Kijani Magazine 2020 - Issue 7

Page 24

THE CANNABIS CONFUSION EVE RYT HI N G YO U WA N TED T O K N OW AB OUT C A N N A B I S S A TI VA

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock these past

Nung, the father of TCM. He listed its benefits in treating

couple of years, you couldn’t possibly have failed to

rheumatism, gout, malaria and absent-mindedness.

notice the swathes of cannabidiol (CBD) products that flooded the market. First came the oils, swiftly followed by supplements, edibles, vaping e-liquids and beauty products.

CBD oil and Cannabis sativa seed oil, or hempseed oil as it is commonly known, are again two different offerings. CBD oil is extracted from the aerial parts of the plant - the leaves, stalks and flowers - whilst Cannabis sativa

But why has CBD stormed the natural products industry?

seed oil is made from the pressing of the seeds and

Is it purely the link to marijuana, THC and getting high?

contains no CBD.

Or is there more to CBD than the hype surrounding this ingredient? Read on to find out more!

More About the Plant Species Cannabis sativa is a complex species of plant with many different varieties which have been selectively bred over thousands of years to achieve the different properties that various species have. It is the properties of the varieties that have led to products being shrouded in both mystery and misinformation. Both hemp and marijuana plants come from the Cannabis sativa species, yet their molecular makeup is very different as they have been grown for different end purposes. There is evidence that hemp has been farmed for over 10,000 years and today has many uses in industry. By US law, hemp varieties of Cannabis

More About Cannabinoids There are over 100 different cannabinoid compounds, and Cannabis sativa contains around 80 active compounds. They are generally concentrated in the plant’s leaves. CBD is a non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940. There are more than one hundred different cannabinoid compounds which work on different levels and in synergy with each other. It was originally thought that CBD isolate had the strongest properties, however research has shown that the therapeutic properties are greater within a whole plant product: made up of cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenes. When consumed together, these compounds interact with the body with greater impact and this is known as the entourage effect.

sativa contain less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol

The Human Endogenous Cannabinoid System (ECS) was

(THC) content by dry weight and marijuana is anything

discovered in the 1990’s, and is a complex system that

over 0.3%.

exists to receive cannabinoid compounds produced

The first documented use of marijuana dates back to around 2700BC, documented by Chinese Emperor Shen

inside the body, however it also interacts with exogenous cannabinoids that enter the body via consumption of CBD-rich food sources such as hemp.

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