There are many names used to describe CBD: marijuana, pot, grass, reefer, hemp, and dope, to name a few. Some of these terms are real, and some are slang terms with negative connotations. None of them accurately describe CBD oil derived from the hemp plant. Naturally, to go along with these conflicting names, there are just as many misconceptions about smokable CBD hemp. Here we’ll look at three common misconceptions surrounding what CBD is and what it does.
CBD Gets You High or Stoned
One of the most common misconceptions about CBD, or cannabidiol, is that it affects your mental functions, getting you high or stoned. Derived directly from the hemp plant, CBD by itself does not cause the “high” associated with traditional marijuana. Marijuana does contain CBD, but it’s the THC in marijuana, not the CBD, that’s responsible for altering mental states. And, while CBD products such as smokable hemp flower look and smell similar to smokable marijuana, smokable CBD is used medicinally, not recreationally. What this means is that CBD is used as a treatment for medical issues, not as a recreational drug to create an altered mental state. To make it perfectly clear, let’s repeat that: CBD is not a recreational drug and does not cause a high.
CBD Has No Medical Value
To go hand-in-hand with the idea that CBD causes a high is the misconception that CBD has no medical value. According to studies referenced by Harvard however, CBD absolutely has medical value, most notably in its use in childhood epilepsy treatments. Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome are two such types of epilepsy that affect children. These syndromes don’t respond to anti-seizure medications. However, they respond to CBD treatments, with CBD derived medications reducing the number of seizures and completely stopping them in some cases. The most notable case of using CBD to treat childhood epilepsy is that of Charlotte Figi. Her parents were the driving force behind the first highly publicized case of successfully using CBD as a treatment for Dravat syndrome.
CBD is Illegal
A third common misconception about CBD is that it’s illegal. According to CNET, the 2018 the Agricultural Improvement Act, commonly known as the Farm Bill, legalized CBD. Of course, there are regulations. To be considered legal, CBD must be derived from the hemp plant and can contain no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight. Also, to be considered legal, CBD must be grown by a licensed producer, and that producer must follow federal regulations on the growth of their hemp plants. Hemp and CBD are legal in all 50 states.
But, what do everyday people use CBD for? Smokable CBD hemp is used to treat a variety of medical issues, most notably anxiety, depression, insomnia, and chronic pain. Like its use in treatments for epilepsy, studies have proven that using CBD to treat these medical issues is effective. For those who have heard about CBD being used to treat medical issues, it’s important to get the facts straight. These are just a few of the misconceptions surrounding CBD, not to mention the stigma still attached to using “pot” medicinally. Times change though, and medical advances constantly show us new uses for things that, in the past, were disregarded as medically valuable. Get the facts about CBD.
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