Wednesday, August 21, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Health & Fitness
9
CBD is everywhere — does it work?
By Jim Cornelius
Correspondent
CBD is everywhere these
days 4 in oils, tinctures,
salves, gummies; coffee
drinks, honey and smoothies
can be infused with it. It is
as though CBD is some new
magic potion that can cure
all ills. What, exactly, is this
suddenly ubiquitous wellness
product?
First, it might be best to
address what it is not. CBD
is not <pot.= Though it is
derived from cannabis, CBD
(cannabidiol) is the non-
psychoactive compound of
the cannabis or hemp plant.
It won9t get you high. What
many users will tell you is
that it has a range of benefi-
cial effects on pain, anxiety,
insomnia and a range of other
conditions and distempers.
Erin Chapman was an
early adopter of CBD prod-
ucts, and carries them at
Trailstop Market in Sisters.
<It seemed like a good
alternative to pharmaceuti-
cals,= she told The Nugget.
<I9ve had chronic back pain.
Anxiety 4 I deal with that.
Insomnia&=
She has seen benefits from
using CBD, and has custom-
ers who have reported the
same. However, Chapman
readily acknowledges that
different people respond dif-
ferently and reports of effects
are, by nature, anecdotal.
CBD does not act like medi-
cine, she notes.
<Some people say they
don9t notice anything; other
people love it and swear by
it,= she said. <The effects are
really subtle& CBD is kind
of like a supplement to me.=
Rigorous scientific stud-
ies have yet to be done on the
widely touted effects of CBD
4 but one area has been stud-
ied with striking results.
Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a
contributing editor to Harvard
Medical School9s health blog,
notes that, <CBD has been
touted for a wide variety of
health issues, but the stron-
gest scientific evidence is for
its effectiveness in treating
some of the cruelest child-
hood epilepsy syndromes,
such as Dravet syndrome and
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
(LGS), which typically don9t
respond to antiseizure medi-
cations. In numerous studies,
CBD was able to reduce the
number of seizures, and in
some cases it was able to stop
them altogether. Videos of
the effects of CBD on these
children and their seizures
are readily available on the
Internet for viewing, and they
are quite striking. Recently
the FDA approved the first-
ever cannabis-derived medi-
cine for these conditions,
Epidiolex, which contains
CBD.=
Mel Trammell, at Aqua
Hot Tubs in Sisters, uses
CBD through essential oils
produced by Young Living
Essential Oils. She says that
CBD is <really calming= and
beneficial for stress and anxi-
ety. Young Living products
have a seed-to-seal that guar-
antees quality and purity.
<They do testing on every-
thing to make sure it is pure,=
she said. <Even though it9s
8the new thing,9 they9ve been
working on it for years.=
Chapman also emphasizes
the need to pay attention to
quality.
<It9s really difficult to tell
just from the packaging,= she
said. <Do your own research
and then ask for test results.
Anybody who sells CBD
products should have test
results on hand.=
Chapman is stocking
locally produced CBD prod-
ucts at Trailstop Market.
As with any <new= well-
ness product, some people go
overboard with claims, mak-
ing CBD sound like a cure-
all, which health and wellness
professionals insist it is not.
A health.com article cited
Junella Chin, DO, an osteo-
pathic physician and a medi-
cal cannabis expert for canna-
bisMD: <A lot of times peo-
ple think CBD is a cure-all,
and it9s not. You should also
have a healthy lifestyle with
plenty of exercise and good
nutrition 4 CBD is not going
to fix everything.=
Still, CBD has been dem-
onstrated to have at least
some beneficial effects,
and may well hold greater
promise.
Dr. Grinspoon offers some
sage advice:
<We need more research
but CBD may prove to be an
option for managing anxi-
ety, insomnia, and chronic
pain. Without sufficient
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CBD (cannabidiol) is the non-psychoactive compound of the cannabis or
hemp plant. Many users claim it has a range of beneficial effects.
high-quality evidence in
human studies we can9t pin-
point effective doses, and
because CBD is currently
mostly available as an unreg-
ulated supplement, it9s dif-
ficult to know exactly what
you are getting. If you decide
to try CBD, talk with your
doctor 4 if for no other rea-
son than to make sure it won9t
affect other medications you
are taking.=
We need more
research but CBD
may prove to be an
option for managing
anxiety, insomnia,
and chronic pain.
— Dr. Grinspoon
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