Don’t Buy CBD on Amazon (Yet)! Here’s Why.

‘CBD’ purchased on Amazon isn’t usually good CBD … and sometimes isn’t CBD at all.

Technically, Amazon doesn’t sell CBD. Technically.

The world’s biggest online retailer has a no-CBD policy because of the hazy regulatory environment surrounding vetting and payment processing of cannabinoid products. But there is a dark workaround that shady sellers use to game Amazon’s algorithm and get products to appear in searches.

?This situation creates a gray market where companies with questionable business models sell questionable products, and Amazon sort of looks the other way. Here’s why and how this needs to change—and why you shouldn’t risk buying CBD on Amazon until it does.

Gaming the algorithm while dodging policy enforcement

Amazon states that “Listings for products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are prohibited,” putting the substance on a “restricted” product list that includes stuff like “alcohol, tobacco, and live animals.” The e-retailer enforces this policy by blocking or removing sellers and products that use terms like “CBD,” “cannabinoids,” or “cannabinol.”

But some sellers get around the ban by simply removing “CBD” from their packaging and listings and putting in alternate keywords. And though Amazon officially doesn’t allow CBD products, its algorithm essentially does. The AI is smart enough to show people products marketed as “hemp oil,” “hemp extract,” or “hemp gummies” when they type “CBD” in the search bar.

?A December 2019 investigation by The Washington Post “found that it’s possible, even easy, to buy the forbidden compound on the online retail site.” The Post’s reporters sent 13 “hemp” products they bought on Amazon to a reputable lab and found that 11 of them contained CBD. One even had THC, which is not federally legal above 0.3% and could cause a buyer to fail a drug test.

?This situation hasn’t changed all that much in the past two years, though Amazon does make some moves to enforce its policy. The e-commerce retailer removes some of these pages after determining products are really CBD, though not always. But when the company removes products, many sellers simply rebrand as something else—new name, new packaging—and put it back up on the site.

The result is a cat-and-mouse game that everybody, especially the customer, loses.

The harm in buying a CBD product that isn’t what it says it is?

There are no clear winners in this situation, though some parties fare better than others.

Amazon reaps some financial benefits, but it’s tarnishing its brand as a place to go for quality products and one that treats sellers equally. Similarly, the CBD companies that sneak onto the site make some money using tricky tactics. But instead of focusing their resources on product efficacy, sourcing, and the overall quality and credibility of their products, they are “brand burning”—selling the same questionable stuff that was banned under a different name.?

Then, there is the impact on reputable companies, such Charlotte’s Web, cbdMD, Medterra, and (ahem!) Sunday Scaries . None of us are willing to engage in marketing games on a platform where we aren’t wanted.

Instead, we focus on sourcing the best raw materials, finding state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, and dialing in custom formulations for maximum stress relief. Our media strategy focuses on placements in top-tier outlets like Forbes , the Los Angeles Times , Men’s Health , Cosmopolitan , and more, where genuine customers and reviewers sing our praises.

Don’t get me wrong: we’d love to sell on Amazon, which had 51.2% of US digital retail sales and 9.2% of all retail sales in 2020. But we can’t do it honestly until Amazon officially accepts the product—and maybe until lawmakers and the FDA clear up the regulatory environment. And we won’t do it if we can’t do it honestly.

Finally, there is the harm to the consumer, who winds up losing the most. Amazon is doing its customers a huge disservice by allowing brand-burning companies to manipulate the algorithm instead of focusing on their product and consumer trust. By banning the legitimate brands, Amazon opens the floodgates to bad players and allows them to own the space. Many of the unlabeled CBD products you can buy on the site don’t use clean and high-quality broad-spectrum oil, or they promote bizarre inaccurate dosages. Some imply their products have CBD—but they don’t really have any of it in them at all.

When you use CBD, you should know exactly what you are putting in your body in precisely what amount. You should feel safe buying from a reputable company with lab reports to back up their claims. Unfortunately, a ‘Wild West’ online market makes this impossible, rewarding sellers who lie as part of their business model.

It’s all doing a massive injustice to consumers.

How to fix the problem and give good companies, quality products, and users their due

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A lot of this issue stems from government regulators keeping CBD in a gray area, even though the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp-derived cannabinoids with no more than 0.3% THC. If legislators guarantee access to financing and payment processing with recent bills and the FDA classifies CBD as a dietary supplement, Amazon will undoubtedly open the platform to properly labeled products. Fortunately, there are some signs of hope on the government horizon.

But opening up the site to CBD is just the first step, and Amazon shouldn’t wait until every regulatory piece is in place while still offering shady mislabeled products. The company currently has a product enforcement division, and some of those resources should go to a team that ensures quality CBD products by:?

●?????Verifying that each CBD company uses manufacturing facilities that are FDA-registered and GMP (Good Manufacturing Processes)-certified.

●?????Requiring sellers to have and publish legitimate third-party Certificates of Analysis (COA) that ensure products are precisely what they say they are—at the correct dosages.

●?????Checking sellers’ reviews and testimonials from verified buyers on their actual web domains. Fly-by-night, brand-burning companies don’t have many verified reviews because every time they spin up a new label, they start from scratch.

●?????Showcasing products from companies that build legitimate, long-lasting brands instead of using deceptive practices to make a quick buck.

Open up e-commerce to legit CBD!?

Amazon’s current relationship with CBD is sort of a ‘have their cake and eat it too’ strategy. The company officially says CBD is prohibited because it doesn’t want to get into an uncertain area and figure out what it can legally sell. But Amazon is still profiting from illegitimate brands that exploit the algorithm while halfheartedly chasing them off the site.

?So, to Amazon and Jeff Bezos individually (big fan, BTW), I say this: Acknowledge our industry as legit. And put in the effort to identify and promote great brands that offer quality products. Until this happens, you’re penalizing the companies who put in the work and expense to make great stuff while selling dodgy or even risky products to customers.

?CBD is legal, immensely popular, and here to stay. So, let's lay the groundwork for lasting e-commerce convenience and quality.

?Mike Sill is the co-founder of Sunday Scaries , a CBD e-commerce company on a mission to transform a worrisome nation into a chill one.