From Anxiety to Inflammation to Pain Safe, Legal, Proven CBD/Hemp Oil By Erika Dworkin, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition
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ave you been suffering from a chronic health problem, but have found little relief from prescription medications or multiple natural remedies? If so, you may want to explore CBD (Cannabidiol) as a potential legal, safe remedy. While conferring with a practitioner experienced in its administration is recommended when using CBD, this basic primer is meant to provide sufficient information to help you determine whether trying this remedy may be right for you. What Is CBD? - Legality & Safety The endocannabinoid system (ECS) of the human body, discovered in the 1990s, is the biological basis for mind-body medicine. It regulates well-being, energy and pleasure, and maintains physiological equilibrium (homeostasis) when the body is confronted with injury or disease. Phytocannabinoids are chemical messengers that work like the body’s own endocannabinoids, neurotransmitters found throughout the nervous system that regulate the body’s major systems. CBD is one of over 100 phytocannabinoids found in hemp, a plant genetically distinct from, but related to, marijuana. Both CBD (more correctly referred to as hemp oil) and marijuana are from different varieties of the same plant species, Cannabis. While marijuana generally refers to the cultivated plant used as a psychotropic drug, hemp is cultivated from the subspecies Cannabis sativa for use in the production of various products, including nutritional supplements, foods and beverages, personal care products, and fabrics and textiles.
CBD is considered by expert scientists and physicians to have a wide scope of potential medical applications. Some of the factors that make it so exciting as a medical treatment are that: 1) it has almost no side effects, 2) it has very low risk of addiction, and 3) there is virtually no chance of lethal overdose. These are serious benefits when compared to opiates and other pharmaceuticals prescribed for medical conditions. ~ CBD: A Patient’s Guide to Medicinal Cannabis, Leonard Leinow and Juliana Birnbaum (2017)
Federal law defines hemp and marijuana differently. If a plant contains 0.3% or less of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-9THC, known as THC, the mind-altering component of Cannabis), the federal government considers it “industrial hemp” that can be legally formulated and sold as tinctures, gummies, capsules, and topical remedies. (Interestingly, CBD actually lowers THC’s psychotropic effect.) If, however, a plant contains more than .3% THC, it is considered marijuana, and even states that have legalized it sharply limit where and how it may be sold. CBD research has been relatively limited due to political bias against Cannabis, and researchers generally agree that more randomized controlled trials are warranted. In this article, CBD refers solely to industrial hemp or hemp oil.
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