CBD | What is CBD?

CBD, also known as Cannabidiol, is one of the compounds found in marijuana and hemp plants. Unlike THC, CBD does not produce any type of intoxicating effect. The high that people get when smoking for consuming marijuana is caused by THC. Why are people interested in CBD if it doesn’t cause a high? The interest lies in the fact that CBD has been widely touted to help with a wide range of medical issues. While there may not be a lot of studies to confirm its effectiveness, a combination of user experience along with some medical studies have shown that CBD does have a beneficial effect for many medical issues.

One of the other reasons that CBD is becoming more popular is since it is a naturally occurring substance. It isn’t a drug that has been developed by big pharmaceutical companies with a long list of known, and potentially dangerous side effects. Instead, it’s something that people have been using for centuries to help them with various ailments. The medicinal properties of marijuana have been known and used by cultures around the globe for centuries, its only legal bias caused by antiquated drug laws that have prevented the medicinal properties of marijuana from being more thoroughly explored.

Unfortunately, a lot of what has held back marijuana research ultimately comes down to money. Big pharmaceutical companies do good work. They research, develop, and distribute life-saving medications that make the world a better place. But, at the end of the day, they are businesses. What is the main goal of any business? To turn a profit. There is no money in marijuana for pharmaceutical companies. You can’t patent a naturally occurring compound, which means that it’s not possible to sell an expensive drug to people in need. While drugs are a necessity that has improved the lives of countless people, they are also often prohibitively expensive. CBD is not, it isn’t something that drug companies can make money from, so it’s in their best interest to help prevent marijuana from being more extensively researched.

The biggest issue regarding marijuana is the fact that it is still illegal on a federal level. While marijuana is legal for recreational and medicinal purposes in most states, at a federal level it remains illegal. In fact, it’s qualified as a schedule 1 drug. What does that mean? It means that it’s not known to have any medicinal benefits while also having a high potential for abuse. This severely limits the amount of testing that can be done on it, which is the main reason why there aren’t more extensive studies done on its medicinal benefits.

Benefits Of CBD

There are many benefits for using CBD oil, chief amongst them being that it is a naturally occurring compound that has very little in terms of potential side effects. When you look at most medications there will be a long list of warnings. Those warnings are there to protect drug companies. They are required to inform you about potential side effects. Why are specific side effects listed? It’s usually because these side effects have been observed as occurring during testing. That’s right, the warnings you see on medications are a result of side effects that drug companies know have happened. The risk level varies, and the danger of the side effects vary, but this should still sound alarms for you. All drugs have risks of side effects. Most of the time doctors prescribe drugs to patients because the potential benefits outweigh the potential side effects. But the risk is always there.

There are time when modern medicine is the only answer. There are life-saving medications that you may need to take at some point in your life, and if that’s the case, then take them. But what if you have some anxiety problems? Or, what if you have chronic long-term pain? Or, what if you have trouble sleeping? These are just three of the symptoms that CBD has been shown to help people with. When you take the time to look at them a little more closely it should clear why these three symptoms perfect illustrate the benefits of CBD use when compared with modern medicine.

What is the one thing that most anxiety medications warn about? They warn about worsening symptoms. Some anxiety medications have even been known to cause suicidal thoughts and behaviors. What about chronic pain? Anti-inflammatory medications are known for being very hard on the digestive tracks of patients. Then, of course, you also have the opioid epidemic. People die from opioid overdoses every day, in fact, they die every hour. How many people die from CBD overdoses? None? This certainly makes CBD seem like a safer option. Of course, if you are prescribed opiates for chronic pain you might not need to worry about an overdose because many pharmacies are now taking it upon themselves to

limit the dispensing of these medications. What about insomnia? Sure, there are a lot of effective medications that can help you to sleep better at night, and the one thing that they all have in common is that they carry a heavy risk of dependency.

The point is that prescription medications are often necessary. But, when they aren’t something that your life depends on, then exploring alternative treatments with less known side effects is in your best interest. Will CBD help you with anxiety, pain, or insomnia? It could, but there’s always the chance that it won’t. CBD doesn’t affect everyone the same way, it is beneficial for most people, but not for everyone. What do you have to lose by trying it? Not much, it’s not that expensive, and unlike traditional modern medications, you also don’t have to worry about the risk of side effects.

What Are The Differences Between CBD And THC?

