The Fight for Botanicals

Cannabidiol (CBD) oil and other products containing CBD are being touted as a natural, organic remedy for a wide range of women’s health concerns. Sellers of these products make many claims: CBD has calming effects on sleep, mood, and anxiety; eases hot flashes and improves bone density by balancing hormonal changes of menopause; and has anti-inflammatory properties that clear skin, cure acne, and calm rosacea. It’s promoted for PMS symptoms like bloating and mood swings. And CBD-infused lubricants claim to boost arousal and enjoyment of sex. So, how much of this is true?

Does CBD have proven benefits?

So far, there’s not much evidence on the medical benefits of CBD, partly because laws on marijuana made it difficult to study. Until we learn more, it’s wise to keep in mind that few high-quality studies have been done.

• In 2018 the FDA approved a drug derived from CBD to treat rare forms of childhood epilepsy. This medication was shown in randomized clinical trials to reduce the frequency of seizures (see here and here).

• A few studies have found CBD may improve anxiety, but the studies were small and of poor quality (see here and here).

• Some laboratory research on human cells suggests CBD may have anti-inflammatory effects on oil-secreting glands in the skin. This might have implications for acne and other inflammatory skin disorders, but further research is needed to confirm this. And while CBD in skin products is unlikely to harm you, most dermatologists agree that there are more effective and better-studied medications and treatments for acne and inflammatory skin disorders.

Are our CBD products safe?

The short answer is this: pure CBD seems to be safe for most people. However, we don’t have rigorous studies and long-term data to prove whether or not a wide range of CBD products are safe for everyone. For example, there is no evidence to suggest that CBD is safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for people who are immunocompromised.

Because CBD products aren’t regulated by the FDA in the way that drugs are, there is a huge variation in quality and, quite possibly, safety. In 2017–2018, counterfeit CBD oil was found that contained synthetic cannabinoids and led to a poisoning outbreak in Utah.

The takeaway

There are a lot of extravagant product claims out there about the benefits of CBD for women, but little high-quality research supports them. CBD oil and other CBD products aren’t well regulated. It’s possible what you are buying is counterfeit or contaminated. Before using CBD — especially if you plan to vape or ingest it — first talk with your doctor or healthcare provider to learn whether it could be safe and helpful for you.

Harvard Health Publishing

“Walk down most high streets in the UK and you’ll recognize many of the familiar sights: betting shops, clothing stores, and fast-food chains.

In the past few years, there’s been a new fixture greeting shoppers: CBD retailers.

There has been an explosion in the mainstream market for products containing the cannabis derivative, ranging from sweets to creams and even sexual lubricants.

With around six million people in the UK having tried CBD bought in shops and online, ITV News delves deeper into the compound craze.

What is CBD and which products does it appear in?

Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, is the non-intoxicating component in marijuana, which means it can’t get you high.

You’ll find it in an array of products, from teas to shampoos, on the high street – often in small businesses selling vapes – and on the internet.

What are the claimed health benefits?

Much of the buzz about CBD comes from recent studies of medical marijuana.

Among the findings from extensive research is the suggestion CBD can have a positive impact on patients with epilepsy.

Earlier this year, the first-ever cannabis clinic in Britain opened on Harley Street in London, treating patients suffering from conditions such as chronic pain, PTSD and epilepsy using medicinal CBD.

While in the US, the federal government’s health branch recently approved its first-ever cannabis-derived medicine for epilepsy conditions, Epidiolex, which contains CBD.

What’s the difference?

The strength of CBD on the high street, its quality and where it is sourced from is vastly different from CBD used in clinical trials.

Patients in clinical research are given much higher doses of CBD compared to what you can get over the counter in shops.

According to the peer-reviewed British Medical Journal (BMJ), the non-medicinal high street products contain around 25 mg (2%) CBD, compared to 150-1500 mg/day in clinical trials, which is often administered orally.

Continue reading at iTV

“One of my favorite quotes from my interview with Chelsea Handler in the current issue of Green Entrepreneur magazine — and there are many — is when she said, “The world is only getting browner, gayer, and higher, so you’d better hop on the bus.” Just four years ago, who could have imagined that today, 12 U.S. states would permit the use of recreational marijuana — with more predicted to decriminalize the plant in 2020?

