I’ve been pretty indifferent and even have some walls up when it comes to CBD and all the claimed benefits. The walls stem from people claiming it as a miracle for virtually everything but ignore all basic health practices first. Chronic illness is lifestyle illness and chronic illness doesn’t happen because someone is deficient in CBD oil.

With that said, this doesn’t mean it can’t help a lot of people, so I’m going to dive into a personal experiment with hemp-derived CBD.

If you have no idea what those 3 letters indicate, you don’t get out much, do you? It’s everywhere now due to the passing of the Farm Bill (the Agricultural and Improvement Act of 2018) that classified hemp out of the Schedule 1 drug class. The Farm Act reclassifies hemp for commercial purposes and legalizes its cultivation, processing, manufacturing and sale. Instead of it being overseen by DEA, it is now overseen by the Department of Agriculture. In other words, the Act declassified hemp-derived CBD as a controlled substance and legalized the use nationwide.

What Is It?

CBD (cannabidiol), is one of the 104 compounds found in the cannabis plant. Yes, marijuana. But it is not psychoactive and won’t make you ‘high.’ But you don’t smoke it like a doobie, you consume in the form of an oil. You will also see it creams, lotions, and pretty much anything you can possible consume or apply to your body.

What is all the luster over this 1 compound from the pot plant? It has to do with some research that came out in the early 2000’s with the understanding of a system all humans possess called the endocannabinoid system which was discovered to play important roles in the function of brain, endocrine, and immune tissues.

As researchers dove into the endocannabinoid system, it turned out to hold therapeutic promise in a wide range of diseases and pathological conditions, ranging from mood and anxiety disorders, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, to cancer, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, glaucoma, obesity/metabolic syndrome, and osteoporosis, to name just a few. 

The human body produces and responds to our own home-made endocannabinoids. But more is better, right? So the theory is that by consuming CBD oil, this will elicit and regulate the same system from an external source and have even more impact.

What really puts my flags up is that since the Farm Act passed every business is carrying a CBD oil, regardless of the type of business. We have it at gas stations here in Colorado. In the past week I’ve been approached by 3 different companies wanting me to endorse their product. I was grocery shopping and there were posters in the men’s bathroom that they now carry supplements with CBD oil.

When everyone is selling it, the concern for quality is high. As more clients as questions, I want a trusted source. And when enough inquiry happens, I know it’s a tipping point into learning and researching more…and experimenting on myself.

The Experiment

With that said, I’m going to do an experiment with CBD. You often hear that something is ‘anti-inflammatory’ and if it can reduce inflammation, it can alter the progression of virtually every chronic illness. That hope interests me much as I see a lot of chronically sick people.

I’m always going to start people with lifestyle changes. These are foundational to creating health. But if there’s a way to help fill the gap as those changes are becoming habits and getting the person to feel better quicker with virtually no side effects and easy in delivery, yes I’m interested.

Part of the experiment is looking for a trusted brand. Is the product organic? How’s the taste? And with the diversity of sources and companies, can a company show effectiveness other than just testimonies?

The other part of the experiment is seeing the effects on inflammatory markers. The two I’m most interested in are IL-6 and TNF-a. The body never does stupid stuff. There is nether good, nor bad, just dose dependent. Hopefully on initial testing, these are well dosed but if not, then we shall see if CBD has positive effects.