CBD and THC are very different compounds that have very different effects. When people smoke or ingest marijuana the high, they feel is a result of the THC content. It produces a variety of psychological effects including relaxing, and euphoria. This is the result of THC causing your brain to release dopamine, producing a pleasant experience for most people, so long as they don’t overindulge. It’s very important for anyone using marijuana to understand that THC can produce intoxicating effects and should be used responsibly. When ingesting or smoking marijuana you shouldn’t be driving, operating heavy machinery, or doing anything else that could put yourself or others at risk.

While THC is well known for its psychoactive effects, CBD does not produce any of those effects. It’s a common misconception for people unfamiliar with CBD to think that people us it get high. The truth is that CBD does not get you high. What does it do? It’s been shown to have a beneficial effect for various mental and physical ailments. Specifically, it has shown to help people who deal with chronic pain, and it’s also shown to work for some people that suffer from anxiety or other mental health conditions. The most important thing to remember about CBD is that it doesn’t meet any of the standards that the FDA uses to categorize marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. It doesn’t have a risk for abuse or dependency, it isn’t dangerous, and it has been shown to have positive medicinal effects.

CBD Gummies

CBD gummies are one of the most popular methods for using CBD for medicinal purposes. They are convenient, easy to eat, and as a bonus they are usually quite delicious. When it comes to buying CBD gummies there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. First, you should only by them from a reputable source. Today CBD gummies are sold in dispensaries, but you’re just as likely to find them in convenience stores. How can you be sure of the quality of the CBD gummies that you’re getting? The best way is to purchase from a reputable manufacturer. There are a lot of CBD gummies on the market today, and not all of them are equal. Spend some time doing your homework. Go online and research different brands and read reviews. The internet makes it very easy to learn a lot about just about any company, so spend a few minutes and look up different brands.

The other important thing to remember about CBD gummies is to read the instructions. While they may look like candy, they are not candy. They are a medication, and like all medications you should follow the instructions. CBD may not work immediately for you, so if you don’t notice a difference after a few days don’t use this as a cue to up your dose. Be patient, take the recommended dose, and give it a chance to work for you. If you don’t notice any changes after a few weeks, then you might consider increasing your dose moderately. Remember, CBD has been known in very high doses to have an adverse effect on your liver. If you don’t abuse it, you shouldn’t have much to worry about.

CBD Effects

CBD effects the body by interacting with the endocanniboid receptors in your nervous system producing a variety of beneficial effects. CBD is most often used by people who experience chronic pain. Specifically, it has been shown to help reduce the inflammatory response in the human body, making it an excellent option for people that experience joint pain. The underlying cause of long-term joint pain is usually inflammation. While opioids can mask the pain, they have significant risks, and they don’t do anything to help deal with the cause of the problem. This means that you’ll be dependent on them to control your pain, which is why opiate addiction and overdose is such a a major problem in the world today. When you use CBD for joint pain the underlying cause of the pain is addressed, which for many people leads to better control of their pain over the long term.

Since CBD has shown to have ant-inflammatory effects as well as anti-nausea effects, it shouldn’t be surprising that it has shown a good deal of promise for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory bowel disease covers several different disorders including Ulcerative Colitis and Chron’s Disease. Inflammatory bowel disease is an autoimmune disease that can be debilitating for those afflicted with it. CBD has properties that can help to reduce inflammation and pain in the intestinal tract, while also helping people to deal with the nausea that often accompanies these diseases. While CBD alone may not be enough to effectively manage these diseases, for some people it may be all the treatment that they need. For those that need additional treatment, CBD can at the very least improve quality of life by reducing the severity of their symptoms.

In addition to helping people to deal with physical pain, CBD has been shown to have beneficial psychological effects as well. For people that struggle with anxiety, depression, and insomnia, CBD can be a powerful tool to help them get the relief that they need. Once again, CBD may not be a complete solution, but just because something doesn’t completely alleviate symptoms doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be used. That would be like saying you should never take aspirin for a headache since it may not completely alleviate the headache. If it provides some level of relief, and the side effects are tolerable, then it should be considered a viable treatment option.

For patients with mental health issues, it’s very important that they are open and up front with their doctor about their intentions to use CBD to help with their mental illness. This is especially important for patients currently taking any type of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, or anti-psychotic medications. CBD is generally very safe to use, but you always want to err on the side of caution when dealing with mental illness. You also need to avoid stopping taking your medication without the oversight of your doctor. Abruptly stopping any type of medication for mental illness could have very serious side effects, and it should only be done with the approval and supervision of your doctor.