The legal weed train has left the station, and there’s no turning back. But how the mainstream will marijuana become? I’m writing this note from Los Angeles, the epicenter of the cannabis business, where every street corner has a fancy billboard for a new dispensary or brand. MedMen, which has been called the Apple store of weed, has an expensive ad campaign calling cannabis use “the new normal.” This is a clever phrase, and I want to believe it’s true, but I wonder if some of us are living in a bubble.

Even in so-called progressive communities like Brookline, Mass., residents staged a protest rally when the news dropped of a retail pot shop opening on their streets. The tony Santa Barbara region in California is booming with outdoor grows, but when locals kept complaining that it smelled like a Phish concert, cultivators were forced to find a solution or risk being sued. National fitness industry giants such as Equinox and SoulCycle are carrying CBD lines, but when Ricky Williams and others tried to open a weed gym, called Power Plant Fitness (great name, btw), in San Francisco, regulations made it impossible.

The cannabis movement has made tremendous progress — economically, socially, and legally — but there’s still work to be done. Education is the word on every smart entrepreneur’s lips. The more people understand the benefits of the plant, the more the deep-seated stigma starts to wither away.

That’s why some dispensary owners meet with community members to allay concerns before opening stores. And that’s why Handler will include personal notes with each of her products explaining what dose to take and feeling to expect. If everyone in the business continues to educate, the question won’t be whether cannabis can be normalized; the question will be when.

MySA

“Within less than two years cannabidiol (CBD) has sounded off the tongues of mums, doctors, and internet bloggers as if it was vitamin D, caffeine, or moisturizer cream. Now, the USA’s best CBD companies have finally arrived across the pond in the United Kingdom.

The USA is flooded with reviews of CBD products. There are tons of positive and negative reviews out there. The UK’s delayed entry into the CBD market means that if you want to buy CBD oil in the UK then you don’t need to make the same mistakes as your American friends. We are here to help you in your search for the best CBD oil in the UK.

What are the Best CBD products in the UK?

Although the most popular method of ingesting CBD is in an oil, it’s not the only way. Here are some products you can buy today that contain CBD:

1. CBD Tinctures are often synonymous with CBD oils. These are small bottles with single-serve droppers. You can ingest tinctures, or you can add oil to foods and drinks.
2. CBD Vapes boast fast absorption rates, with effects beginning seconds after inhaling and peaking within ten minutes. They come in a variety of flavors and can be infused with natural essences. You can buy vapes in disposable pens or refillable cartridges.
3. CBD Edibles are popular because they’re so easy — just pop one in your mouth on your way to the office or after a workout. You can buy sweet edibles, like gummies, or savory ones, like granola bars. Companies portion CBD into each serving, so you know exactly how much CBD you’re ingesting.
4. CBD Topicals use your skin as the absorption method, penetrating your muscles and tissues and soothing aches and pains. Topicals come in creams, lotions, or sprays — ideal for joint and back problems.
5. CBD Capsules, like edibles, are ingested. Each pill has a measured serving of CBD mixed with a carrier oil. They’re a perfect option for those looking for fast and precise dosing.

How to Take CBD Oil in the UK

Use the tincture to dispense droplets under your tongue and hold there for 60 seconds before swallowing. This will help the CBD to enter your system and get to work faster

Read more at SFWeekly

“The CBD industry is flourishing, conservatively projected to hit $16 billion in the United States by 2025. Already, the plant extract is being added to cheeseburgers, toothpicks and breath sprays. More than 60 percent of CBD users have taken it for anxiety, according to a survey of 5,000 people, conducted by the Brightfield Group, a cannabis market research firm. Chronic pain, insomnia, and depression follow behind. Kim Kardashian West, for example, turned to the product when “freaking out” over the birth of her fourth baby. The professional golfer Bubba Watson drifts off to sleep with it. And Martha Stewart’s French bulldog partakes, too.

