An image posted on social media of an energy drink sold at an Army and Air Force Exchange Service store had its plastic outer label removed, revealing printing from one of energy drink maker Kill Cliff’s CBD products. On Oct. 7, 2023, AAFES said the drink didn’t contain CBD, which is illegal for service members to use, and had been relabeled by the vendor. (Facebook/U.S. Army WTF! Moments)
A relabeled energy drink sold at Army and Air Force Exchange stores did not contain the marijuana compound CBD, the exchange said in a social media statement.
A post on the popular social media site U.S. Army WTF! Moments on Saturday contained images of a Kill Cliff energy drink with the plastic outer label removed to reveal printing on the can from one of its products containing CBD, which is illegal for service members to use under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and federal law.
The drink vendor has “advised the Exchange that it relabeled aluminum cans previously printed for a discontinued item,” AAFES said in a reply to U.S. Army WTF! Moments on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The relabeled cans are being removed from store shelves, AAFES added. It wasn’t immediately known which stores were selling the relabeled drinks.
Kill Cliff was founded by a former Navy SEAL and has gained attention through partnerships with celebrities like Joe Rogan.
CBD, or cannabidiol, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration only as a treatment for two forms of epilepsy. However, the compound has been touted as a remedy for many maladies.
While CBD is being studied as a treatment for many conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and anxiety, research supporting the drug’s benefits is limited, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
The FDA announced in January that it would not regulate the chemical, leaving any further legal action up to Congress.
While CBD lacks the psychoactive marijuana compound THC, it is difficult to know what is in many products.
A 2017 study of 84 CBD products bought online found THC in 18 of them, and 31 of them contained less CBD than labeled, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Food supplements also are largely unregulated. In 2011, the military banned the sale of energy drinks and products containing the amphetamine-like chemical compound DMAA, and the FDA followed suit the following year. A DOD safety report concluded that DMAA elevated risk of death, heat injury, irregular heartbeat, seizures, muscle breakdown, brain hemorrhage and kidney failure.
