Common Myths About CBD

‘Taking CBD is going to make me ‘High’ & it’s illegal.

’This is simply not true. This common misconception is because CBD is derived from the hemp plant, which is associated with marijuana. Sometimes it’s presumed that there is a danger CBD will cause a psychotic high, as THC does. However, when CBD is extracted from the hemp plant, the intoxicating compound THC is removed so that only a trace amount remains. This small amount of THC is simply not enough to cause a psychotic high. The irony, is that many marijuana users brand CBD as being ‘useless’, as no matter how much they take there’s no potential of them getting ‘high’!CBD products which contain no more than 1 mg of THC are perfectly legal in the UK. Like most natural heath products such as glucosamine, turmeric, ginger, grape seed extract, celery seed and beta carotene, they are classed as food products.

‘CBD hasn’t been scientifically proven to help any health conditions.’

Those who oppose CBD often state that the compound hasn’t been proven to help with any health conditions. But the assertion that CBD hasn’t been proven to help any conditions is simply not accurate. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex, a CBD-based medication for seizure disorders that are difficult to treat. It’s the first CBD-based medication to get the agency’s approval since cannabis became a Schedule 1 drug in 1970, and the clinical trials of this CBD-based medication were so compelling that the FDA was compelled to approve it.The US Arthritis Foundation conducted its own poll and found that 29% reported current use of CBD, and nearly 80% of respondents were either using it, had used it in the past, or were considering it. Of those using it, most reported improvement in physical function, sleep, well-being and some reported improvement in pain or stiffness.

Because CBD comes from the cannabis plant which is a narcotic substance, no research has been done on the compound.’

This is simply not true, for example, the study done at Columbia University that looked at the use of CBD with conventional treatment for glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is the most common kind of cancerous brain tumour in adults. Its standard treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The results of the study indicated CBD induced cell death and enhanced radiosensitivity of glioblastoma cells but not normal, healthy cells.In other words, CBD appeared to help kill and weaken the cancerous cells without damaging any healthy, normal cells.Israel was the first country to study medical cannabis in earnest. Now you can find studies from a range of countries including a 2018 study in the UK which showed promising results using CBD in treating ulcerative colitis, a 2014 study from Italy suggested that CBD inhibits the growth of cancerous cells in people with colon cancer, a 2017 study from Brazil which found that a group of people who took CBD had less anxiety around public speaking than the control group, or the participants who took a placebo.Credible, randomized, double-blind CBD studies have been done, and they’re available to any journalist or curious individual through PubMed, the US National Institutes of Health’s research archive, and similar resources.

‘CBD is a marketing scam.’

The wellness industry has a reputation for aggressive marketing techniques and for praying on people’s ignorance about their health, it’s been the same ever since the wild west snake oil salesmen set up business.There are several companies peddling low doses of CBD, diluted products, or products which are simply not relevant to the people they’re trying to sell them to and their conditions.The bottom line is that before you buy any CBD product, you should always ask for laboratory evidence about the authenticity of the CBD product being offered, quiz the supplier about the intended use for the CBD product, and absolutely ask for a money back guarantee before you part with any money.

‘I took CBD for 7 days and nothing happened, so it doesn’t work ....’

Of all the bad CBD press, this is by far the worst. But fortunately, it doesn’t require much of an explanation. It’s common for people to say that they’ve tried CBD for a week or two, and that they felt no different after taking it than they did before.The question they forgot to ask themselves is ‘What was the reason they tried CBD in the first place, what was the condition they were trying to alleviate?’. If there wasn’t an underlying condition they were trying to treat in the first place, then how can CBD be effective?Before you try CBD, consider if you have a condition or symptom such as joint pain, stiffness, inflammation, anxiety, poor sleep, or desire to improve cognitive functioning, and if not then why bother taking it.