been no FDA evaluation of whether these products are effective for their intended use, what the proper dosage might be, how they could interact with FDA-approved drugs, or whether they have dangerous side effects or other safety concerns.

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In addition, the manufacturing process of unapproved CBD drug products has not been subject to FDA review as part of the human or animal drug approval processes. In March, the FDA provided updates on its work related to CBD products with a focus on protecting public health and providing market clarity. The FDA continues to be concerned that some people wrongly think that the myriad of CBD products on the market have been evaluated by the FDA and determined to be safe, or that using CBD “can’t hurt.”

Under the FD&C Act, any product intended to treat a disease or otherwise have a therapeutic or medical use, and any product (other than a food) that is intended to affect the structure or function of the body of humans or animals, is a drug. The FDA has not approved any CBD products other than one prescription human drug product to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy.

This article originally appeared on Green Market Report.