CBD is considered marijuana under Ohio law. This means that it can only be sold legally if it is “cultivated, processed, dispensed, tested, possessed, or used for a medical purpose” under the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program, as per Section 3796.01(A)(2) of the Ohio Revised Code. In short, if you have a recommendation from a state-certified doctor for medical marijuana, you’ll be able to purchase CBD at any Ohio dispensary.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol, more commonly referred to as CBD is a cannabis compound that unlike the most well-known cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC), CBD is not psychoactive, meaning that it won’t make you ‘high’ – the sensation most commonly associated with cannabis. It is however reported to offer a range of health and medicinal benefits – the reason behind its growing acclaim which we’ll discuss shortly.
CBD is one of 104 chemical compounds, known as cannabinoids, that can be found in the cannabis plant. It’s a naturally occurring substance, which can be extracted and mixed with a carrier oil – often hemp seed or coconut – to create CBD oil. Here are some high-level facts about CBD:
- Agricultural hemp and medical marijuana both come from the Cannabis Sativa L. plant.
- Agricultural hemp, which is often referred to as “hemp stalk,” grows differently than THC-containing cannabis, and looks similar to bamboo.
- THC-producing marijuana plants are grown to an average of five feet in height, spaced six to eight feet apart. Agricultural hemp is grown to a height of 10 to 15 feet or more before harvest, placed three to six inches apart.
- Hemp has little potential to produce high-content THC when pollinated.
- As long as agricultural hemp plants are pollinated by members of their own crop, the genetics will remain similar with low levels of THC.
What are the Health Risks of CBD?
To date, serious health risks have yet to be identified by physicians or researchers. Many small-scale studies have looked into the safety of CBD in adults which they concluded that adults tend to tolerate a wide range of doses well. Additionally, researchers have found no significant side effects on the central nervous system, the vital signs or mood even among people who used high dosages.
One thing to note, a safety concern with CBD is that it is primarily marketed and sold as a supplement, not a medication. Currently, the FDA does not regulate the safety and purity of dietary supplements. So you cannot know for sure that the product you buy has active ingredients at the dose listed on the label. In addition, the product may contain other (unknown) elements. We also don’t know the most effective therapeutic dose of CBD for any particular medical condition.
Suffice to say, with limited-to-no health risks and tons of potential benefits, CBD may be medication worth exploring!
What are Possible Benefits of using CBD?
With the rising popularity of CBD and the opioid crisis at an all-time high, willingness to try a holistic alternative has become prevalent. Scientific and clinical research—much of it sponsored by the US government—underscores CBD’s potential as a treatment for a wide range of conditions. Further evidence suggests that CBD is safe even at high doses. Benefits are wide and vary, but here are some of the most common ailments CBD treats:
- Natural pain relief and anti-inflammatory properties
- Quitting smoking and drug withdrawals
- Epilepsy
- Other neurological symptoms and disorders
- Fighting cancer
- Anxiety disorders
- Type 1 diabetes
- Acne
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Arthritis
- Alcoholism
- MS
- Schizophrenia
- PTSD
- Depression
- Antibiotic-resistant infections
Once CBD goes mainstream, we’ll be excited to learn concrete results about CBD from more federally mandated clinical studies. For now, it’s certainly worth the the try!
CBD Patient Success Story
At Ohio Green Team, we have the honor and privilege of helping patients in need get the required medical marijuana recommendation from one of our state-certified physicians. On a daily basis we get to meet phenomenal people who are courageous enough to share their personal stories with us.
In addition to being an Ohio Green Team patient, Eric is a successful professional based in Columbus, OH.
Eric felt compelled to share his story as we all agreed it could potentially help others:
“I have managed to live a decent adult life but I have always been hindered or handicapped by terrible allergies, asthma, anxiety, OCD, and depression since I was a kid. I have tried all the traditional medicines and approaches to getting better but with minimal benefits. I have always been a huge proponent of natural medicine and I have always favored marijuana over alcohol. About a year ago I stumbled upon some information regarding CBD and the possible medical benefits for depression and anxiety so I decided to do some research. After doing some digging I decide to try a sublingual hemp based CBD but it didn’t provide me with what I was looking for. Naturally, I was disappointed but I tried a couple different types and but didn’t have any luck. That was until October 1st 2018 when I drove to Michigan and purchased some marijuana based CBD vape oil.
Now when I say it changed my life for the better, that is an understatement, it’s disrespectful to the healing qualities of this compound. Within minutes maybe even seconds of the first time I exhaled I finally found the relief I had been searching for since I was a child. I am not sure what happened inside my body but I am 100% convinced it is related to the endocannabinoid system and the way it was impacted by the CBD being added to my body. Below are some changes I have experienced since the first time I vaped marijuana based CBD:
- These are all issues I have experienced since I was a kid but most of them I didn’t understand and couldn’t explain or put into words until my mind was unlocked.
- For the first time in my life I can really concentrate and not have various random thought competing for attention.(my head felt like the noise a pinball machine makes when the ball really gets going bouncing back and forth.
- I am much calmer and relaxed (before parts of my body were so tight they felt like they might explode)
- I used to be restless all the time I couldn’t sit still to save my life. I am now able to sit on the couch and calmly watch a movie.
- I used to constantly have this sense of impending doom about my life(like what is the point in fighting). It’s really tough to plan things in the future with your wife and family when that’s how you think.
- I used to feel a sense of rage or anger on a daily basis.
- I am able to be present in the moment and not think about stuff from my past or what might happen in the future.(Until these last 2 weeks I had no idea what that meant or felt like)
- The best change is this: I no longer think how relieved I would be if death came knocking at my door. I didn’t want to die but it seemed like the only way the pain would go away.
Note: Since my discovery I have found that vaping doses of hemp based CBD provides me the same results but I have to vape more of it.
These are just some of the positive results I have seen since I started implementing CBD into my daily regimen. As each days passes I honestly think the CBD is still working and doing some sort of healing within my body. The reason I am able to say this is the fact that I am noticing improvements in my asthma. I realize that could be due to my anxiety being gone and being less tense which should make it easier to breath but I think there is a little more to it based on how I feel.”
Huge shout-out to Eric for sharing his story! If you have questions for him or would like to know more, drop us a line and we’ll gladly connect you to one of the most amazing people we know!
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