What are the claims?

CBD is advertised as providing relief for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is also marketed to promote sleep. Part of CBD’s popularity is that it purports to be “nonpsychoactive,” and that consumers can reap health benefits from the plant without the high (or the midnight pizza munchies).

Just as hemp seedlings are sprouting up across the United States, so is the marketing. From oils and nasal sprays to lollipops and suppositories, it seems no place is too sacred for CBD. “It’s the monster that has taken over the room,” Dr. Brad Ingram, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said about all the wild uses for CBD now. He is leading a clinical trial into administering CBD to children and teenagers with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Does CBD work?

Last year, the F.D.A. approved Epidiolex, a purified CBD extract, to treat rare seizure disorders in patients 2 years or older after three randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials with 516 patients that showed the drug, taken along with other medications, helped to reduce seizures. These types of studies are the gold standard in medicine, in which participants are divided by chance, and neither the subject nor the investigator knows which group is taking the placebo or the medication.

Continue reading at The New York Times

“People like vaping because it’s a smokeless, convenient, and fast-acting way to consume pleasure-inducing chemicals including THC and nicotine. It’s also potentially quite dangerous—and that’s also true when it comes to vaping cannabidiol, the popular cannabis-derived compound known as CBD. In fact, thanks to a regulatory no-man’s-land, a consumer craze, and manufacturers who dilute extract with oils better suited for salad dressings, CBD vapes are uniquely risky.

As of Oct. 10, more than 1,200 cases of a mysterious vaping-related illness, and 26 related deaths had been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is advising consumers to “consider refraining” from vaping altogether. Of the 771 patients the CDC previously reported data on, the majority reported vaping THC and/or nicotine. Only about 17% reported having vaped a CBD product, but there is still good reason for CBD enthusiasts to take note—and even to be especially cautious.

While no single brand, product, or ingredient has been identified as the cause of the 1,000-plus cases of vaping-associated pulmonary injury—first called VAPI and now renamed EVALI—we do know that many of the affected patients were vaping illicit, and therefore unregulated, THC products. Tests showed many of those contained vitamin E acetate, an oil derived from vitamin E—which is considered safe for skincare but not for inhalation.

While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been struggling to research and regulate both CBD and vaping separately, the agency has allowed manufacturers to flood the market with both types of products. In the FDA’s eyes, none of these products are legal, as they have not been evaluated or regulated for their safety. And where these two categories overlap in CBD vapes is a grey area that’s ripe for exploitation at the risk of consumers’ health. According to analysts at Cowen and Company, that grey area was worth an estimated $40 million in sales in 2018.

In May of this year, the FDA held a public hearing where more than 100 stakeholders—patients, manufacturers, and researchers among them—testified about their experiences with CBD. Now, the industry is waiting for a timeline for regulation, which was expected this autumn, but has yet to appear. In the meantime, the FDA considers an interstate sale of CBD as a food additive or nutritional supplement (ie., all those candies, canned sodas, and tinctures) to be illegal. But it’s not enforcing the law so long as operators in the estimated $590 million market for hemp-derived CBD adhere to the broader rules for the categories they fall in, whether that’s food, supplements, or cosmetics.

Read the complete article at Quartz

“CBD is in our lattes, moisturizers, and chocolates, but what about its use in a hospital setting instead of your local café or beauty store? Although more study is needed, research suggests that CBD may have the potential to help relieve certain side effects of chemotherapy.

CBD is short for cannabidiol, which is one of the many compounds found in cannabis and hemp. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it’s non-psychoactive. Manufacturers have found a way to separate CBD from the plants, and the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the Farm Bill) legalized hemp-derived CBD that contains no more than 0.3% THC and is made from hemp grown by licensed producers. (That’s why you’ve seen so many CBD products recently.) But so far, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved one form of CBD: Epidiolex, a drug containing a purified marijuana-derived form of CBD, which is used for preventing seizures caused by rare forms of epilepsy.

