If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping, anxiety and depression you may have noticed that CBD oil is a hot topic. Let’s talk about what it is and what it does. Marijuana needs no formal introduction, it’s as popular as aspirin. Hemp is also a plant and has often been confused with marijuana.
What’s the difference?
Hemp and marijuana are two unique and different strains from the cannabis plant. Marijuana is known for its ability to cause a psychoactive response in the body. This is the “high” that most people experience. This is due to a component called THC (Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The strain of cannabis that produces hemp and oils contain non-psychoactive CBD. These strains have very low levels of THC (.3%)
Benefits of THC
There are benefits to using THC-containing marijuana. It can decrease nausea, muscle spasm and pain. It can also increase appetite which is good if it is lost from illness. Here is a list of other benefits of THC.
- Relieve pain, especially chronic pain
- Reduce nausea and vomiting
- Promote sleep
- Treat post-traumatic stress disorder
- Increase appetite
- Decrease inflammation
- Promote relaxation
- Prevent convulsions
Good or bad it also can alter consciousness, mood, and perception. So, enter at your own risk.
Benefits of CBD
CBD oil is non-psychotropic. This means it will not directly alter your consciousness, mood or perception. The brain has cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) because the body produces very small amounts of cannabinoids (endocannabinoids). Here are some of the many benefits of CBD oil.
- Pain relief
- Anxiety relief
- Inflammation reduction
- Psychosis relief
- Appetite stimulation
- Nausea reduction
- Seizure/convulsion reduction
- Nervous system degeneration prevention
- Muscle spasm suppression
- Blood sugar management
- Psoriasis treatment
- Inhibited cancerous cell growth
- Reduced risk of artery blockage
- Increased bone growth
- Killing or slowing of bacterial growth
With all these benefits and none of the psychotropic effects, CBD is now being used by both traditional and functional medicine doctors. Talk to your functional medicine doctor to find out if it is right for you.
Dr. Stacey
Excellent summary. And what are your recommendations on dosage? The literature seems to be all over the map.
The dosage varies greatly depending on what you read. Most of my patients respond to approximately 3mg CBD oil per serving. What is great about CBD oil is that you can easily go up or down on the dose to find what works best for you.