Truth CBD Gummies/Pure CBD Gummies

Sometimes the deceptive marketing falls right into our lap or should we say, our inbox.

We recently received a spam email that included the entirety of a blog post promoting Truth CBD Gummies. There isn’t one or two issues with the post, which touts a “limited time offer” for 95 percent off, but several. In no particular order:

• Illegal drug claims: The post claims that Truth CBD Gummies treat everything from anxiety and depression, to epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. But here’s the thing that consumers need to remember: Marketing CBD products as having the ability to treat, cure, alleviate the symptoms of, or prevent developing diseases and disorders is simply not permitted by law without FDA approval. And the FDA has approved only one CBD product, a prescription drug to treat seizures associated with certain diseases, while it has sent dozens of warning letters to companies marketing CBD products with unapproved drug claims.
• Unsubstantiated health claims: The post boasts that health claims such as the ones above are backed by “clinical trials and laboratory analysis” but doesn’t provide any documentation to support this statement. (For example, clicking on “Truth CBD Gummies Results” takes consumers to the inactive Truth CBD Gummies Facebook page, which doesn’t provide any clinical data.) Here’s why that’s a problem: While the FDA requires its approval to make drug claims, the FTC demands marketers have competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate such health claims.
• Not the actual product pictured: The gummies pictured in the post aren’t the actual product but rather a stock image.
• Product name and offer changes: Clicking to take advantage of the 95 percent off discount takes consumers to a page with a different offer for a different product. Now, consumers are presented with a “free bottle” of Greenhouse Research Pure CBD Gummies. This new product is marketed to treat not only anxiety and depression but also schizophrenia, arthritis, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in violation of federal law.
• Time pressure tactics: The Pure CBD Gummies page ramps up the pressure to act fast, with a countdown timer that starts ticking down from 10 minutes the second you arrive on the page. But it’s all a ruse: The timer can be reset just by reloading the page. Such deceptive tactics, designed to confuse and manipulate consumers into making decisions that they would not otherwise make, are known as dark patterns.

The bottom line

If you want the truth about CBD, you’re going to have to scrutinize CBD sellers’ marketing claims but also look beyond them. As a disclaimer inconspicuously placed at the very bottom of the Truth CBD Gummies page puts it:

Please understand that any advice or guidelines revealed here are not even remotely a substitute for sound medical advice from a licensed healthcare provider.

Find more of our coverage on CBD products here.