Emily Dashiell, ND, is a licensed naturopathic physician who runs her own private practice for women, children and families seeking health prevention and wellness.
Depending on the laws in your state, marijuana may or may not be legal for medical or recreational use. The effects of marijuana vary from person to person, depending on many variables, including type, dosage, frequency of use, and interactions with current medications. If you are interested in using cannabis in any form, please discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist. Unlike prescription drugs, marijuana purchased from pharmacies and recreational facilities is not regulated by the FDA.
Despite its popularity, information about cannabidiol (CBD for short) can be confusing. Especially when it comes to figuring out the right way to use it. How do you ensure that the products you buy are legal? What are the health benefits? Is CBD Legal? Here are the answers to the most pressing questions about CBD.
Our current understanding of CBD comes from a variety of products and ways to use them. Coffee houses sell CBD lattes, spas offer CBD facials, and beauty companies add CBD to their products. And CBD gummies.
While modern cannabidiol (CBD) may seem new, hemp products have been around for centuries. In a 2020 study published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, researchers found that hemp seeds were used as far back as nearly 12,000 years ago in Central Asia where nomads and traders traveled. People have known about the commercial and medicinal value of this plant for thousands of years.
CBD is a natural chemical found in the cannabis plant. Cannabis is a genus of plants that contains many different compounds that have different effects on the body.
Two different cannabis plants are marijuana and marijuana. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are two chemicals found in these plants. Cannabis is high in THC and low in CBD. In contrast, hemp contains more CBD and less THC.
Unlike THC, which causes a “high” when consumed, CBD is not psychoactive. This is the main difference.
Short answer: no. While the cannabis plant contains hundreds of compounds (called phytocannabinoids), there are two main ones: CBD and THC.
“CBD is the non-psychoactive part of the plant, so you won’t have any effects like euphoria,” explains Junella Chin, osteopathic physician and medical marijuana expert at cannabisMD.
About 5 percent of people said they felt a difference after taking CBD, according to Dr. Chin. It’s unusual, but for unknown reasons, some people react differently to CBD.
“Often it’s the same person who had a side effect of either Advil or Tylenol,” said Dr. Chin. You never know how your body will react to any new supplement, so the first time you take CBD, do so safely and under medical supervision.
It’s also important to buy CBD that has been third-party tested to ensure quality. Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate over-the-counter CBD, it is possible to buy products that are more or less effective than advertised, or even contain small amounts of THC.
While the FDA does not regulate CBD products, it will issue warning letters to companies that violate certain laws, such as those that make products containing THC or make false medical claims on their labels.
Read any CBD product recommendation and you’ll find people claiming that CBD can help treat a number of conditions, including back pain, psoriasis, osteoarthritis, and even cancer.
But currently, the only FDA-approved CBD drug is Epidiolex (cannabidiol), which is used to treat certain types of epilepsy.
“Every day, patients come to my clinic asking about CBD,” explains Howman Danesh, MD, Director of Comprehensive Pain Management at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
But despite a lot of anecdotal evidence, Dr. Danesh added, it’s still hard to tell what the real benefits are due to a lack of research.
“Right now, pharmacies are trying to understand this and are saying, ‘Yes, it works for this,’” Dr. Danesh said, “but that’s not how medicine is practiced — it has to be based on evidence and evidence. There is not much evidence to support these claims.”
While there are few unbiased studies, some studies show promising results. For example, researchers in a 2021 study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that a CBD-rich treatment helped relieve moderate to severe pain, anxiety, and depression. These treatments also improve the overall health of people with these symptoms. However, the study does not show that CBD benefits people with milder symptoms.
“There could be benefits in both cases,” Dr. Danesh said, adding that the difficulty is that there is some evidence that CBD is most effective for pain when combined with a small amount of THC. “Depending on the type of pain you have, you can only use CBD, but sometimes you need [both] CBD and THC.”
It can also be difficult to figure out how much you should be taking. A dose that relieves one person’s pain may do little to help another.
