Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you have probably heard something about CBD. But unless you’ve been very diligent about researching the latest trends related to health and marijuana, you may not know much about what CBD actually is — or why it seems to be such a big deal all of a sudden.
We’re here to explain. Below, we’ll break down everything you need to know about what CBD is, whether or not CBD is legal, what CBD does, and how you can use CBD to improve your own health.
What is CBD?
First things first: What is CBD?
CBD is in marijuana, so let’s start there. Marijuana contains a lot of different substances that affect our bodies and minds in different ways. These include all of the compounds that create marijuana’s “high,” plus compounds that can affect our bodies in ways that are not psychoactive (in other words, in ways that don’t get us high). These compounds are called cannabinoids, and there are hundreds of them.
One cannabinoid is cannabidiol — or, for short, CBD. Like other cannabinoids, CBD has certain effects on our body. Those effects are what has made it so important.
What does CBD do?
CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. That means that it has nothing to do with a marijuana high, and, if taken by itself, CBD won’t get you high at all. (Another cannabinoid, THC, is largely responsible for marijuana’s famous high.)
But that doesn’t mean that CBD doesn’t do anything. Far from it! CBD is the cannabinoid that is most responsible for marijuana’s well-known health benefits.
We’re still learning more about what CBD does to improve our health and treat our maladies, but the list of proven and reported effects is already very long. CBD can be taken in pills or oils to counter pain, reduce anxiety, and more. You can even take CBD oil for weight loss.
Taking CBD
Of course, it wasn’t so long ago that the medical benefits of marijuana — including the huge number of those benefits attributable to CBD — were unavailable to Americans. Until recently, marijuana was illegal all over the United States. Today, that’s no longer true. In many states, adults can buy and consume marijuana.
But what if your state still bans the drug? Well, good news: you don’t have to live in a state with legal marijuana to enjoy CBD.
Thanks to modern technology, manufacturers of CBD products can extract and concentrate CBD, meaning that they can produce products that include CBD but not other cannabinoids, such as THC. And because CBD is non-psychoactive, it hasn’t drawn the ire of regulators in the same way that marijuana and THC products have. CBD products are widely legal — and very popular.
CBD can be ingested in a variety of ways. CBD oil is available in tinctures and can also be smoked or vaped. CBD can also be taken in pill form or infused into edible treats, such as gummies. You can get a prescription for CBD in some states, but it is also available in many forms to consumers who do not have prescriptions.
For some, consuming CBD has become a simple part of a regular health routine. Taken, Vitaleaf CBD Oil can become a safeguard against anxiety or pain. Others take CBD when they feel that they need an extra boost. Perhaps you should try it out, too. Regardless of how you use it, you’ll likely find that CBD is an affordable way to improve your health.