National CBD Day: Celebrating the potential of CBD
National CBD Day: Celebrating the potential of CBD
August 8th marks the 5th National CBD Day – a celebration started to raise awareness for the potential of one of the world’s favourite well-being supplements. And, to appreciate all that has brought us to where we are today in terms of the research, and CBD’s widespread acceptance and use.
So, in the spirit of National CBD Day, we’re doing our bit to educate and celebrate…
The history of CBD
CBD products are commonplace now, as a mainstay in millions of households and gracing a vast variety of store shelves. But this hasn’t always been the case. The CBD boom has really only happened over the last 5 years. However, behind the scenes, researchers have been delving into cannabis-derived CBD and its potential for over 50 years.
In the early 1930s, British chemist Robert S. Cahn discovered the first partial structure of another cannabinoid, CBN, which then went on to be fully identified in 1940. Just two years later American chemist, Roger Adams, successfully identified and isolated the CBD molecule we know and love today, followed by the THC molecule.
This was a momentous find, but we didn’t start to discover the incredible effects CBD has on the body until much later, thanks to the late ‘Godfather of Cannabis’, Dr Raphael Mechoulam. In the 1980s, Dr Mechoulam conducted a breakthrough study into the application of CBD for epilepsy, where 8 subjects received a dose of 300mg CBD a day for four months. As a result, half the participants stopped having seizures altogether, while others experienced a dramatic decrease.
While an impressive result, the mechanism of this remained a mystery until the 90s, when further cannabinoids were discovered along with the endocannabinoid system. This complex network of receptors within the body is now known to interact with cannabinoids and is considered to be one of the most important physiological systems for maintaining overall health.
National CBD Day: Celebrating the potential of CBD
Although CBD is classed as a novel food supplement in the UK, global researchers have made many ground-breaking discoveries about this remarkable molecule, which you can take daily in CBD oil.
Most fans of CBD use it to quell anxiety, and this is one of the most studied applications, although research is often performed with very high doses. Interestingly it’s been found that the actions of CBD are quite dose-dependent, and a higher dose doesn’t equate to a greater effect. A 2017 study in the Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry tested the anxiety levels of 57 men in a simulated public speaking test and found that 300mg of CBD significantly reduced anxiety. Participants given 150mg and 600mg, however, found they had more anxiety than the 300mg group.
Following on from Mechoulam’s initial discovery about using CBD for epilepsy, this has now been deeply studied and has saved and changed many lives. In 2018, CBD was approved under the brand name Epidiolex to treat seizures in patients of all ages, with staggering results.
Arthritis is another condition where CBD research has really sparkled. In 2006, a study conducted using another CBD-based medicine, Sativex, Patients experienced significant improvements in quality of sleep, pain during movement and pain at rest. Further studies looking a topical CBD for arthritis have also yielded exciting results.
If you’re thinking about trying CBD for a medical condition, rather than as a food supplement, be sure to speak to your doctor or a cannabis clinic about obtaining a prescription for medical CBD.
How to celebrate National CBD Day
The obvious way to celebrate National CBD Day is to treat yourself to some great CBD products! So, make sure to browse the Lady A range before you go on your way.
Deepening your understanding of what CBD is and how it works is another wonderful way to show your appreciation for the transformational research CBD has inspired, and the lives it has changed. You can start on the Lady A blog page, where we’ve written about many fascinating uses of CBD, and how it works.
Finally, spread the word. Tell your friends what you learn about CBD and the endocannabinoid system. Tell your doctor, as most as still untrained on the subject and this urgently needs to change. Share your own experience with CBD with them too, to help raise awareness of its potential.
There’s still a stigma around cannabis use, and that encompasses CBD too, but thanks to the lifting of restrictions in many areas of the world, and a huge amount of research from over the past 30 years is now coming to light, that’s all changing.
What’s being found is astonishing and now, with billions of people discovering the
wellbeing benefits of CBD, terpenes and over 100 other cannabinoids, we’re moving closer to an era where the cannabis plant, and CBD, are celebrated for the wonder it truly is.