I've heard about CBD but does it actually work?

You have probably heard about CBD. You probably are on this page because you currently use CBD or just trying to learn about it or you were told by someone it works. Maybe you heard about CBD on the news.

Does CBD work is what this article is about. It's a good valid question but to be honest there is not much hard research into CBD specifically with all the benefits it possibly has. CBD is used for a range of things from ADHD, anxiety, pain, arthritis, migraines, IB, inflammation, fibromyalgia, depression, nausea, sleep disorder, Rheumatism, Stress, and the list goes on. 

The human body, naturally producing cannabinoids, has cannabinoid receptors — CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors are mainly found in the brain and are responsible for dealing with things like pain, movement coordination, cognitive abilities (thinking, memory), appetite and emotions. CB2 receptors are more commonly found in the immune system and have an effect on things like pain and inflammation.

When CBD enters the body, it stimulates the body to create more of its own cannabinoids, thus producing the beneficial effects seen in so many patients.

CBD is indeed applauded for it's wide variety of health issues but the best scientific evidence is for it's effectiveness in treating some of the worst childhood epilepsy syndromes such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome which typically don't respond to antileisure medications. In numerous studies, CBD was able ot reduce the number of seizures and in some cases able to stop them all together. 

CBD may offer an option for treating different types of chronic pain. A study from the European Journal of Pain showed, using an animal model, cbd applied on the skin could help lower pain and inflammation due to arthritis. Another study demonstrated the mechanism by which CBD inhibits inflammatory and neuropathic pain, two of the most difficult types of chronic pain to treat. 

The Depression  Alliance has a full page of clinical trials that have been done covering a range of issues such as Epilepsy, Anxiety, Autism, Phsycosis, Addiction, Parkinsons. It's a good read if you have the time.

So that brings us back to our original question, Does CBD work? Lets look into this closer.

CBD and THC are both cannabinoids. Most people know what THC IS, it gives you the high when you smoke cannabis. There are many beneficial properties of Cannabis which is probably why it's not legal in Canada and advocated for years and years. CBD on the other hand is related to THC but it does not give you the HIGH feeling. In a cannabis plant there are over 113 cannabinoids... (such as CBD, THC). People have been isolating the CBD only or using full spectrum (which seems to be more beneficial then CBD ONLY because it creates the entourage effect meaning you get more goodness out out a range of cannabinoids alongside CBD/THC. 

They say the CBD market will explode in the next 3 years, so that should go into our question regarding does cbd work. We can see from the data the more people that familiarize themselves with cbd the more that buy it and continue to use it. Walgreens in the USA just announced they will be carrying it in 1500 of their stores USA WIDE after the USA Farm bill just passed in (march 2019) which allow hemp to be cultivated on a large scale and cbd legalized.

Here is a interesting thing you may not know or have realized. Most pharmaceutical drugs originally came from plants. Here are some examples.

Acetyldigoxin / Cardiotonic / Plant source: Digitalis Lanata (grecian foxglove,woolly foxglove)

Aescin / Antiinflammatory / Plant source: horse chestnut

Bromelain / Antiinflammatory, proteolytic / Plant Source: pineapple

Caffeine / CNS Stimulant / Plant source: Tea, also coffee, cocoa and other plants

Codeine / Analgesic, antitussive / Plant Source: Poppy

Morphine / Analgesic / Plant Source: Poppy

Aspirin / pain and inflammation and fever / Plant Source: White willow, Wintergreens and Birch

Penicillin / antibiotics / Plant source: Actually made from mould

Digoxin / Heart Medication / Plant source: foxglove plant

I could keep going and going and going but I think you get the point. Most drugs originally came from plants/bacteria/mould, etc. 


So saying all this, this leads us back to our original question. Does CBD WORK? Currently because there are so many potential benefits of CBD and the lack of hard research it's a hard question to answer. There are hundreds of thousands to millions of people that claim it does help with a variety of things which other drugs could not (research that yourself, no shortage of testimonials). CBD comes from a plant as does THC. Is it so hard to believe this may have benefits to certain people for certain ailments with all we know already about cannabis? That's up to you to decide.

My advice is that if you have yet to try CBD and you have done your research and you have talked to your doctor then it's worth a shot for you or your pets. There is a reason why so many people are talking about CBD.