A 2016 review of medical marijuana’s use in oncology, published by the American Medical Association journal JAMA Oncology, notes, “Marijuana in oncology may have potential for use as an antiemetic [relieving nausea and vomiting], for refractory cancer pain, and as an antitumor agent. However, much of the data are based on animal data, small trials, or are outdated.” The authors concluded that more research is needed for medical marijuana’s therapeutic use for cancer patients.

There is even less research into CBD’s potential benefits for cancer patients. But still, some studies have been conducted. According to the National Cancer Institute, research indicates that CBD may slow the growth or reduce the risk of recurrence of certain kinds of cancers, including breast cancer; enhance the potency of certain medications; and reduce chemotherapy side effects including vomiting, nausea, and anxiety. However, all these studies are limited, and experts agree that further research is needed to understand just how CBD affects humans.

The American Cancer Society stresses that cannabis in any form should never be used as a sole form of cancer treatment. In a statement, they urge for more research into the use of cannabinoids for cancer patients and add, “Medical decisions about pain and symptom management should be made between the patient and his or her doctor, balancing evidence of benefit and harm to the patient, the patient’s preferences and values, and any laws and regulations that may apply.”

Refinery

“(WJBC) — Bloomington’s cannabis task force will meet for the first time Thursday night aiming to gather information and recommend whether the city council should allow the sale of recreational marijuana in the city.

Our news partner WJBC reports, the meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Miller Park Pavilion, is being held just three days after the city council in nearby Decatur decided to prohibit cannabis sales despite a new state law allowing recreational marijuana use.

If the council legalizes marijuana sales, elected leaders would also decide whether to collect taxes on the purchases and if specific areas of Bloomington should be zoned for cannabis dispensaries.

Last week, the Bloomington council approved Mayor Tari Renner’s slate of 10 task force members despite criticism from council member Kimberly Bray. She claimed Renner’s picks were biased in favor of allowing cannabis sales.

Also serving on the task force are Downtown Bloomington business owners Jan Lancaster and De Urban, addiction specialist Deb Carter, John Walsh of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, Illinois State University Instructional Assistant Professor and Black Lives Matter activist Olivia Butts, President of the Bloomington-Normal Chapter of the NAACP Linda Foster, Bloomington Assistant Police Chief Greg Scott and Police Sgt. Aaron Veerman.

Week.com

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a widely used marijuana ingredient in U.S. products. Manufacturers have been adding the chemical to cosmetic products, food, dietary supplements and medications for added health benefits.

Despite the lack of scientific backing, the CBD market in the U.S. has been growing. Estimates showed that it could grow to more than $20 billion by 2022 and the figure may continue to increase in the following years, according to BDS Analytics and Arcview Market Research.

Companies and advocates said using CBD oil in products is safe and has fewer side effects compared to other common medications. The chemical is also known for not causing behavioral and psychological side effects.

Side Effects of CBD

Problems With Digestion

There have been reports that some supplements that contain CBD could cause digestive issues. The drugs, including the FDA-approved Epidiolex, have been linked to nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and changes in appetite, according to SelfHacked.

Dry Mouth

Marijuana products are known for causing dry mouth. In a survey with 1,500 people, researchers found nearly 12 percent of respondents experienced the condition after using CBD. The chemical potentially caused a decrease in saliva secretion after exposure.

Fatigue

This side effect of CBD oil was found in studies that tried to explore the chemical’s effects on sleep. Exposure to high doses of CBD helped people increase sleeping time, while lower amounts promote wakefulness.

However, some people reported feeling tired after exposure. Experts recommend not taking CBD before or while driving or using heavy machinery.

Liver Damage

In studies aimed at finding the link between CBD and seizures, researchers found that the chemical could contribute to liver damage. The risk of liver injury increased depending on the dose of drug and combination with anti-seizure drug valproate.

Read the full article at MSN

“he past couple of months have seen some of Wall Street’s top cannabis stocks fall from grace. Perhaps the first company to come to mind is Canopy Growth, the world’s biggest pot stock by market cap, which saw its shares decline substantially when it reported a surprising $1 billion financial loss in its recent quarterly results. Investors quickly began to fear that other well-established cannabis stocks could witness a similar decline in the weeks to come.

