CBD or cannabidiol is a compound that is extracted from the cannabis plant and is known to show lots of medicinal properties. Before you get swayed away by the fact that cannabis gets people high, you should also know that there are wide of variety of these cannabis plants and not all of them show psychoactive properties. One variety of the cannabis plant is hemp and this hemp plant is known to possess medicinal benefits. The extract collected from the hemp plant is called CBD or cannabidiol. On the other hand, most other cannabis plants possess high quantities of the compound THC (Tetrahydrocannabidiol), which is highly psychoactive or in simple terms, it gets you high!
The medicinal property of CBD helps people seeking relief from pain, inflammation, anxiety, psychosis, seizures and many other conditions. Researches have helped the US government to legalize the use of CBD in treatment of conditions like arthritis, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, PTSD, diabetes, chronic pain, seizures, epilepsy, infections resistant to antibiotics and other neurological disorders. The FDA has not approved the use of CBD as of now but medical use of CBD in all 50 states of USA has been legalized. Although, cultivation of hemp itself is still illegal in the country. American research centers are already investigating the anti-cancer properties of CBD. Studies suggest that CBD, even if consumed in high dose, is safe.
The CBD extract from hemp plant is either collected in a powder form or oil form. The latter has gained lot of popularity in people around the world and is demanding an upsurge of the product. Simply put, oils that contain CBD in high concentration are called CBD oils. However, CBD oils come in variety of concentration and so does their usage for different conditions vary.
Is CBD and Marijuana the same?
You might go on to ask if CBD and Marijuana are the same? Well, the overall answer for this question is “no”. But, you should also know that CBD is not what causes trips. Marijuana is composed of many compounds of which CBD and THC are most commonly found. THC is responsible for psychoactive behaviors in people while CBD does not. On the contrary, CBD inhibits psychoactive effects in individuals.
While CBD is found in Marijuana plants, higher quantities of CBD are found in hemp. Hemp and Marijuana though belong to the same plant group, Cannabis Sativa but they are very different from each other.
How is CBD oil made?
The process of extracting the CBD oil from the Hemp plant can be done through various methods. The first ever methods used to extract CBD oil was done by an alcohol extraction method. The process involves soaking the plant in a solvent (grain alcohol) and upon being completely soaked, the remaining compound is full of CBD. The solvent is then evaporated and what is left behind is CBD, which is ready for consumption.
The second most popular method to extract the CBD oil is CO2 extraction. In CO2 extraction, special apparatus and chambers are used to collect the oil extracts. CO2 is forced in the plant tissue and this leads the CBD in the plant to react with CO2 and separate. The Separated compounds are then collected in the chambers, one of which is consumable CBD oil.
Due to an increased demand for CBD oil in the market, manufacturers of also add flavor to the oil, making it a delight to consume.
CBD oils available in the market are not of 100% concentration. They come in a variety of concentration mostly in 20:80 ratio, 20 being CBD and 80 being other homogenous solvents. Some of the components of this homogenous solvent comprise of alcohols, alkanes, water, sugar, vitamins, ketones and more. These additional compounds help CBD oil easy to consume.
