CBD

CB – Do’s and Dont’s

 

By: Trending Topics 2019

 

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol, aka CBD is the second most abundant cannabinoid in the marijuana plant, but let’s take a step back and start with the basics. Marijuana, hemp, ganja, grass, bud, weed, good old Mary Jane; the stuff that your grandparents hate and everyone at The Grateful Dead concert loves. As more and more states decriminalize and recreationally legalize marijuana, the more it becomes apart of our every day lives. Growing up being force fed lies about the “devils lettuce” and all its gateway drug horrors, it’s hard to flip the switch and accept it as God’s gift to the world; but if we take a second and look at marijuana with some logic, you can really open your third eye. Looking at marijuana from a chemical standpoint looks like something out of a Syfy movie, but all you really need to know is that the plant has two main chemical compounds called cannabinoids. Cannabinoids get their fancy name due to the fact that they react with our bodies’ Cannabinoid receptors found in our brains and immune systems. The two main cannabinoids affecting the body when using marijuana are tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, also known as the stuff that gets you high; the other is our good old friend CBD. Its in the news, its in the papers, its all over the internet, CBD is the world’s latest and greatest miracle drug. But before you wipe out that sketchy gas station around the corner of all it’s “CBD gummy bears”, lets dig a little deeper to the roots of this psychoactive plant.

By: Winston Peki

Myths about CBD

“CBD will get me high” myth

CBD does interact with the cannabinoid receptors of the brain, but not in the same psychoactive manner that THC does.

“CBD will make me fail a drug test” myth

CBD isn’t what drug tests test for, drug tests test for THC because that’s the part that gets you high. If it isn’t getting you stoned, why bother testing for it?

“CBD is illegal” myth

CBD is federally legal, as long as it contains less than 0.3% THC. Some states have stricter laws than others when it comes to marijuana, for example in Virginia CBD requires a medical prescription. But at the end of the day CBD is legal for the same reasons it won’t make you fail a drug test.

“CBD is addictive” myth

As controversial as it is, its generally accepted that marijuana in itself is nonaddictive. I mean, if the part of weed that gets you stoned isn’t addictive, the rest of it most certainly isn’t.

“CBD cures all” myth

Every day the laundry list of medical benefits of CBD gets longer and longer, but one article will tell you CBD is the perfect cure for insomnia, while the next will tell you it’s the perfect subconscious stimulator to keep you up at night to, say I don’t know, stay up and write a blog about CBD. Let’s take a look at the real benefits of CBD.

By: Winston Peki

Benefits of CBD

Across the globe CBD is becoming more and more evident as a medical marvel, for example the United Kingdom just upped CBD from its list of nutritional supplements to a medicine. But don’t let this make you stop at every CBD mall kiosk for their caramel pomegranate hemp hand lotion. Here’s what will actually change if you use CBD

  • Relives chronic pain or joint/muscle inflammation
  • Stress relief
  • Reduces nausea
  • Improves sleep
  • Treats epilepsy and seizures
  • Calms anxiety, depression and other acute mental disorders
  • Aids the body in fighting several drug resistant bacteria
  • Topical use aids in treating of skin ailments, rashes and acne

What to watch for

Essentially, don’t buy into everything you read on the internet. CBD won’t cure your transient idiopathic arrythmia or your moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help! Just because you saw on the 6 o’clock news that a mom from the next state over stops her son’s seizures with CBD oil, doesn’t mean you should use CBD on its own to cure that rash you’ve had for a few months. CBD has lots of medical benefits, and countless more that are undiscovered, but leave the discovering to the scientists running the clinicals.

On a daily basis CBD and marijuana in general is found to have more and more benefits. But just like any other good thing, for every person doing the right thing, there’s ten other guys undercutting the real deal for a rip off, to only gain profit. CBD when used in the right dosages, and for a long enough period of time can really show a lot of medical benefits. But that doesn’t mean you should trust everything you see in the window of the smoke shop. When you shop cheap online, or buy CBD from the corner store, you probably aren’t going to see any results. More often than not, what you’re getting isn’t even real CBD, usually it’s vegetable oil with a little bit of artificial flavoring. Proceed with caution when buying that CBD Juul pod from the gas station because 9 times out of 10 these CBD gimmicks aren’t FDA regulated, or regulated at all. When it comes to the stuff your putting in your body, you want it to be as safe as possible, especially when trying to combat another ailment. Using these imported knock offs probably won’t help your cause, and can open another medicinal can of worms that you really don’t want to, so if CBD really is the cure for you go see a doctor or professional that can point you in the right direction.

As much as we want it to be, CBD isn’t the cure all miracle drug, but it has the potential to be life changing for a lot of people, so commit to a trail, let the CBD run its course. And if all else fails, smoke a bone.

References

Goldenberg, (2019). Introduction to CBD. Journal of Continuing Education Topics & Topics, 21 (3), 58-62. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=139253814&site=ehost-live

Teitelbaum, (2019). A Hemp Oil, CBD, and Marijuana Primer: Powerful Pain, Insomnia, and Anxiety-relieving Tools! Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 25(S2), 21-23. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmedm&AN=3120220&site=ehost-live

Welty, Luebke & Gidal, (2014). Cannabidiol: Promise and Pitfalls. Epilepsy Currents, 14(5), 250-252. https://doi.org/10.5698/1535-7597-14.5.250