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.

317,793 people were arrested for marijuana possession in 2020 despite the growing legalization movement

  More than 300,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in 2020, FBI records show. Meanwhile, the drug is being legally sold for a profit in 19 states.

  That arrest number may sound high, but arrests have actually been going down each year since 2010 as more states legalize medical or recreational use of the drug. In 2019, for example, more than 500,000 marijuana possession arrests were reported, so the 2020 arrest numbers represent a single-year decline of 36%.

Cannabis holds promise for pain management, reducing the need for opioid painkillers – a neuropharmacology expert explains how

  Drug overdose deaths from opioids continue to rise in the U.S. as a result of both the misuse of prescription opioids and the illicit drug market.

  But an interesting trend has developed: Opioid emergency room visits drop by nearly 8% and opioid prescriptions are modestly lower in states where marijuana is legalized.

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.