Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know about the changing attitudes towards marijuana use, particularly in the United States. Hemp has been completely legalised, over half the states now allow marijuana to be grown and used for medical use, and to date 10 states now allow marijuana to be grown for personal use and/or for it to be used recreationally.

One of the factors driving this softening of the ‘war-on-drugs’ is that people are becoming aware of just how powerful cannabis can be medically. Up until recently people were forced to used marijuana illegally if they wanted to take the drug to assist with certain types of seizures or certain skin disorders – the type of conditions where no other pharmaceutical has been created to relieve the symptoms.

There is an amazing amount of research that has only in the last few years really been able to be undertaken, and we are now starting to see the results of that research be published and used by Doctors, pharmaceutical companies and politicians, to create new medication, as well as new rules, regulations and guidelines that can benefit the entire population. Of particular interest is the focus on CBD Oils over THC and the difference between these two components of cannabis. Places like Thryve CBD oils break down the huge array of data and evidence-based research into information that is able to be digested by non-scientifically minded people.

What is CBD Oil?

The Guardian calls it a miracle oil, but what is cannabidiol and why is it causing so much excitement? For starters, Cannabindiol (CBD) has no (or very low) psychoactive properties, which means that you won’t get “high”, or suffer the effects more commonly associated with cannabis smokers who use the whole of the cannabis plant. It is the THC component of cannabis that has the psychoactive properties.

Although CBD oil can be made from either the cannabis plant or the hemp plant, cannabis oil and hemp oil are not interchangeable terms. CBD oil is extracted from the flowers (buds), leaves and stalks of the plant, whereas hemp oil is extracted from hemp seeds.

Medical Benefits of CBD Oil

Although for the majority of people CBD oil is not a “miracle” drug, we are increasingly seeing applications for the oil within the medical realm that is greatly improving the quality of life for many people. The first CBD based drug to be approved by the FDA is to treat Dravet Syndrome in children, and certain severe types of epilepsy. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cbd-oil-benefits

However, although research into the use of CBD and marijuana is still in its infancy there are some promising indicters that it may be able to provide (or assist with):

• Relief from Multiple-Sclerosis (MS) muscle spasms
• Anti-inflammatory
• Relief from epilepsy seizures
• Relief from Dravet Syndrome (childhood epilepsy)
• Used to reduce addiction to marijuana
• Anxiety
• Pain relief
• Reduction of nausea in some chemotherapy patients
• Used topically to reduce acne
• Early studies are seeing some positive results for relief in Parkinson’s
• May aid with the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s
• Used topically to treat epidermolysis bullosa

Who is Cannabindiol Oil Helping?

A lot of the excitement around CBD Oil cam with the release of a CNN documentary (see here) in 2013 that showed how a 6-year-old Colorado girl who had suffered hundreds of seizures EVERY day since she was an infant was able to find relief by taking a few drops of a specially produced cannabis oil with the THC removed.

Since then other children who have similar conditions have also reported similar results. Seizures have stopped, many have started eating, started talking, had their quality of life (and that of their families) dramatically improved.

In people that suffer from epidermolysis bullosa, which is a rare disease that cases the skin to blister, become fragile, and difficult to heal CBD oil is being applied topically as a cream and is showing positive results at providing relief from the symptoms, including pain relief and increased healing of the wounds.

As CBD Oil is normally taken as a capsule or as drops under the tongue, it does not have the damaging effects on lungs that marijuana which is smoked or inhaled may have. The research is still young, but it is very promising.