Tricia D., 65, thought that pot use was deep in her past. Then she found out about cannabidiol.
Hemp-derived and nonpsychoactive, the substance, also known as CBD, lacks THC, weed’s main component for making you high. It received a provisional endorsement from the National Institute of Drug Abuse in June 2015 for treating seizures and other neurological disorders.
Currently, though, CBD is still a legal gray area in weed-unfriendly states like New York.
Only imported industrial hemp is permitted in these places, but the best hemp for CBD purposes is produced in America. Still, some spots flout the technicality — like Alchemist’s Kitchen, in Manhattan’s East Village, which sells CBD from Colorado.
Tricia, who asked to be identified by only her last initial for legal reasons, splits her time between Long Beach, NY, and Phoenix, where medical marijuana and US-produced CBD can be easily and legally obtained.
Hemp-derived and nonpsychoactive, the substance, also known as CBD, lacks THC, weed’s main component for making you high. It received a provisional endorsement from the National Institute of Drug Abuse in June 2015 for treating seizures and other neurological disorders.
Currently, though, CBD is still a legal gray area in weed-unfriendly states like New York.
Only imported industrial hemp is permitted in these places, but the best hemp for CBD purposes is produced in America. Still, some spots flout the technicality — like Alchemist’s Kitchen, in Manhattan’s East Village, which sells CBD from Colorado.
Tricia, who asked to be identified by only her last initial for legal reasons, splits her time between Long Beach, NY, and Phoenix, where medical marijuana and US-produced CBD can be easily and legally obtained.
‘[CBD] makes us feel better overall. It makes the body whole again.’She suffers from debilitating arthritis — and, dreading the prospect of taking Celebrex for relief (the drug’s side effects can include rapid weight gain and shortness of breath), she sought an alternative from an Arizona naturopath. The health-care provider’s prescription: CBD.
- Dr. Grace Forde, neurologist
The results? “Inflammation is greatly reduced. My flexibility and
stamina have both increased. I’m doing yoga and biking. Plus, it’s had a
relaxing effect on my brain without a knock on my memory. Grass, when I
used it years ago, used to affect my memory. [CBD] gives me things I
was missing.”
Getting weed into its healthful state isn’t easy. According to a recent video on Vice, it takes high-tech processing, alcohol baths and rotary evaporators to distill the raw plant into the oil that brings relief.
And the condensing is intense: 50 pounds of marijuana are required to produce a kilo of CBD.
Coming in forms of oil, gel caps and ointments, CBD has also found an audience of people using it for off-label benefits.
Nelson Vetanze, a 70-year-old chiropractor in Denver, takes advantage of Colorado’s marijuana-legalization act and gets his US-produced CBD without skirting the law.
“I’m calmer, I sleep seven or eight hours a night — I used to sleep much less — and look younger,” he says, ticking off the substance’s positive effects.
Still, many doctors are loath to suggest CBD for Vetanze-style use.
“I don’t think we have the data to say it’s safe for general well-being, though I have recommended it to patients with diabetes, and it has helped them,” says Floyd Russak, an internist formerly on the faculty of Harvard Medical School.
But others are more liberal. Dr. Grace Forde, a neurologist in New Hyde Park, NY, falls into that camp.
“We have cannabinoid receptors throughout our body,” she says. “[CBD] makes us feel better overall.
It makes the body whole again.”
Getting weed into its healthful state isn’t easy. According to a recent video on Vice, it takes high-tech processing, alcohol baths and rotary evaporators to distill the raw plant into the oil that brings relief.
And the condensing is intense: 50 pounds of marijuana are required to produce a kilo of CBD.
Coming in forms of oil, gel caps and ointments, CBD has also found an audience of people using it for off-label benefits.
Nelson Vetanze, a 70-year-old chiropractor in Denver, takes advantage of Colorado’s marijuana-legalization act and gets his US-produced CBD without skirting the law.
“I’m calmer, I sleep seven or eight hours a night — I used to sleep much less — and look younger,” he says, ticking off the substance’s positive effects.
Still, many doctors are loath to suggest CBD for Vetanze-style use.
“I don’t think we have the data to say it’s safe for general well-being, though I have recommended it to patients with diabetes, and it has helped them,” says Floyd Russak, an internist formerly on the faculty of Harvard Medical School.
But others are more liberal. Dr. Grace Forde, a neurologist in New Hyde Park, NY, falls into that camp.
“We have cannabinoid receptors throughout our body,” she says. “[CBD] makes us feel better overall.
It makes the body whole again.”
No comments:
Post a Comment