Over the past few years, CBD oil has become widely accepted by consumers the world over. It’s no longer the stigmatized cannabinoid that it once was. In fact, CBD is so widely accepted that it’s grown from an unknown compound to a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few short years, forecasted to be worth upwards of $24 billion by 2025 according to some experts. And while we’ve managed to break through much of the confusion and wrong information that peppered the industry in its early days, there still seems to be a lot of misinformation about CBD use.
It’s interesting because even though the demand for CBD oil, CBD edibles, CBD creams, and more is growing exponentially, many in the consumer market are still unaware of some of the most basic facts of the world’s second most prevalent cannabinoid. Clearly, people love CBD — they love to take CBD oil or snack on CBD gummies. However, they often don’t know the finer details when it comes to the cannabidiol that they use every day.
Some of the current confusion has to do with the proliferation of less-than-scrupulous CBD companies appearing on the scene. Over the past year alone, the Food and Drug Administration has had to issue numerous warning letters to companies over a wide variety of infractions. From claiming that CBD can cure opioid use disorder to pushing it as a cure for COVID-19, fly-by-night CBD oil companies have helped to muddy the waters with consumers.
Furthermore, the FDA itself hasn’t done much to help the problem. Although the federal agency has promised to issue rules and regulations to help the CBD industry become more professional, the FDA has spent the past year ignoring pleas from companies and other stakeholders, instead choosing to proceed with a haphazard system of warning letters as mentioned above.
So, while we all know that CBD oil won’t make us high and that it is the ideal cannabinoid to complement our endocannabinoid systems, we don’t really know too much else about it. Hence all of the confusion over everyone’s favorite new cannabinoid, CBD. We’ve put together a little list to help separate the fact from fiction and clear up some of the confusion.
Here are a few more things you didn’t know about CBD oil.
People Who Use CBD Oil Report Better “Quality of Life”
Most people who use CBD oil — or CBD gummies, or CBD creams — use it for a specific purpose, whether to treat pain, anxiety, inflammation, or another serious health condition. Researchers at both Johns Hopkins found this to be accurate, as have individual retailers, like Diamond CBD. While some consumers may use cannabidiol for general purposes, most of you, it has been shown, have a specific reason in mind for choosing CBD.
According to Johns Hopkins, for those people that do use CBD oil for a specific health condition, they’ve reported a better “quality of life.” A team of researchers at the university performed an observational study and found that CBD users were more satisfied with their overall health, mood, pain relief, and sleep, among other things, compared to non-users. While this doesn’t mean that CBD worked better for these things, as they only measured users’ perception, it does show the power that CBD has when appropriately used.
Moreover, the same study found that non-users showed improvement in all of the areas mentioned above (sleep, mood, etc.) once they began using CBD. It’s incredible what one cannabinoid can do for your outlook on life!
CBD Can Counterbalance the Negative Effects of THC
We’ve all been there before, sometimes you take a little too much THC, and then you experience what’s known as a “bad trip.” While it’s not necessarily a dangerous experience, it’s not a pleasant experience for many people either.
However, what many consumers don’t know is that cannabidiol or CBD can counterbalance or smooth out THC’s adverse effects. In other words, it can help to negate the intoxicating effects of THC, making that “bad trip” seem like a distant memory. So, if you take too much THC and experience paranoia, dissociative thoughts, or just too much sleepiness, CBD may be precisely what you need.
A researcher named Steven Laviolette, who is a neuroscientist at the University of Western Ontario in London, figured out how the process works. Using rats, he found that THC affects the ventral hippocampus in the brain, the part that controls emotions. THC can overstimulate this part of the brain. However, rats that were given both CBD and THC had normal brain signals after tests.
The best thing to do is to take some CBD when you use THC. That way, you can prevent a bad trip before it ever happens. And always make sure to have someone in the room with you, because it is always safest not to be alone when you experience these things.
You Still Need to Be Wary Where You Purchase Your CBD
With the plethora of options for CBD products and CBD brands on the market today, you can be excused for thinking that cannabidiol is entirely legal. After all, the federal government passed the Farm Bill in 2018, which the president signed into law. It should be an open and shut case now, right?
The answer is sort of.
In fact, as most reputable retailers and sources will tell you, this is where you need to do your research to make sure that you don’t find yourself in any trouble. You still need to be wary about where you purchase your CBD.
According to the Farm Bill passed a few years ago, as long as the CBD you purchase doesn’t contain more than 0.3 percent THC, you will have no issues. However — and this is a big but — any more than that and you can run into problems. For example, if your CBD oil contains more than 0.3 percent THC and you have to take a drug test for work, you can fail that test.
Moreover, because the FDA still hasn’t set in stone any rules and regulations for the industry, it has allowed a slew of less-than-credible companies to appear on the scene, as we mentioned above. YOu can end up purchasing products that have less CBD than what is listed on the label, or products that have synthetics or illegal substances.
Always — and we mean always find reputable retailers for your needs. Companies like Diamond CBD not only have their CBD oil products tested by third-parties to ensure quality and safety, but they make all of their lab tests available online for consumers to inspect. That way, you can rest assured that what you are purchasing is the real deal.
Enjoy Your CBD Oil
In the end, find a CBD oil that works for you and that you can enjoy. In this new age of cannabis, we’re lucky to have several well-respected brands and products available on the market, from CBD oil to CBD gummies, and from unique cannabinoids like CBG to Delta-8. Whatever you prefer, or whatever your needs may be, you’re bound to find something to fit your lifestyle.
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