Cannabidiol (CBD) is in many different products and sold by a many different stores these days. If you are interested in using a CBD product, you probably want to know what exactly it will do to you. This is a completely understandable question to have about CBD. It is a question you should ask about anything you want to try out. So, let’s answer this question, as well as a few others.
For starters: what is CBD?
Before we can start on what canabidiol may be able to do to you, we need to talk about what exactly canabidiol is.
CBD is found in Cannabis plants. It is a chemical compound that is known as a cannabinoid. There are over 113 of these found in Cannabis plants like hemp and marijuana.
There are many potential effects that CBD could have, several things that it may be able to do for you. However, it is important to know that of all the effects that CBD could have, a psychoactive one is not one of them. This means that it will not get you high. This is unlike another cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
CBD and THC often get mixed-up in people’s minds. This is likely because they are the most well-known cannabinoids. These two should not be thought of as interchangeable, though. This is because as outlined above, CBD is not psychoactive. THC on the other hand is psychoactive. It causes the high that most people associate with Cannabis plants.
CBD has gained in popularity over the past couple of years, there is a specific reason for this. Let’s talk about it while answering another question.
Is CBD legal?
This question gets asked a lot. Which is fair, considering where CBD comes from. But if that is keeping you from trying CBD, you do not need to worry. CBD products are legal, if they are derived from hemp and have less than 0.3% THC content.
All Cannabis and Cannabis-derived products have been federally illegal for quite some time. The change in this policy only came recently. In 2018 the United States Legislature passed a bill called the Farm Bill. This law among other things legalized industrial hemp across the country (if you want to know more about this you can learn about the bill in an article here). This bill defined hemp as Cannabis with less than 0.3% THC content. It says that products made with or from hemp are now legal to produce and sell.
If the 0.3% THC makes you nervous, you do not need to worry too much. It is a very low concentration of THC. It is not likely to get anyone high.
Most CBD manufacturers prefer using hemp in making their products. This is not just because hemp is federally legal. It is also because hemp is not just low in THC, it is also high in CBD. This makes extracting the cannabinoid much easier.
So, yes, CBD is legal. As long as the CBD product you use has been extracted from hemp and has less than 0.3% THC content.
What does CBD feel like?
Finally, the big question many people ask is going to be answered. Afterall, CBD is a chemical found in Cannabis plants. That sounds kind of scary, no matter how legal it is. However, recent research looking at CBD have found that CBD has the potential to do much good. Let’s look at some of these studies.
One area looked at a lot is CBD’s effect on inflammation. One study in particular looked at how CBD interacts with inflammation caused by an acute lung injury. The researchers found that it was able to help reduce the inflammation. This could mean that CBD may be able to help many people with inflammation live more comfortably.
CBD also has the potential to help with skin health. Some studies, like this one, have found that CBD may be able to help reduce sebum production. Sebum is the oil that the skin produces to help protect it and keep it soft. However, too much sebum can clog your pores and, as a result, cause acne. CBD may be able to help reduce sebum reduction. This means that it could help keep down acne. CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties may be able to help with the inflammation that comes with acne.
Another potential benefit of CBD is that it may be able to help with your state of mind. This study was trying to look at if CBD may have any antidepressant or anxiolytic effects. They did this by seeing how certain animals handled some stressful tests both with and without CBD. The researchers found that CBD helped them keep calm in the stressful tests.
One particular area of CBD that has been looked at often and holds much promise is canabidiol and epilepsy. There have been so many studies looking at CBD’s effect on epilepsy, it is difficult to pick just one to focus on. Instead, let’s look at what has come from these studies. Epileptic seizures are a scary thing to deal with. They leave many people looking for a way to help reduce or eliminate them. In 2018 the FDA approved a medication that is able to do just that. It is called Epidiolex, it is the first pure CBD-based medication to be approved by the FDA. It may be able to help calm these epileptic seizures that make life difficult for so many people.
As you can tell, canabidiol has the potential to do a lot of different things. What is outlined above is only the tip of the iceberg. It is worth looking into it and seeing what else you can find about CBD and its effects.
What different kinds of Canabidiol are there?
