Former All-Pro tight end Kyle Turley received swift backlash from the FDA and FTC, after numerous claims that CBD will save you from COVID-19.
You should first know that former NFL All-Pro Kyle Turley believes marijuana saved his life. He used that exact phrasing in interviews with both Sports Illustrated and USA Today. He claimed the plant allowed him to stop taking painkillers, saying it cured him of chronic pain, vertigo, rage (including homicidal tendencies), and more.
“Without a doubt, cannabis saved my life,” he told Benzinga. “I wouldn’t be where I am today; I would not have my family, my kids, my house, everything I have right now, if not for cannabis.”
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But lately, Turley has told anyone who will listen that marijuana can prevent and cure the coronavirus. No clinical trials exist to corroborate such claims. NORML (the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws) told advocates and consumers alike to beware “if something sounds too good to be true,” regarding how marijuana can affect the coronavirus.
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Turley, who owns a South California dispensary and a line of CBD products called Neuro XPF, added that cannabis will boost your immune system and allow your body to fight the virus on its own. While research indicates cannabis is an immune-modulator, scientists disagree on how exactly marijuana affects your system. Some say marijuana suppresses your immune system, which causes inflammation to decrease. But inflammation also traps harmful viruses and bacteria, limiting their spread throughout your body.
“What are we going to do here?” Turley told USA TODAY. “Are we going to go into quarantine? Or are we going to live? And if you choose cannabis, I’m here to tell you that you’re going to live.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned several companies last month to stop making unsubstantiated claims about coronavirus cures. Turley said in an interview that he’d welcome federal action against his company for telling people the “truth” about CBD and cannabis. The FDA and FTC obliged his request.
“FDA is taking urgent measures to protect consumers from certain products that, without approval or authorization by FDA, claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people,” the FTC and FDA wrote in a joint letter to Turley. “As described below, you sell products that are intended to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. We request that you take immediate action to cease the sale of such unapproved and unauthorized products for the mitigation, prevention, treatment, diagnosis, or cure of COVID-19.”
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This isn’t the first time Turley made unsubstantiated claims around marijuana. The NFL radically changed its drug policies this year and will no longer suspend players for positive marijuana tests. Turley — an early advocate for NFL players using marijuana — credits himself for the rule revision, not all the other former and current football athletes who lobbied publicly and behind the scenes.
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“I made this happen,” Turley told APN News. “The NFL is moving the needle on this because I first spoke with the NFL. There is no way the conversation is happening without me.”