“I think CBD is a safe thing to try,” continues Dr. Danesh. Dr. Danesh also urged people to push for more research by putting pressure on representatives to push for national bills that would allow scientists to delve deeper into CBD and the conditions it responds to.
“[CBD] tells your body to calm down and reminds you that you are safe,” explains Dr. Chin. “It softens the nervous system so you are not in an increased fight-or-flight response.
For this reason, people with anxiety may find that it helps them feel more relaxed. However, one of the biggest misconceptions about CBD is that it is a wonder drug.
“Often people think that CBD is a panacea, but it is not,” added Dr. Chin. “You should also lead a healthy lifestyle that includes lots of exercise and good nutrition. CBD won’t solve everything.”
While CBD can treat anxiety symptoms, it’s important to seek the help of a mental health professional to address and address the root cause of your anxiety.
The best way to administer CBD depends on your preference. Some people don’t want to take anything by mouth and prefer a topical CBD cream or ointment.
“You can apply it to muscles, joints, and ligaments and still get great local release,” says Dr. Chin.
The biggest differences between tinctures and foods are the speed of administration and the duration of the effect.
“The tincture looks like a little liquid that you put under your tongue, and after half an hour you feel relief. If you like the taste of something, you can choose an edible, whether it be capsules, chewing gums or pastries, ”says the doctor. Qin said.
“There are literally hundreds of CBD brands,” said Brandon Beatty, founder and CEO of Bluebird Botanicals and executive vice president of the American Cannabis Roundtable.
If it’s a dietary supplement, Beatty says it should have a back panel with a disclaimer section and FDA warnings.
“Ideally, it would be nice to have access to the results of their third-party laboratory tests,” Beatty added.
Quality assurance is the real concern of the industry. Make sure your CBD products are third-party verified to confirm the labeling is accurate. Third parties are reputable independent organizations that are not affiliated with the companies that sell the products.
Take, for example, the 2017 JAMA study. The study tested 84 CBD products and found that 26 percent contained less CBD than indicated on the package.
Look for a quality mark or certificate of analysis from a third party, or if you don’t see one on the product label, check the retailer’s website.
NSF International is one of the leading third-party nutritional supplement testing organizations. If you are not sure if your supplement has been tested by a third party, you can use the search tool on the NSF website for this purpose.
“Many brands are bad at informing consumers about dosage,” said Chris Roth, CEO and co-founder of Highline Wellness.
When considering dosage, consider whether your CBD is full spectrum, broad spectrum, or isolated. The full spectrum may include other cannabinoids such as cannabinoids or cannabinol.
This is important because “there is something called the ‘environment effect’; when they are together, they are more effective than either of them individually,” explained Ross.
The difference between Full Spectrum and Broad Spectrum CBD is that Broad Spectrum CBD contains no traces of THC.
Isolate, on the other hand, is 100% CBD. Some people may need as little as 10 mg of full-spectrum CBD, but with an isolate, even 80 or 100 mg may not have the same effect, Roth added.
“You should avoid any company that claims to be sick,” Beatty said. “If [they make statements like that], it means they either want to break the rules or they don’t understand the rules.”
Do you know how to check the lot number of a raw chicken or lettuce bag every time there is a recall to make sure what you buy won’t make you sick? You should be able to do this with CBD products as well. Manufacturers must indicate the batch number on their products.
“That’s a great indicator of whether they’re adhering to best manufacturing practices,” Beatty explained. “If a product is improperly made, there must be a way to identify that product so the company can recall it.”
You can find CBD products in malls, stores, and cafes in many states. There are also many online stores that sell CBD products. When in doubt, natural food stores are a safe place to buy CBD.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump signed the Farm Act, also known as the Farm Improvement Act, legalizing hemp cultivation at the federal level.
This means that “consumers all over the world can grow hemp and use hemp products as long as they abide by their regulations,” Parrish explained, “including CBD.”
“It’s definitely great that marijuana can now be grown freely under federal law,” Parrish continued. “However, while it is legal under federal law, each state is free to set its own policy.”
Post time: May-05-2023