That’s exactly what has happened with Aurora Cannabis. In its recent financial results, the company not only failed to see a profit once again but also warned investors that it likely won’t be profitable until 2020, which was a major disappointment to analysts and investors alike.

Looking at the financials

Despite selling more cannabis in Canada than its rival Canopy did during the quarter and growing its revenues by 52% from the previous quarter, Aurora Cannabis ended up embarrassing itself when its revenue figures still missed its own unaudited guidance it had released just a month prior. The company sold $43 million worth of cannabis in the adult market compared to the $30 million reported last quarter. However, Aurora Cannabis wasn’t able to sell all of this pot through direct distribution channels, instead of having to dump $20 million worth of marijuana into the wholesale market at a lower margin. Overall, earnings came in at a loss of $11 million for the quarter.

Analyst opinions

Aurora Cannabis used to be one of Wall Street’s favorite marijuana stocks, with Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer singling the company out as her top sector pick earlier in 2019. Now that the stock has fallen by 50.4% since reaching its 2019 high point in mid-March, financial experts are starting to change their tune.

Another major sell-off came last week when Stifel Nicolaus analyst Andrew Carter issued a sell rating for Aurora Cannabis just months after he started covering the company. Assigning a new price target of just 5 Canadian dollars, or 30% lower than its current price, Carter argued that this recent financial disappointment will be the beginning of a larger, much more worrying trend. Eventually, he expects Aurora will need to return to the capital markets in order to drum up more financing.

Read more at The Motley Fool

“Anna Symonds, education manager for East Fork Cultivars, has been a rugby player for 18 years and attributes a lot of her longevity as a professional athlete to cannabis.

While she experimented with cannabis as a teenager, she discontinued this practice when she got more serious about sports. After she smoked with some teammates after a game, she experienced immediate healing and muscle relaxation. “I started to have this mental shift to seeing cannabis as medicine.” After a back injury five years ago, cannabis proved to be the only thing that would provide her with pain relief and muscle relaxation while increasing her functionality without the side effects of other medications.

By microdosing before practice with a 1.1 full spectrum chocolate edible containing 1 mg THC, Symonds found the sweet spot where her pain would reduce and her mind gets into a flow state where she was fully present and performing fully optimally.

Cannabis as an aid for performance and recovery

While Antonio DeRose, head of Green House Healthy, has used cannabis recreationally for more than 15 years, he didn’t begin using this plant to help with his performance and recovery as a trail runner until about five to six years ago. He describes himself as a “wake and bakes” person. “When I wake up in the morning, I use cannabis to recharge my endocannabinoid system. Then I do some sort of physical activity.”

DeRose prefers a high-dose edible followed by some flower before he runs. “Cannabis is a bronchodilator, so it allows me to absorb more oxygen with each breath.” He finds cannabis aids in recovery in calming down his nervous system and reducing inflammation. Topicals work well for isolated areas where he has specific pain. Also, he uses hemp as a nutritional supplement, noting that as the body regenerates bones every 10 years, technically he’s made of hemp.

Chicago Tribune

“The rise of new holistic treatments and remedies in popular culture are, unfortunately, typically accompanied by snake oil salesmen pitches and an emerging market rife of false advertising and capricious product origins. Welcome to the contemporary demand for CBD-infused products.

Cannabidiol (CBD), the natural oil cannabinoid extract of the cannabis plant, a molecule of the plant that has shown therapeutic promise without the “high,” has been at the center of an unprecedented race among competing startups offering a “panacea” to everything from anxiety to arthritis pain. Fueling a reported market for CBD oil products projected to reach $3.86 billion by 2025, growing by a CAGR of 39.5 percent since 2018, it is easy to see why there is so much hype around the once overlooked component of the cannabis plant famous for its sister constituent — THC.

However, despite the early warning signs that the CBD mania is on a trajectory for too much speculation followed by underperformance, there are some intriguing signs that tangible applications of the extract may make their way into modern medical pathways.