But what if you want to stop taking mental health medications and try CBD instead? That may be a viable option for you but discuss it with your doctor. A good doctor will listen to their patients and work with them in regard to their treatment. Your doctor can probably help you to come up with a safe way to reduce your medication dependence where you won’t have to deal with the risks associated with suddenly stopping taking it. By reducing your dose slowly, while incorporating CBD into your treatment, you can see how it affects you. If things are going well, great, then you can probably continue to wean yourself off the medication and switch to taking CBD only. If things are not going well, then your doctor will be monitoring the situation and can help to safely increase your medication to get your symptoms back under control.

Is CBD Safe?

Anyone that uses marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes will probably tell you that it is extremely safe. Overdosing on marijuana involves consuming too much THC. While it can be unpleasant, the likelihood of suffering any permanent damage is negligible. That’s only when dealing with THC. What about CBD? Overdosing on CBD is even more unlikely than when using THC. It is possible that using very high doses could cause an adverse reaction that could lead to liver damage, but for this to happen you would have to be very irresponsible. It would take consuming a dose much higher than is recommended to even approach the possibility of liver damage. The point is that if you are going to be using CBD, make sure to read the label of the product you are going to be using. Follow the dosing recommendations, and you might even want to consider starting at a lower dose than what is recommended to see how your body responds. As long\ as you aren’t intentionally taking far too much CBD, it is very safe for just about everyone.

Another

important way to look at CBD safety is to compare it with known side effects of

medications that you may take as an alternative. While going into the

comparison between CBD and every other medication that treats overlapping

symptoms would be far too time-consuming, chances are that if you did look into

it, you would see that CBD has fewer side effects and is considered to be the

safer option. Overdosing on CBD is very difficult, and if it does happen you

most likely won’t suffer any serious long-term effects. The same can’t be said

for many other medications where overdosing can lead to major complications and

even death.

Can Pets Use CBD?

Many pet owners around the world have been using CBD as a safe way to help their pets deal with various ailments, any pet owner will tell you that their pet is more than a pet, it’s a member of the family. What do we do for family? We take care of them. Cats and dogs get sick and have aches and pains just like people do. They also suffer from anxiety issues. Unfortunately, many of the medications that we might take when we aren’t feeling well aren’t safe for our pets to take. Fortunately, this does not apply to CBD. CBD is perfectly safe for any cat or dog. You can even give it to a completely healthy pet, and you don’t have to worry about any side effects. It won’t get them high, or affect them in any adverse way at all, unless you give them much too high of a dose.

CBD affects cats and dogs in the same way it effects people, which means that it has the same beneficial effects. One of the biggest areas that many pet owners struggle with is identifying signs of distress in their cat or dog. Animals will often give non-verbal clues when there is something bothering them. Dogs tend to chew on things when they are feeling anxious, or they eat grass and vomit when they have nausea. If you’re paying attention, then you might be able to spot signs of distress in your pet. But to be honest, there’s a good chance that you’ll probably miss that something might be wrong with your pet. Life is hectic, so it’s understandable that you might not notice signs that your pet isn’t feeling well.

What can you do to help prevent your pet from suffering in silence? You might want to consider adding CBD to their diet as a type of preventive care. CBD does not have any negative side effects, and it can work to help keep your pet from feeling chronic pain as well as anxiety. Even if your pet isn’t suffering from anything at the moment, at some point they will. By being proactive and giving them CBD daily you can help to reduce the risk of them suffering while you remain oblivious to what is ailing them.

CBD Is Safe And Effective

Anyone that is considering using CBD should know that it is one of the safest treatment options that you’ll ever consider. CBD effects have been proven to help with a variety of mental and physical symptoms. If you are suffering from any type of ailment the best thing you can do is to do your homework. Spend some time researching your specific issues and what, if any, effect CBD has been shown to have on them. CBD is not a magic cure all, it won’t help with every type of symptom. What it will do though is help with many different types of symptoms. The effects can be anything from helping to alleviate some of your symptoms, all the way up to completely eliminating any symptoms that you are experiencing. Most importantly, you can rest assured knowing that CBD is extremely safe with very few side effects that you need to be concerned about.