By Zuckerman
Zuckerman finds following the CBD Wars a bit like tracking the nasty cocktail of terrorist groups in the Middle East these days. Who’s attacking whom? Why? And, by the way, are there any good guys out there?
Nasty, nasty
Perhaps the biggest flashpoint in this “non-linear” war is the clash between Medical Marijuana Inc. (MMI), a grubby penny stock that claims it was ambushed by a rather shadowy “Project CBD” in a 2014 report lovingly titled “Hemp Oil Hustlers” that “detailed” some nasty problems with MMI’s CBD-based products. MMI, populated by some cowboys of the highest order, returned fire with a $100 million libel suit now winding its way through California’s courts that seems to be flushing an assortment of weasels from the bushes.
Zuckerman asks himself: Who are these people? Then he asks Google because from the Project CBD website, it’s tough to tell who’s actually behind this “non-profit educational service dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical utility of cannabidiol (CBD) and other components of the cannabis plant.”
What’s ‘at smell?
Cruising Project CBD’s list of “Friends & Affiliates,” Z-man finds such initiatives as “Patients Out of Time”; “The Prostate Awareness Foundation” (at Zuckerman’s age, trust us, he’s aware); “The Silver Tour”; and “Dr. Bronner’s Magic ‘All-One!’” (NOT Zuckerman’s exclamation point) – all looking and sounding rather legitimate. But limited bandwidth — and a whiff of the malodorous despite Dr. Bronner’s mighty fine soap — turn Zuckerman away from falling deeper into this particular rabbit hole.
Early adopters
Suffice it to say that CBD, with all of the “get-rich-quick” aura around it, is attracting the usual kind of “early adopters”: ex-cons and pop-up consultancies, mostly, with a few questionable “non-profit” operations thrown in for good measure. Their internecine battles cloud the real potential of CBD in the marketplace, and its promise to help some desperate people looking for solutions to dire health problems.
Not good.
