CBD oil is the rising star of 2019, and with good reason.
Short for cannabidiol, CBD is non-psychoactive so it doesn’t get you high like the THC-rich plant would, but it’s increasingly recognized for its supposed anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, and seizure-fighting abilities, according to Medium.
Tinctures and oils might be the most well-known methods of consumption. Even relatives that have long sided with the War on Drugs have mentioned dropping CBD into their tea to fight stress. There’s still some confusion about what it does; when I gifted my mom a bottle, she eyed it suspiciously asking if it had any “special effects.”
Does CBD Oil Work?
Stress, anxiety, and I are pretty familiar. Sometimes, I feel like I’m stressed for no reason (who else can relate?) – but it could also be the underlying awareness of climate change and bigotry like racism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia, and speciesism always at the back of my mind.
I’ve wondered if CBD could help without bringing the unwanted side effects of smoking weed, like paranoia and being high in public. Three companies – Populum, Sunday Scaries, and Select – sent me CBD oil to try.
Knowing that CBD products aren’t regulated by the FDA, I was skeptical about how it would benefit me. It was reassuring (and I have to admit, pretty neat) when my Populum oil arrived with third-party lab results that break down the CBD content and terpene profile from the specific batch. This is all before they mix in other oils like grapeseed and orange oil – most products on the market are a blend of other oils.
You can add the oil to water, tea, or coffee but my preferred method is to just squeeze a dropperful under my tongue. After about two months of daily use, I can say that I feel the effects within minutes of taking CBD. It’s not an outright remedy for stress and anxiety, like therapy and medication can be, but I definitely feel like it does away with the underlying anxieties mentioned above.
Speaking as someone who can lay awake for hours while my thoughts race, I definitely get a better night’s rest when I use CBD oil. It pretty much knocks me out.
Some say that CBD can help manage pain. I try to work out at least five times a week and like to switch up my routine with weightlifting, yoga, and cardio and I haven’t noticed any difference in muscle soreness.
As a regular consumer of cannabis, CBD has really improved how I handle stress and it ensures I get a good night’s rest. It didn’t alleviate muscle soreness from workouts, but my dad, who lives with chronic pain, says that it helps him – so the effects might vary from person to person.
CBD oils are just one of the many products coming to market: vape pens, vegan gummies, chocolates, coffee, tea, vaginal suppositories, lube, and smokable CBD flower and pre-rolls, to name just a few.