This may sound odd, but there are three different types of CBD used in products. Their differences are based on how many other cannabinoids and compounds are in the extract along with the canabidiol. These three kinds are full-spectrum, broad-spectrum and CBD isolate.
Full-spectrum
This kind of CBD has the highest number of additional components in the extract. It is the CBD extract as it comes out the hemp. Nothing is done to it to filter out anything. This means that full-spectrum canabidiol likely has THC in it. That is not something to worry about, because, as talked about above, the THC level in the extract cannot be more than 0.3%. As discussed above, that is not enough to get someone high.
Broad-spectrum
This CBD extract is similar to full-spectrum. It has a lot of other cannabinoids and compounds. The main difference is that broad-spectrum does not have THC in it. The appeal of broad-spectrum and full-spectrum is what is known as the entourage effect. This is when compounds work together to build up an effect (we have an article all about it here). If you are looking for the entourage effect, but the presence of THC makes you nervous, broad-spectrum may be the perfect choice for you.
CBD isolate
It might be easy to guess what exactly CBD isolate is. It is a canabidiol extract that is just CBD. All of the other compounds and cannabinoids have been filtered out, leaving only cannabidiol. This means that the effect of the canabidiol may not be as strong. It will, however, be a purer experience without the other cannabinoids and compounds.
Many CBD products come in all of the different kinds of CBD extract. This way you can find the product that works best for you. In fact, let’s talk about those different products.
What is the difference between CBD products?
CBD is very popular for a lot of reasons. One of the main ones is its versatility. It is easy to mix with many different things, so it can be made into just about any product. Some of these products are better for certain things than others. Some of these products work faster than others. So, it is good to know what to expect from the products before you start taking it.
Let’s start with the kind of product with the most options: canabidiol oral products. These are any kind of CBD product that can be take via the mouth. This includes edibles. They can be anything from gummies to pasta. People really like these because they are easy to take, taste good and easy to portion. They may take a little while to take effect as the food that is carrying the CBD needs to digest before it can start working.
Another kind of oral products are soft gels and tablets. These are capsules that are taken just like any other pill. The appeal of these is that they are easy to take and include in your daily routine. They are also likely to absorb and start working faster than edibles. There are also CBD tablets, which are dissolvable products that you place under your tongue. These enter the bloodstream very quickly.
The last kind of oral CBD products are oils and tinctures. They are one of the more common forms of CBD, as they are CBD in a carrier oil, like palm oil. You can take them either by mixing them in with food or drink. Or you can place a drop or two under your tongue.
There are also CBD topicals. These are lotions and cremes. The appeal of these is that CBD topicals are localized. They work mainly in the are that they are applied. Oral products are likely to give you a more overall effect. If you are trying to focus on a specific area of your body, topicals are likely the better option for you. They may be better for skin health and inflammation than for helping with peace of mind.
Now that you have an idea of what kind of CBD product may be the best choice for you, let’s talk about how much of it you need.
How much CBD should I take?
This is kind of a hard question to answer. This is mainly because there are many different factors to consider. CBD effects everyone a little bit differently. What may be the perfect amount for some people, may cause unwanted side effects for others.
Let’s talk about what those side effects are for a second. These side effects are not life threatening. They are, however, rather unpleasant. They tend to include things like fatigue and gastrointestinal upset. These side effects are normally associated with taking too much CBD. So, figuring out how much you should take is the best way to avoid them.
The best way to figure out how much canabidiol to take is by testing it. You should start your CBD at low levels, trying only a little bit at first. If the amount that you try does not bother you, you can start taking more. It will take time. So, you will need to be patient. This is especially true if you are trying CBD edibles. You will need to wait for the edibles to digest before you can know how it effects you.
If you had questions about canabidiol, hopefully this article has answered your questions. If anything, the main take-away from this should be that CBD has many potential effects. However, a high is not one of the effects you should expect from the cannabinoid.
There is a lot to know about canabidiol and the products which include it. There are also a lot of CBD products out there to choose from. It can be a little intense and overwhelming. If you are not sure where to start, you can start here on Panacea Life Sciences’ website. On this site we have a bunch of fantastic CBD products. We also have several articles looking at a bunch of other areas of CBD. Our site also has a way to contact a member of our team. Or you can email us at [email protected]. Check out our CBD products!
