There has recently been much debate regarding the occasional use of cannabis herbs. Scientists say that there are as many as 104 chemical compounds in the cannabis plant that we know of. Cannabis, known scientifically as Cannabis sativa, is also known as marijuana.
CBD (cannabidiol), a phytocannabinoid, accounts for approximately forty percent of the cannabis plant’s extract. CBD is available for sale legally in most countries across the world. It is either added to drinks or food, or sold as CBD oil.
However, you need to do some research if you want to find websites that sell the best CBD oil. To produce a good quality oil, the producer needs to adhere to some important good manufacturing guidelines. Otherwise, the substance might not be pure or may have deteriorated so much that it has lost much of its therapeutic benefits.
CBD is not a psychoactive
CBD has no psychoactive properties. In other words, consuming it does not give you a high (a euphoric feeling or sensation of being stoned).
THC, which stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol, however, is psychoactive. In fact, it is cannabis’ principal psychoactive constituent.
Pure CBD has no THC in it. People do not purchase CBD because they want to get high. They buy it mainly for therapeutic reasons – for medicinal purposes.
Does CBD have therapeutic qualities?
Unlike other compounds and substances, not that many studies have been carried out on the health or treatment benefits of cannabidiol. Of the few studies that have been performed so far, a few suggest that CBD may have a future in some treatments.
Chronic Pain
There are two types of pain:
- Chronic: when a condition is chronic, it means that it is present for a very long time. It could be there for weeks, months, and even years. If I have had backache for the last four years, I suffer from chronic pain.
- Acute: this type of pain does not last long. It is often intense. If somebody steps on my toe, I feel a sudden sharp pain. However, within five to ten minutes, it is gone. This is an example of acute pain.
Some studies suggest that CBD may help some patients with chronic pain. However, scientists say that further larger tests are needed.
Epilepsy
The strongest evidence so far regarding CBD is its effectiveness in the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, two childhood epilepsy syndromes. Patients do not generally respond to antiseizure drugs.
In a Harvard Medical School article, Peter Grinspoon, M.D., writes about some studies which found that CBD reduced the number of seizures patients had. In a few cases, their seizures disappeared completely.
Insomnia
Insomnia or sleeplessness is a disorder in which people have difficulty sleeping. It includes problems falling as well as staying asleep. If you fall asleep each night but regularly wake up at two in the morning and cannot get back to sleep for hours, you suffer from insomnia. You also have insomnia if it takes you hours to get to sleep each night.
A study found that CBD helped patients with both types of insomnia – it helped them either fall asleep faster or stay asleep.
Anxiety
In another study, researchers from the University of Colorado and Colorado State University found that cannabidiol showed promise for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.
Their study included 72 volunteers.. It showed that 57 of the participants, i.e., 79.2% of them, had lower anxiety scores after taking CBD for one month.
The researchers published their findings in The Permanente Journal. In an Abstract in the journal, they wrote:
“Cannabidiol may hold benefit for anxiety-related disorders. Controlled clinical studies are needed.”
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
A few studies have found that some of the substances in cannabis, including CBD, may help cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy.
In fact, some medications have been developed using CBD and other chemicals in cannabis for the treatment of the side effects of chemotherapy.
Although CBD has shown promise for this kind of treatment, experts say that more comprehensive studies are needed.
The Internet is full of anecdotal stories about CBD. If something is anecdotal, it is not based on facts or a rigorous scientific study. It is based on the subjective interpretation or account of just one person or a small group of people.