Even though CBD’s legal status is yet unclear, it’s been launched into the mainstream in recent years. CBD vape pens and gummies can be found at almost any smoke shop worth its incense and big corporations, like Coca Cola, are even thinking of getting in the game. So should we all be downing and applying CBD with abandon?
Many people use CBD as an alternative to THC laden cannabis because it lacks a psychoactive effect and will supposedly not show up on a drug screen. There are companies out there that isolate CBD so that there is 0 percent THC to be screened, but most CBD is made from the hemp plant and is required to have less than 0.3 percent THC. That’s not much THC at all, but it could still potentially have you out of a job if tested.
Recently, a woman in Georgia who was using CBD for pain and anxiety for just two weeks before she was drug tested, failed. While most CBD labels claim to have no THC whatsoever, some have a disclaimer that trace amounts of THC may be found. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, also wished that she’d known the risk. She did not get the job.
Dr. Oz is calling this market explosion the “CBD oil boom.” On a recent show Dr. Oz and Dr. Sanjay Gupta sat down and talked CBD, it’s differences from THC, it’s milligrams and price per dose. They tested 9 products, which came back with results ranging from 2mg doses to 22mg doses.
“If you need hundreds of milligrams for it to do anything, two milligrams isn’t going to do anything and people are paying a lot of money for it,” extrapolated Dr. Gupta.
Unlike the CBD the woman used in Georgia, the doctors found no THC in any of the 9 products. They also encouragingly didn’t find heavy metals. Dr. Oz pontificated that if a product seems confusing, it’s meant to seem that way, while Dr. Gupta pointed out that as regulations are put into place, proper labeling, milligrams and dosages will become par for the course with time.
CBD is used in the treatment of inflammation, pain, seizure disorder and has myriad forms and applications. From topicals that everything from acne to arthritis to infused products that claim to quell anxiety and lower inflammation, until we figure out what a proper dosage is and if full spectrum CBD is the real ticket, it’s all a sort of wellness crapshoot, with CBD manufacturers coming out on top for now.
