The FDA recently recommended[1] the approval of Epidiolex, a drug derived from cannabis. Although a good number of people have been legally using cannabis-derived products over the years for medicinal purposes[2], this was a first in the United States history.
This recommendation by the FDA marked an official turn in the long-standing fight to legalize cannabis-derived medicines and products. The recommendation solidified the belief that C B D oil and cannabis-derived products are good and beneficial to human health.
What Is C B D?C B D or cannabidiol is a chemical derived from the Cannabis Sativa plant, commonly referred to as marijuana or hemp. The cannabis Sativa plant has over 80 compounds, the cannabinoids.
The primary ingredient in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but cannabidiol is obtained mainly from hemp. Hemp contains minimal amounts of THC.
In 2018, the passage of the Farm Bill made it legal in the U.S to sell hemp and hemp-derived products. However, not all hemp-derived cannabidiol products are certified as legal.
Since C B D has been studied and seen as a new drug, it is illegal to include it in food or dietary supplements or products marketed as therapeutic products. Cannabidiol is only to be included in cosmetic products, and THC contained in C B D products should be less than 0.3%[3].
Luckily, the Farm Bill also preserved the oversight of products derived from cannabis to the Food and Drug Administration[4].
C B D is a non-psychoactive component, which means that it doesn’t cause the euphoric sensation or “high” generally associated with marijuana or cannabis.
Is C B D Legal?
Though the exact legal status of C B D is in flux, you can readily obtain cannabidiol in most parts of the U.S. C B D has been legalized in all 50 states[5] with varying degrees of restriction. Hence, while the federal government still considers cannabidiol in the same group as marijuana, it can’t habitually enforce it.
Even so, there are still many people obtaining C B D from online platforms with a medical cannabis license. With the current bipartisan consensus in Congress trying to make hemp crops legal, the legality of C B D is expected to eventually change.
However, the government’s position[6] on C B D depends in part on whether it comes from marijuana or hemp. The real question yet, is what the benefits of C B D are? We look into the benefits of C B D, and which health issues and conditions can be alleviated with C B D use:
Physical Treatment Benefits
1. Can Relieve Pain
At some points in our lives, we have to experience pain, whether acute or chronic. According to the GSK Global Pain Index 2017[7], 95% of the global population has experienced body pain, while 86% of people experienced head pain at some point.
Anyone who has been afflicted with some form of pain has, in one way or another, showed interest in C B D. Cannabidiol is believed to offer potential therapeutic benefits, pain relief being the most prominent.
C B D tends to interact with a massive range of proteins in the central nervous system and body, including components of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), like the CB1 receptors in the central nervous system and brain, as well as the CB2 cannabinoid receptors found in the immune system and spleen.
THC strongly binds to these receptors, but C B D has the opposite effect. C B D inhibits the absorption of a natural cannabinoid molecule called anandamide[8], which regulates pain as well as correlates with feelings of happiness and well-being. When anandamide signaling is enhanced by C B D, the levels in the bloodstream increase, and help reduce pain throughout the body.
The research found that C B D tends to target alpha-3 glycine receptors[9] to reduce inflammation and suppress chronic pain, which is associated with dysfunctional glycine receptors, responsible for targeting pain processing in the spine.
The British Journal of Pharmacology published a 2014 study[10] that found that the analgesic properties of C B D are mediated by the TRPV1 receptor, hence concluding that C B D could be used as a pharmacological alternative in treated chronic pain related to certain diseases.
The Journal Neurotoxicology published another ...
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