Cannabidiol (CBD) is quite a popular term that you may have heard from almost everyone or everywhere – friends, the media, even your local cafe that recently introduced a CBD-infused smoothie. But what exactly is CBD and why are people all abuzz about it?
Cannabidiol and Marijuana
First off, CBD is the second most prevalent active compound found in marijuana, which is identified scientifically as cannabis. Although CBD is a basic component of medical marijuana, it is obtained straight from the hemp plant, a relative of the marijuana plant. Cannabidiol is among the hundreds of compounds found in marijuana, but alone, it does not produce mind-altering effects, which simply means you dont get a high from it.
Legality
In all 50 states, there are laws that legalize CBD with different levels of restriction, and though the federal government still classifies the compound together with marijuana, it isnt exactly relentless in enforcing against it. Truth is, the governments stand on CBD is quite confusing and partly depends on whether the compound was obtained from hemp or marijuana.
Health Benefits
CBD is famous for its long list of health benefits, but when it comes to scientifically backed findings, there is nothing more pronounced than the effectiveness of the compound against epilepsy syndromes in children, like Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome, which dont respond to conventional treatment. In several studies, CBD was revealed to drive down the number of seizures and even block them completely. There are even tons of videos online showing CBD at work on children having actual epileptic attacks. Right now, there is one FDA-approved medicine for such conditions, and it is produced from cannabis with CBD as the active ingredient.
Apart from its effectiveness against epilepsy, CBD is also widely documented as an effective way to manage insomnia and even anxiety.
Also, CBD is known for providing relief to many types of chronic pain. In a study published in the European Journal of Pain, It was shown that CBD applied on the skin can help reduce arthritic pain and inflammation. In even more studies, it was revealed that CBD can provide significant relief to the two hardest-to-treat types of chronic pain, inflammatory and neuropathic pain.
Safety Issues
The biggest safety issue concerning CBD is the fact that you will probably find it being sold as a health supplement rather than a drug or medicine. Since dietary supplements are currently not under the regulatory jurisdiction of the FDA, it can be difficult to distinguish high-quality and low-quality products. For this reason, you need to be very, very careful when buying CBD supplements. Take time to read online reviews, but only on third-party consumer sites where testimonials are likely to be authentic.