There’s no denying that CBD is everywhere – beauty products, pet food, clothes, or water are just a few of the items available on the market that contain it. Furthermore, major brands such as Urban Outfitters even introduced CBD-infused products like oils and creams into their offer.
However, as its popularity keeps growing, many people are starting to question whether the CBD-infused products are really worth the hype, or are they just another marketing ploy.
Well, keep reading if you want to find out.
What is CBD?
Before digging deeper into the topic, we need to start with the basics – what is CBD?
According to experts from Nature And Bloom: ‘CBD stands for Cannabidiol, which is a compound found in the cannabis species of plants. Cannabidiol is usually extracted from hemp, which is naturally low in THC while being rich in CBD. As a result, Cannabidiol oil when bought as a supplement doesn’t impair cognitive function.”
Many people mistakenly believe that Cannabidiol has the same psychoactive capabilities as THC. However, nothing could be further from the truth. CBD won’t make you high. THC, on the other hand, yes.
Is CBD legal?
Even though cannabis is a plant that has been cultivated by humans for more than 12,000 years now, its legal situation is still not regulated. If you look at the United States, the country is divided into three ‘parts’ – the first one being the states where both recreational and medical marijuana are legal, second where only the medical marijuana is legal, and the third where marijuana is prohibited for any use.
With CBD, the situation is even more complicated. At the moment FDA, which is the U. S. Food and Drug organization has approved only one drug containing CBD, called Epidiolex. This means that all the other products containing Cannabidiol, such as beauty products, food, edibles for pets, etc. have not been approved, as the substance still needs more research.
However, doing research regarding Cannabidiol is not that easy. As Orrin Devinsky, the director of NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center in New York City says: “In New York City, you can go to a latte shop and get a CBD product, but if I want to do a clinical trial, I’ve got to get a 2,000-pound safe and go through six months of paperwork and licensing”
Does CBD work?
People didn’t start to get hyped about it without reason. There is evidence that CBD actually has many health benefits, which is why companies started to add it to their products in the first place.
CBD is helpful when it comes to conditions like sleep disorders, chronic pain, acne, anxiety, and muscle spasticity related to multiple sclerosis. Some people also claim that CBD can cure cancer, and while the studies performed on mace are quite optimistic, there is no evidence that it works in the same way on the human body.
Is CBD safe?
Even though some people might experience side effects like nausea or irritability, CBD appears to be safe for adults. However, if you are taking some kind of medication, you should always contact your doctor before you start using any product that contains CBD, as it might interfere with it.
When it comes to children or people under 21, it’s not clear if using CBD is safe or not, as there is still little evidence. That’s why they shouldn’t be using the CBD-infused products, or at least not regularly.
Where can you buy CBD products?
Right now, the CBD products are everywhere. Depending on what you want to buy, you can find them in drugstores, bigger grocery shops, dispensaries, pharmacies, etc. There are also a lot of online retailers who are selling them on their websites.
The best choice is obviously the dispensary, as you are sure that all the products are sold legally, and you have all the information you need on the label – how much CBD it includes, and whether it contains CBD or not.
Are the CBD products really worth the hype?
The moment everyone has been waiting for – are the CBD products really worth the hype? The answer is not as simple as ‘YES’ or ‘NO.’ The truth is that some of them are, while some of them not really. For example, let’s look at the beauty products.
These days, you can find anything infused with CBD – creams, foundation, mascara, lipsticks, and so on. The thing is, however, that while CBD has been proven to work well on the skin and reduce the inflammation, there is no evidence of it working on hair. This means that whilst it makes sense to infuse creams and other products that have direct contact with the skin with it, adding it to a mascara or a brow product doesn’t really make sense.
Final Thoughts
CBD is everywhere, and that’s a fact. There are so many products infused with CBD nowadays, that if we were to list all of them, it would take forever (or at least a few hours). However, are they really worth the hype, or is it just another marketing ploy?
The answer is not as easy as it might seem, as everything depends on the kind of product – just like it was shown with the beautiful ones.
The evidence regarding CBD is still growing – many things are still unknown when it comes to CBD, such as if there are any side effects of long term use that weren’t discovered yet. This is also a reason why before using anything that contains CBD, you need to consult it with your doctor. As the FDA said, we still don’t know if it can interfere with any medication, which is why it’s better to be safe than sorry.
However, since some countries and states have decided to legalize both the medical and the recreational use of products containing marijuana (including CBD), the research became easier – who knows, maybe thanks to this in 10 or 20 years, CBD will not be such a mystery anymore.
