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healing ways
CBD’s New Frontier Help for Mental Health
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by Julie Marshall
hen Kaye HerIt’s really important consumers in its ubiquity bert’s husband for people to know from CBD-infused pillows brought home to gummies, soaps and their options and a free sample of cannabidieven pet food. Discerning to keep looking for purity, dosage and safety ol (CBD) oil, she didn’t hesitate to give it a try. Having what works for them. are real concerns for those heard about its calming efthat may grab any bottle ~Peter Bongiorno fects, she gave CBD to her off the shelf. three sons, whose attention Consumers must become deficit hyperactivity disorder made homewell informed, especially when replacing schooling difficult due to frequent tantrums medications for serious disorders, experts and lack of focus. “I didn’t expect CBD to say. But for anxiety and emotional wellbe miraculous, but I was surprised that my being, CBD is largely heralded as a safe and kids’ frustrations were greatly reduced,” says natural choice by providers well-versed the Austin, Texas, mom. “We weren’t seeing in CBD, such as Peter Bongiorno, past the severity of meltdowns.” president of the New York Association of The use of CBD in tinctures, capNaturopathic Physicians. “It’s really imporsules and lotions has grown exponentially, tant for people to know their options and along with the science to prove its efficacy to keep looking for what works for them,” in remediating physical pain. Newer, but he says. equally as robust, is the viability of CBD as The Feel-Good Molecule a remedy for mental health-related issues, CBD, a compound extracted from the experts say, pointing to anxiety, depression hemp plant, is appealing because it can and stress as the top three applications. raise the level of cannabinoids—feel-good However, as an unregulated supplemolecules naturally created within the ment, CBD presents a challenge for
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human body. “When we can’t sleep or are stressed out, cannabinoid levels go way down,” Bongiorno says. While prescription drugs overwhelm the body with adverse side effects, CBD can healthfully bring back balance. But CBD won’t trigger an altered state because there is little to no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical in marijuana that produces a high, he says, adding that he starts patients at a low daily dose of 25 milligrams. It’s important to talk with a physician about drug interactions, Bongiorno says. For instance, CBD can increase levels of blood-thinning medications, according to a 2017 study published in Epilepsy & Behavior Case Reports. CBD can possibly treat a wide range of conditions, from fear of public speaking to bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, but more research is needed, experts say. A 2018 clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry suggests CBD offers potential in treating psychosis. More recently, researchers in a 2019 case study of 27 patients published by the Permanente Journal concluded, “Cannabidiol may hold benefit for anxiety-related disorders.”
Seeds of Hope
The most important step consumers can take to find a safe, quality product is to know where their CBD comes from, experts say. Lara Miller is an organic farmer in Lafayette, Colorado, who in 2017 dedicated a parcel of her two-acre farm to growing hemp for her business, North Field Farmacy. “I added in hemp because it is a dynamic plant that produces fiber, seed and medicine for us humans, all at the same time,” she says. Miller’s small, women-owned business grows the leafy plants outdoors in organic soil and harvests by hand. “We test in the field, post-harvest, during extraction and in the final product,” she says. “We know our product is clean and pure and potent.” This isn’t always the case. A 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that in 84 CBD products sold online by 31 companies, 26 percent contained less CBD
