Hemp Can Help With Pain and Stress. Just Avoid This One Mistake...

CBD, or Hemp oil, and its precursor, the good ol' Cannabis plant, aren't going anywhere.  

I remember in high school, attending my first NORML meeting, thinking, hey, if we (humans) have naturally-occurring Cannabinoid receptors in our body .... does that mean we're naturally-inclined to use Marijuana? 

Is it one of those things, like water, apples, or ice cream, that we're just naturally-attracted-to for a reason?  

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) includes Cannabinoid receptors, Endocannabinoid molecules, and metabolic enzymes.  It helps keep your system regulated in times of stress and change.  

Endocannabinoids are produced inside your body, naturally, even if you don't consume any hemp products.

There are 2 Cannabinoid receptors in your body:  CB1 and CB2.

CB1 is involved in psychoactive, neurological, and pain-relieving pathways.  They're located mostly in the brain and impact mood and appetite.  

CB2 receptors help regulate your immune and central nervous systems.  They're located mostly in the peripheral tissues of the body.  They regulate how you perceive pain signals and inflammation. 

Fat-based Endocannabinoids signal the ECS in response to environmental or physiological cues.  Again, regardless of having consumed any Hemp or Marijuana at all.  

Someone can use CBD when their body needs extra help in regulating the nervous or immune systems, or pain signals.

When CBD or Hemp products are used, they synthesize much better when consumed with Omega 3 or 6 oils.  These oils naturaly occur in the hemp seeds.  Or in a balanced diet.  

Hemp contains a negligible amount of the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).  It provides a full spectrum of phytocannabinoids beyond CBD.  It includes extracts from Cannabis flowers, leaves, and stalks.

Hemp use dates as far back as 8000 BC.  It was used in ancient China, Taiwan, Germany, and Russia for pottery, clothes, food, and medicine.  Huo Ma Ren, hemp seeds, is an important herb we learn in TCM school to help with constipation. 

Laws in the 1700s required farmers to grow hemp in America to produce cloth and paper.   

It was only in the 1930s that hemp laws came into play.  Those became more strict in the 1970s. Today, many people are working to reverse those archaic ideas.  

Here's the thing - CBD is great.  For nearly everyone.  If you have pain, insomnia, PTSD, depression, seizures, or anxiety, CBD can provide some real relief that is hard to find elsewhere. 

Marijuana, on the other hand, the psychoactive, THC-containing sister of the hemp plant, is not for every-body.  

It's not great for kids.    

It's also not great if you're doing something that requires any sort of 

• down-to-earth problem-solving skills 
• remembering things really well
• quick reaction time
• focus and attention 

If you decide to use the psychoactive part of Cannabis, keep a few things in mind -- 

It may be addictive.  I've seen people addicted to Marijuana (at this point, we'll call it "weed") as I'm sure you have.  What you notice - in some people - is a lack of motivation to get things done.  Or to do things that need doing.  Or that should be done.  

If someone uses too much weed, they may socialize less.  Pay less attention to their grooming habits.  Start to have problems in relationships, school, or work. 

Not always, but it does happen. 

Strangely enough, or maybe because nature keeps things balanced, if you're using too much weed, you may like to sit around and eat junk food.  Lack of exercise and poor diet contribute to improper signalling in the endocannabinoid system.  Which leads to craving more weed.  You see how this can spiral out of control. 

For some people, using weed just doesn't agree with them.  Maybe they have an addictive personality, or it makes them feel paranoid or sleepy.  In that case, just don't use it!  

Here's my general weed rule:  If you have something to do (or should be doing), don't use it (the psychoactive THC-containing Marijuana plant).  

If you don't have anything to do, you're done with all your must-do's for the day, and are ready for day-dreaming, go ahead.  Of course, if it's legal where you live.  😉

What about Delta-9 THC?  

Delta-9 is the THC found in non-psychoactive Hemp plants.  To produce enough of it to get high (which, let's be honest, that's what it's being marketed for), it requires a lot of extraction (read:  processing).  The processing probably involves chemicals, and may involve synthetically reproducing the substance in a lab.  

That being said, I'm not a fan.  

From first-hand experience, it gives me a headache.  

I prefer things as close to their natural state as possible.  

The more something needs to be processed and manufactured to use, the less usable I think it is for real people.