CBD is not a cure-all – here’s what science says about its real health benefits

  Over the last five years, an often forgotten piece of U.S. federal legislation – the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the 2018 Farm Bill – has ushered in an explosion of interest in the medical potential of cannabis-derived cannabidiol, or CBD.

  After decades of debate, the bill made it legal for farmers to grow industrial hemp, a plant rich in CBD. Hemp itself has tremendous value as a cash crop; it’s used to produce biofuel, textiles, and animal feed. But the CBD extracted from the hemp plant also has numerous medicinal properties with the potential to benefit millions through the treatment of seizure disorders, pain, or anxiety.

CBD, marijuana and hemp: What is the difference among these cannabis products, and which are legal?

  New York recently became the 15th U.S. state to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

  While 67% of U.S. adults support marijuana legalization, public knowledge about cannabis is low. A third of Americans think hemp and marijuana are the same thing, according to the National Institutes of Health, and many people still search Google to find out whether cannabidiol – a cannabis derivative known as CBD – will get them high, as marijuana does.

  Hemp, marijuana, and CBD are all related, but they differ in significant ways. Here’s what you need to know about their legality, effects, and potential health benefits.

Marijuana wins again

  In the recent election, some Democrats won and some lost. Likewise, some Republicans won and some lost. There is one “candidate,” however, who won on most of the ballots “he” appeared on: marijuana.

  According to Ballotpedia, “Voters in 37 states decided 155 statewide ballot measures in November 2018.” A total of 167 statewide ballot measures were certified for 2018 ballots in 38 states, but 12 were decided at pre-November elections, and the validity of one measure in Kentucky was pending a court ruling scheduled for after the election.” Of those 155 ballot measures, “64 were citizen-initiated measures, 81 were binding measures referred to the ballot by state legislatures, 7 were referred to the Florida ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), and the remaining 3 measures were advisory votes or automatically referred to the ballot.” Of the 64 citizen-initiated measures, “62 were ballot initiatives — which propose new laws — and two were veto referendums — which challenge laws recently passed by state legislatures.” Of the total, “116 statewide measures were approved, and 50 were defeated.”

Laurence M. Vance: Decriminalization is not enough

  According to recently released FBI crime data, there were 1,572,579 drug arrests in the United States last year. That’s an average of one drug arrest nearly every 20 seconds. The total number is up by about 5.6 percent from the 1,488,707 arrests for drug crimes in the United States in 2015.

  Because of a change in how the annual law enforcement numbers are publicized, it’s harder to determine just how many people were busted for marijuana and how many were busted for other drugs. However, Tom Angell — founder of the nonprofit Marijuana Majority and editor of the cannabis news portal Marijuana Moment — was able to determine that “marijuana arrests are on the rise in the U.S., even as more states legalize the drug.”

Laurence M. Vance: Should marijuana be legalized and taxed?

  Although 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the medical use of marijuana, the federal government still classifies marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I drug with “a high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use,” and “a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.”

  Beginning with Oregon in 1973, 18 states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Three of them (Alaska, Colorado, and Oregon) and the District of Columbia went on to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. They were joined by the state of Washington. Nevertheless, the federal government still considers growing, distributing, buying, selling, possessing, or smoking marijuana to be a violation of federal law.

David S. D'Amato: The war on Americans

  That the consumption of certain drugs ought to be proscribed by law is probably taken for granted by most people. The presumption in favor of banning some drugs has become so strong, so embedded in the mainstream of popular discourse as to be practically beyond debate — notwithstanding either philosophical or empirical issues that stand in contradiction to the accepted view. But at this stage in the American experiment in drug prohibition, the case for legalizing drugs, for leaving them within the realm of permissible choices, is worth another look. As defenders of individual rights and responsibility, libertarians have been making that case since the Drug War’s incipiency.

Richard Schwartzman: HR 1983: Good idea, wrong reason

  The world is changing its view on drug laws and drug use — at least, most people and many countries are doing just that. Here in the States, recent polls indicate 50 percent of people favor full legalization of marijuana, while 80 percent advocate medical marijuana use. The federal government is lagging behind, however.

  Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs 11 years ago, and the result has been no increase in usage. Indeed, removing the forbidden-fruit aspect of drug use resulted in less use by younger people. That country also saw a drop in HIV cases related to drug use.