CBD 102: A Medical Marvel?

CBD oil information

CBD (Cannabidiol) is one of the many cannabinoid components of the cannabis plant, and is currently being branded as the new “magic medicine”. Many patients are seeking out CBD oil as a new way to help with pain management, inflammation, and a variety of other medical conditions.

While there is still very little research on the long-term effects of CBD use as a stand-alone medical treatment, patients all over the world are seeking out information about this special cannabinoid.

THC, marijuana’s other dominant cannabinoid, was discovered in 1964, by the Israeli researcher, Raphael Mechoulam. While most people associate cannabis with the “high” inducing effects of THC, CBD is being researched, and more frequently used, as a helpful medical compound. Some speculate that CBD has been used for centuries! Let’s investigate.

History of Hemp

CBD Oil

Hemp was once one of the most grown, and utilized crops. In the 16th century Great Britain, hemp was used to building things like ships, maps, and was even used to print bibles! Some sources say that women in the royal courts would use hemp creams to help with menstrual cramps and aches. Little did they know, the hemp creams were so effective because of hemp’s high CBD content.

In 17th century America, farmers in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut could actually be jailed if they did not grow their fair share of hemp. This was because, for 200 years in colonial America, hemp was the main form of currency.

The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 changed hemp cultivation in America drastically. The government-funded program, War Hemp Industries, briefly allowed midwestern farmers to grow hemp between the 40s-60s for industrial reasons. However, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 once again lumped hemp and marijuana together in the same “controlled substance” category, making it illegal to grow and produce.

In 2014, President Barak Obama passed the Agricultural Act of 2014, making it legal for “universities and state departments of agriculture to begin cultivating industrial hemp for limited purposes”, and in 2015, senators passed the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015 allowing American farmers to cultivate industrial hemp (with regulations).


How Are Hemp and CBD Related?

CBD Oil

So how does this all relate to CBD? Well, CBD is highly naturally occurring in industrial hemp, and it is often used to make CBD oil (one of the most common medicinal forms of CBD).

When extracting CBD, some producers prefer using the hemp plant over the cannabis plant because hemp contains very little THC (the cannabinoid that causes a high feeling) and is high in CBD. Alternatively, the cannabis plant is generally high in THC and low in CBD.

Because industrial hemp is now technically legal to grow, many CBD oil producers go straight to hemp for producing CBD products, instead of jumping through the hoops that are often present when trying to work with (federally illegal) cannabis plants. Also, CBD is technically legal, so patients who do not have their official medical marijuana card can access CBD products, produced with hemp, rather than cannabis, without a medical recommendation.

However, there’s a catch! Since CBD hemp products are available to be purchased by the public, without a medical recommendation, they are not as regulated, and can sometimes be less pure than products produced from cannabis plants. People who are serious about exploring the medical benefits of CBD oil are often encouraged to seek out medical marijuana recommendations so that they can purchase safe, reliable CBD products. Those looking to try pure hemp CBD oil should try oils by Rick Simpson, a safe, reliable hemp CBD source.

Potential Medicinal Benefits

CBD Oil

CBD has recently been the subject of medical research do to claims and testimonies that it can help with a variety of medical conditions. While it can be consumed in a multitude of ways, the most common way that it is consumed is through CBD oil.

Patients suffering from conditions that cause muscle spasms, seizures, chronic pain, and inflammation are looking to CBD for help. Even parents, looking for low-side effect medicinal options to treat their sick children, have been turning to CBD treatments.

CBD Oil

One of the most well known cases is that of Charlotte Figi, an infant girl with a severe seizure disorder called Dravet Syndrome. After Charlotte’s parents had exhausted all medical treatments available to stop her severe seizures, sometimes as many as 300 a week, they were given permission by 2 Colorado doctors to try CBD oil. After using the oil for the first time, Charlotte went 7 days without a single seizure. Her story inspired the name for the high CBD strain, now very accessible at dispensaries, Charlotte’s Web.

Many patients are also starting to forgo traditional cancer treatments, such a chemotherapy, and radiation, to alternatively try CBD oils as an option for shrinking tumors. While this is ill-advised by many doctors who swear by traditional cancer treatments, results have shown that CBD may be worth looking into further as a reputable cancer treatment. Although there has been some research in the field, the studies are still very new. More research will need to be conducted before we see CBD become an official, widely recommended treatment.

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