healing ways
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We imagine the people suffering who need support and think about how we are growing the plants to help them.~Lara Miller
CBD’s New Frontier Help for Mental Health
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by Julie Marshall
hen Kaye Her- It’s really important However, as an unbert’s husband for people to know regulated supplement, CBD brought home presents a challenge for their options and consumers in its ubiquity a free sample of cannabito keep looking for from CBD-infused pillows diol (CBD) oil, she didn’t hesitate to give it a try. what works for them. to gummies, soaps and Having heard about its even pet food. Discerning ~Peter Bongiorno calming effects, she gave purity, dosage and safety CBD to her three sons, are real concerns for those whose attention deficit hyperactivity disthat may grab any bottle off the shelf. order made home-schooling difficult due Consumers must become well into frequent tantrums and lack of focus. “I formed, especially when replacing medicadidn’t expect CBD to be miraculous, but tions for serious disorders, experts say. But I was surprised that my kids’ frustrations for anxiety and emotional well-being, CBD were greatly reduced,” says the Austin, is largely heralded as a safe and natural Texas, mom. “We weren’t seeing the sechoice by providers well-versed in CBD, verity of meltdowns.” such as Peter Bongiorno, past president of The use of CBD in tinctures, capthe New York Association of Naturopathic sules and lotions has grown exponenPhysicians. “It’s really important for people tially, along with the science to prove its to know their options and to keep looking efficacy in remediating physical pain. for what works for them,” he says. Newer, but equally as robust, is the viThe Feel-Good Molecule ability of CBD as a remedy for mental CBD, a compound extracted from the health-related issues, experts say, pointhemp plant, is appealing because it can ing to anxiety, depression and stress as raise the level of cannabinoids—feel-good the top three applications. 32
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molecules naturally created within the 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
