2
Legal restrictions
are fading but not
gone. The 2018
Farm Bill removed
hemp from the list of
banned substances,
where it had lived
alongside marijuana
since the 1970s. (Hemp
can also be turned into
paper, clothes, and
more.) But in Idaho,
Nebraska, and South
Dakota, CBD is still out-
lawed. And in states
where marijuana is le-
gal for medicinal or
recreational use, CBD
products can be made
from marijuana and
might therefore contain
more than the legal
limit of THC. Those
products can’t be car-
ried or shipped across
state lines, says the U.S.
Drug Enforcement
Administration.3
It’s taking surpris-
ing forms. CBD is
commonly sold as
a liquid, or tincture, that
you place under your
tongue. You can also
smoke it via a vape pen
with cartridges contain-
ing CBD oil, or buy pills
and topical creams.Other CBD-infused
products include bath
bombs, ice cream, cock-
tails, and coffee. Total
sales are estimated to
top $1 billion by 2020.4
It works on the
brain and through-
out the body. The
National Institutes of
Health (NIH) describes
CBD as “neuroprotec-
tive,” meaning it affects
the nervous system,
including your brain. It
interacts with receptors
throughout your body,
helping it to relax, fall
asleep, and block pain
signals.5
Some people swear
by it. According to
Consumer Reports
surveys, 26 percent of
Americans have tried
CBD, and the majority
of users say it helped
with anxiety, joint pain,
sleep, and other issues.6
It has been used
for centuries. An-
cient tablets men-
tion that CBD was used
medicinally in Asia as
far back as 1800 BC.
American medicaljournals from the 1700s
cite hemp seeds and
roots as treatments for
incontinence and skin
inflammation.7
However, there’s
(mos t ly) no pro of
that CBD delivers.
Despite the anecdotal
evidence, CBD has not
been widely studied,
which is not surprising
considering it was ille-
gal until recently. As
Orrin Devinsky, MD, a
professor of neurolog y,
neurosurgery, and psy-
chiatry at NYU Lan-
gone Health, puts it,
“There’s a lot of reli-
gion out there, but not
a lot of data.” The few
(mostly small) studies
conducted found that
CBD can relieve symp-
toms of multiple scle-
rosis, rheumatoid
arthritis, high blood
pressure, and anxiety.
Animal studies show it
has promise for help-
ing with nerve pain,
diabetes, depression,
and more. But until
larger, well-designed
human studies demon-
strate clear benefits,
any claims for CBDrd.com 37