"I see a lot of people talking about and using CBD oil for their symptoms. Tell me what is it exactly and how it helps? I’m thinking of trying it. Is there anything I should be worried about if I use it?"

Hello Sarah,

You ask an excellent question. I have been researching CBD oil for a variety of health reasons. I even use it myself to help with my muscle aches.

CBD stands for cannabidiol and is found in hemp and marijuana plants, both of the Cannabis Sativa species. Hemp comes from the Cannabis Sativa L. and by law, contains less than 0.3 percent of THC, the ‘high’ component of marijuana, also from the Cannabis Sativa species. What this means is that you don’t get high from CBD oil.

So, what’s the medicinal value of CBD oil? Our bodies possess an Endocannabinoid System which a network of messengers and receptors (CB1 and CB2) for those messengers.

Our body makes endocannabinoids (the messengers) naturally and they regulate the following functions: sleep, appetite, mood, pleasure, pain, memory and many others.

Our body breaks down our natural endocannbinoids quickly. Some people can’t replenish their levels and develop symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, muscle aches, and other symptoms.

That’s where CBD oil can help. There are other ways to obtain CBD such as vaping or gummies.

The key is to figure out how many milligrams are in a given formulation. Most people start at 5 to 10 mg and then increase until their symptoms are relieved. It’s not uncommon to take 30 mg of the oil under the tongue. Vaping takes much fewer milligrams.

CBD oil is not legal in all states even though on a federal level, it is legal because of the 2018 Farm Bill. There are two types of CBD oil: Isolate based 0% THC and Full Spectrum CBD which has less than 3% THC. You could test positive on a drug test with the latter.

If you are having trouble with any of the above mentioned issues, you may want to try it out for a couple of months to see if you feel better. Retail pharmacies are starting to stock different formulations if you want to be sure you are getting the purest forms of high quality.