“There is an overall lack of formalized studies and clinical pathways to the actualization of legitimate CBD products in the commercial market,” details Layne Beal, CEO of Viridian Pharmaceuticals, a firm focused on developing safe and effective delivery of natural therapeutics through the skin using topical creams. “To help legitimize the science of this molecule, we are investigating how our proprietary delivery technology coupled with CBD works for specific indications in our planned clinical trials.”

Imbuing Credibility Into The World of CBD & Beyond

It may appear that CBD has gained sufficient credibility with the likes of Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS announcing the sale of CBD products in their retail locations earlier this year, but the truth is much more nuanced. The FDA has come under growing pressure to regulate CBD products, which came on the heels of a liver damage scare following some studies into the potential adverse side effects of the extract.

Viridian’s topical cream, called Notion, is based on the company’s proprietary technology that has been funneled through efficacy tests in pharmacokinetics and bioavailability studies to optimize its delivery impact. Importantly, they have laid the groundwork for a formalized clinical roadmap, including treatments for chronic migraine and osteoarthritis based on existing medical literature using CBD.

“The science is evolving in the CBD space, and there aren’t a lot of specific dosing guidelines aside from the first FDA-approved drug, Epidiolex,” says Beal. “We spent a significant amount of time learning from our in-home trial users about the amount of CBD that seems to have positive results for most, which brought us to the CBD concentration in our first product, which is 750mg per 30mL jar.”

Read more at Forbes

“You probably don’t have to look farther than your local drugstore or beauty product supplier to know CBD has taken a starring role in everything from sparkling water and gummies to tincture oils and lotions. Some may even say that CBD is the “it” ingredient of this day and age.

You’ve probably also heard that CBD — which is an abbreviation for cannabidiol — can help with stress, anxiety, and pain. “When people are in pain, they have a stress response, which causes an increase in cortisol and an increase in blood sugar,” says Veronica J. Brady, Ph.D., CDE, a registered nurse and an assistant professor at the Cizik School of Nursing at the University of Texas in Houston. Relieving pain can help alleviate the stress response and improve blood sugar levels, as well as improve sleep, she adds.

If you’re managing type 2 diabetes, it’s natural to be curious about whether CBD might help you manage those symptoms, too, to help stabilize your blood sugar. Some healthcare professionals say CBD may play a role in treating diabetes, but it’s important to understand that the only health condition CBD has proved effective for is epilepsy in kids. The jury is unfortunately still out, because of a lack of comprehensive research on CBD and type 2 diabetes.

Scientific Studies on CBD and Type 2 Diabetes, and Barriers to Research

Despite interest among people with type 2 diabetes, large, rigorous studies showing how CBD may affect type 2 diabetes are lacking, says Y. Tony Yang, MPH, a doctor of science in health policy and management and a professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Specifically absent are randomized controlled trials, which are the gold standard of medical research, per a June 2016 article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

But early research may suggest the two are worth studying further. For example, a small study published in October 2016 in Diabetes Care in the United Kingdom of 62 people with type 2 diabetes found that CBD did not lower blood glucose. Participants were not on insulin, nor were they on any diabetes drugs, and they were randomly assigned to five different treatment groups for 15 weeks: 100 milligrams (mg) of CBD twice daily; 5 mg of THCV (another chemical in cannabis) twice daily; 5 mg CBD and 5 mg THCV together twice daily; 100 mg CBD and 5 mg of THCV together twice daily; or placebo. According to the authors, THCV (but not CBD) significantly improved blood glucose control.

A Canadian study published in Pain of 37 people with diabetes found that a synthetic cannabinoid called nabilone improved nerve pain. “We also found patients had better sleep measures, so their sleep was more complete. Anxiety levels improved to a smaller amount,” says Dr. Toth, who led the study.

Historically, cannabinoids (a group of chemicals in the cannabis plant) have been lumped together, including CBD, THC, and more than 100 others. In the past decade, growers and manufacturers have been able to isolate CBD, mainly by cultivating industrial hemp that is high in CBD and very low in THC, says Jackson. The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the controlled substances list, clearing the way for more production and research of hemp and thus CBD.

Continue reading at Everyday Health