CBD ISN’T NEW - BUT THE RESEARCH IS...
Maybe you see advertising everywhere for CBD products, and you might think it has become just the latest craze! And it has, but for good reason. The latest research keeps confirming what people have known for centuries - it works! Let’s see what humans have known about cannabis since time began.
CBD - A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF CANNABIS
Since farming began 10,000 years ago, humans have used the cannabis plant. Flowers, stems and roots were important for medicine and spiritual journeys. Fiber from the cannabis stems was used for making ropes, clothes and building materials. Even the seeds were eaten (like chia seeds) for protein. One quality of this amazing plant is its ability to survive in most growing conditions, almost like a “weed,” which made it propagate wherever the seeds were sown. Cannabis is believed to have been used in early Chinese medicine, then made its way to India, Greece and on to Europe. Colonists in the New World grew hemp as a staple of life. If it's been around so long, why did it seem to “disappear” and now “reappear”?
CBD - HOW DID CANNABIS AND HEMP FALL INTO DISFAVOR?
In the early 20th century, prohibition minded Americans decided to lump cannabis with opium and cocaine since they often were concocted together in apothecary's medicinal creations. The government began regulating pharmaceuticals and officially grouped cannabis with narcotics. After alcohol prohibition ended in the 1930’s, cannabis became the new boogey-man! Ah, it was a different time. There was no official research on the benefits of “marijuana”, and lowlifes like jazz musicians had to be stopped from corrupting the youth with their pot-smoking ways! So, in 1937, against the advice of the American Medical Association, the Marihuana Tax Act was passed. This effectively stopped the recreational use of cannabis and somehow hemp was thrown into the mix. I think everyone knows what happened next - the War on Drugs! How did cannabis use ever recover from this War?
CBD - NEW BRAIN RESEARCH SHOWS THE BENEFITS OF CANNABIS
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, functional MRI’s and advances in neuroscience which enabled the study of the brain exploded the knowledge we had previously. As researchers began studying the effects of drug abuse on the brain, SURPRISE, they instead discovered the brain’s receptors for cannabinoids. Scientists even named this whole system after cannabis! Who knew that our bodies had these receptors not only in our brains but all over the place: the immune system, the nervous system, the ovaries, spleen, gut, liver, kidneys, bones, blood vessels, lymph cells, need we say more? The endocannabinoid system interacts positively with the chemicals in cannabis. Not only that, our own bodies even produce some THC-similar compounds! These receptors help us regulate pain, moods, sleep and a host of other things. With this new development, people began to question the draconian hatred of all things cannabis.
CBD - USE FINALLY APPROVED IN THE U.S.A.
Medicinal use of cannabis began in 1996 when California passed a bill to allow the compassionate use of cannabis under a doctor’s care. Ongoing studies began to show that removing the THC component did not remove all the medicinal value, it just kept the “high” out of the equation! Since that time, passionate cannabis advocates have worked to educate the public on the multitude of medical benefits with its use. Like dominoes falling, more and more states in the U.S.A. continue to approve cannabis, hemp, and CBD products.
And there you have it! A 500-word introduction to the wonders of cannabis!
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