CBD oil, also known as CBD hemp oil, hemp oil, or simply CBD, is an oil that is made from the hemp plant, but contains little-to-no THC and is therefore not psychoactive.
Is there a difference between hemp and marijuana?
While there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding marijuana and hemp, both terms refer to the Cannabis sativa plant, but the difference between the two comes down to the purpose for which the strain was bred. Hemp refers to Cannabis sativa strains that have been bred for the quality of their fibers, and for cosmetic, industrial, and nutritional uses. Marijuana, on the other hand, typically refers to strains of the plant that have been bred for its tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content.
Marijuana-based CBD oil has levels of THC that exceed the threshold allowable by federal law. States that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana do permit the sale of this particular variety of CBD oil.
CBD oil from the strains of the hemp plant has a THC content of less than .3%. After the refinement process, almost all, if not all, of the THC is removed.
Isn’t CBD oil illegal?
No. While the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) initially claimed that cannabidiol (CBD) was listed under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the DEA rescinded this statement and acknowledged that CBD, in and of itself, is not illegal provided the CBD comes from the part of the cannabis plant that is itself legal. CBD oil obtained from lawfully-cultivated industrial hemp is legal, according to the DEA. The lawfully-cultivated industrial hemp is outlined in the 2014 US Farm Bill, Section 7607.
What are the benefits of cannabinoids?
According to this patent: “Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention.”