Why Is CBD Not Sold As A Medicine?
17 July 2020For centuries, the cannabis plant has been widely used to treat a huge diversity of illnesses. Even today, we hear about promising experiences of people claiming that the plant benefits their health. Most people associate cannabis and hemp with smoking weed and getting high. While cannabis does contain THC, a substance that can get you high, other compounds found in hemp plants are interesting from a medical point of view. CBD, or cannabidiol, is of particular interest here. CBD as medicine is being studied in many trials looking for treatments against a range of conditions. Examples include migraine, chronic inflammation, anxiety, chronic pain, and even cancer. So why is it not allowed to sell CBD as medicine? This article explains why it is too early to call CBD Oil and other CBD Supplements medication yet.
Cannabis And CBD As Medicine
To illustrate how far the medicinal use of cannabis dates back, you only need to consider literature like ‘The Classic of Herbal Medicine‘ attributed to Emperor Chen Nung, or Shennong. Legend has it that some 5000 years ago, Emperor Chen Nung was the first to describe cannabis and a host of other herbs as medicinal plants. Interestingly, Shen Nung is also rumoured to have discovered tea and a whole range of agricultural tools and techniques still used today. By now, modern insights have compounded the ancient wisdom of Chen Nung. The mechanism by which CBD can help maintain and restore the body’s natural balance has been identified. Scientific evidence is mounting steadily.
Benefits Of The Hemp Plant
Today, too, there is considerable attention for the benefits offered by the substances present in cannabis plants. If you’re into scientific articles, you should check out this article.
CBD As Treatment For Addiction
Recent studies demonstrated how CBD can help treat opiate addiction. There is even a detox clinic in California, USA, where CBD-rich cannabis is used to treat addiction. Based on these and other success stories, research into CBD as medicine against addiction is advancing. There are, however, many other areas where using CBD as medicine seems a viable option for the near future.
Studying CBD As Medicine
In spite of all these success stories, however, CBD cannot currently be offered as medication. This is because so far, no studies have produced definitive clinical evidence. Part of the reason is the fact that clinical trials take years to complete. So research is definitely underway, but it may be some time before the first hard evidence is presented. In addition, much of the research conducted so far uses animals as test subjects. These studies may get results, but these can only be used as clues; never as guarantees that the same effects will occur in humans. Conclusions like these require clinical testing on human subjects.
Nonetheless, progress is being made in laboratories across the world. Recently the World Health Organization published a positive outlook on the future of CBD as medicine. More importantly, ever more people are personally experiencing the benefits CBD can have for an increasing diversity of symptoms and conditions. As these people discuss the success of CBD with their doctors, officially listing CBD as medicine is coming one step closer every day.
Testing For The Effects Of CBD
If we take the example of using CBD against opiate addiction, we are looking at a study involving at least 100 people addicted to opiates. Half of these will be treated with CBD, while the other half receives a placebo. A placebo is a fake medicine. After treatment, researchers check whether the group treated with CBD was more successful in quitting their opiate use than the group treated with a placebo. To get thorough and reliable results, this study must then be repeated by a second research group. Only after both studies manage to demonstrate the benefit of CBD, the process of getting an official medical registration can begin.
This type of research is very expensive, and it takes a lot of time to complete. Until that time, CBD will not be officially acknowledged as a medicine. Nonetheless, many people benefit from their use of CBD. That’s why for the time being, CBD is a dietary supplement rather than official medication. Even so, CBD Oil, CBD Tablets and other CBD Supplements have a lot to offer to anyone interested in pursuing a healthy lifestyle by natural means.
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