Cannabidiol – better known as CBD – has undoubtedly become a rising star since the 2018 Farm Bill officially made hemp legal nationwide across the United States.
And just like any star, the substance has acquired quite an amount of buzz – but not everything you hear about CBD is true.
Whether it’s claims of the substance’s untested danger or its omnipotent nature, there have been a number of rumors circulating about plant-based compound. And the truth, as always, lies somewhere in-between.
The top five CBD oil myths include:
CBD Effects Have No Scientific Backing
While it’s true that the 2018 Farm Bill opened up cannabidiol to many more research opportunities, it’s simply untrue that little-to-no testing has already been done on the substance.
In fact, thousands of CBD-based studies have been conducted, both in the short span of time this type of testing has been available in America and for many years outside the United States.
Now, very few of these studies have been conducted on humans, with a lion’s share of the tests being performed instead on rodents. And many studies have also been smaller scale, and might not be up to many scientist’s high double-blind standards – all of which may make a person reasonably question the type of research out there.
But the belief that it doesn’t exist at all is simply a myth.
CBD Gets You High
Unlike the shades-of-grey color scheme most rumors are painted with, this one is starkly black and white: CBD does not get you high. The substance is simply not psychoactive.
This is often a point of confusion due to CBD’s relation to both hemp and marijuana, which both have reputations of making users feel a certain kind of way. And things get further muddied as CBD has been known to cause feelings of mild euphoria – but this is not the same thing as what most people consider “getting high.”
From an anecdotal perspective, the “high” you get from CBD oil is much more mild, much more focused in the body, and has no impact on the way your mind works. And that’s because, from a physical perspective, CBD affects us in a much different way than THC.
Cannabidiol does trigger our brains to release certain “feel good” chemicals in our bodies – which sets off this euphoric feeling – but it leaves alone the receptors that would mess with things like our sensory perception and memory, which are the areas targeted by tetrahydrocannabinol that produce that “high” feeling.
CBD Works Right Away
Again, people are likely confusing the effects of cannabidiol with those of its more psychoactive cousin, THC, which does, especially when inhaled, hit the body right away.
But with CBD (as with THC), when you feel it depends much more on the intake method you choose than the substance itself.
Inhaling anything will help you feel it immediately. Ingesting it will take up to two hours. And taking CBD oil sublingually can take around 10-15 minutes to kick in. Even then, factors like your weight, metabolism and tolerance all come into play.
Plus, once cannabidiol gets to work, the effects are much more subtle than THC and may not even be fully felt when in full effect. Indeed, CBD acts more as a gentle facilitator of natural processes, helping keep things running smoothly, as opposed to marijuana, which takes a much more disruptive stance.
And an increasing body of work shows that CBD may also build up in our bodies over time, taking as long as 30 days to accumulate to a critical mass where there will be enough of it around to really take hold.
CBD Is A Cure-All
On that note, there are many people who believe CBD is something of a panacea, capable of curing nearly anything that ails us once there’s enough in our systems thanks to its intricate relationship with the endocannabinoid system, which has a hand in nearly every bodily function we perform.
And it’s true that this relationship does allow CBD to help with a wide range of issues, aiding with alleviation of everything from emotional stress to physical pain.
But of course, no substance is a silver bullet. CBD has limits just as any other natural substance. And while it helps our bodies function more smoothly or more closely to what would be considered “optimal,” it can’t get them to do things they never could do to be begin with, or push them past their natural limits.
CBD Has No Side Effects
Again, CBD is a physical substance ingested by the body. It must, by its very existence, have some effects on us. And while a majority of those are helpful – and, in a large number of cases, only helpful – there are the odd less-than-pleasant side effects that crop up.
That’s because the human body is infinitely varied, with every person reacting slightly differently to every substance they encounter – CBD included.
Most people can process the substance without issue, but cannabidiol has been known to cause nausea, fatigue and irritability in some people. And it’s also possible for the substance to interact with certain medications, including blood thinners, in a similar way that grapefruit will elevate the effects of certain medicines.
As always, it’s important to consult with your physician if you’re considering taking CBD or any other herbal supplement.
And before buying any CBD product, it’s also important to do your research – not just on the product itself but on the company you want to purchase it from. Ensuring a company sources their hemp safely, processes their CBD cleanly, and tests the final result to make sure the process went well will help ensure that, no matter what type of CBD product you’re getting, you’re getting the best CBD product possible.
REFERENCES:
https://www.getjupiter.com/cbd-myths-debunked/
https://www.realsimple.com/health/first-aid-health-basics/cbd-myths
