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CBD Is Becoming More Mainstream by the Day

Nov 3rd 2020

CBD Is Becoming More Mainstream by the Day

Everybody is doing it. Okay, not everybody, but a lot of people are doing it. A third of American adults have used CBD one or more times.1 Sixty-four percent of American adults have at least heard of CBD or CBD products.1 If you’re a part of the other thirty-six percent, or if you’re just looking to know more, let’s take a look at what all of the fuss is about.

What Is CBD?

CBD is short for cannabidiol, and it is a molecule found in the cannabis plant. Hearing that it is found in cannabis may have you asking the question “Does CBD get you high?” because THC is also found in the same species of plant. THC is a psychoactive molecule and causes mind-altering effects. CBD, on the other hand, is non-psychoactive.2 CBD products will not get you high unless they also contain high amounts of THC.

How Does CBD Work?

CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system of the body. This system is found in most organisms throughout the animal kingdom.3

The endocannabinoid system has the potential to modulate:

  • Anxiety and stress3
  • Inflammatory conditions3
  • Pain3
  • Metabolism3
  • Neurodegenerative conditions3
  • Pulmonary function3
  • Cardiovascular function3
  • Neuroinflammation (which has strong links to epilepsy)4

The most common uses of CBD are to treat anxiety, pain, insomnia, and inflammation.1

How Effective Are CBD Products?

CBD products, such as CBD oils and CBD tinctures, aren’t strictly regulated yet, so it is important to find a reputable and transparent brand for whichever hemp products you choose in order to ensure their potency. Even with a loosely regulated industry, close to three-quarters of people who have used CBD claim it was at least moderately effective for the reason they chose to take it. Forty-eight percent reported it was very or extremely effective.5

Many people are choosing CBD to replace their existing medications. Twenty-two percent of people who use CBD for health problems stated that it helped them replace the other drugs that they were taking, and a little over a third of those people used it to replace opioids.5

In Which Forms Does Cannabidiol Come?

CBD comes in a variety of different forms such as oils and tinctures (including those for dogs, cats, and horses), pain and skin relief topicals, skincare products such as CBD cream, CBD capsules, vape juice, gummy vitamins, drinks, CBD dog treats, etc. The list goes on and on, and companies have gotten creative with their CBD offerings as it became more popular.

You should make sure whichever form of CBD products you choose will match the reason for which you are using it. If you are taking CBD for anxiety, you wouldn’t want to choose a topical, but a tincture or capsule would suffice. If you’re using CBD for skin rash or CBD for pain in your muscles, a topical solution would work best.

The Future of CBD

Every day CBD is becoming more popular as people try it and find success. Recently, the 2018 Farm Bill made it legal on the federal level to grow cannabis containing less than 0.3% THC. Similarly, it made hemp-derived CBD products legal federally, so long as they contained less than 0.3% THC.6  A study by the Brightfield Group found that the CBD industry exceeded $4 billion in 2019, and they expect it to exceed $25 billion in the next 5 years.1 The industry is young, scrappy, and hungry, becoming more mainstream by the day!

If you haven’t tried CBD yet, what is it that you are waiting for?

References

  1. https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/cbd-statistics/#:~:text=(Gallup%2C%202019)%3A,ages%2050%2D64%20use%20CBD
  2. Meissner H, Cascella M. Cannabidiol (CBD) [Updated 2020 Jul 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-.
  3. Silver RJ. The Endocannabinoid System of Animals. Animals (Basel). 2019 Sep 16;9(9):686. doi: 10.3390/ani9090686. PMID: 31527410; PMCID: PMC6770351.
  4. Cheung KAK, Peiris H, Wallace G, Holland OJ, Mitchell MD. The Interplay between the Endocannabinoid System, Epilepsy and Cannabinoids. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(23):6079. Published 2019 Dec 2. doi:10.3390/ijms20236079
  5. https://www.consumerreports.org/cbd/cbd-goes-mainstream/
  6. https://www.healthline.com/health/hemp-vs-marijuana#legality