What is CBD Oil and How Does it Work?
The medicinal as well as psychoactive properties of Cannabis have been recognised as early as the third millennium BC in ancient Chinese and Indian texts, reporting its ability to alleviate pain, cramps and anxiety.
Queen Victoria’s physician was quoted as saying that Cannabis is the “best medicine on earth”
Hemp, a strain of the Cannabis sativa plant, discussed in this blog, contains more than 100 known phytocannabinoids, including delta9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)2, the most active components studied so far. But what is CBD oil exactly?
How does CBD Oil Work Within the Body?
Phytocannabinoids, including CBD, are exogenous (external), plant-derived ligands which interact with endogenously (internal) produced proteins, receptors, enzymes and endogenous ligands in an ancient biologically preserved system, the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is thought to be six hundred million years old.
This endocannabinoid system, evolved as a stress or harm regulation network and is a naturally occurring, extensive, endogenous signalling system, with multiple elements, ubiquitous amongst every animal species, except insects, modulated by various factors such as sleep, stress, diet and exercise3 .
The ECS is up- or down-regulated continually, according to biological requirements and communicates with all other body systems with a multi-regulatory role in both health and disease. Scientists are continuing to elucidate this role in human and animal health and disease. New techniques allowing the modulation of the endocannabinoid system in laboratory conditions are revealing the widespread therapeutic scope to control diseases ranging from mental health disorders, neurological and movement disorders, including epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, pain, autoimmune and inflammatory disease, spinal cord injury, cancer, cardiometabolic disease, stroke, osteoporosis, asthma, hypoxia-ischaemia and even those suffering from cannabis and tobacco addiction1,3.
The Endocannabinoid System has a fundamental role in our body’s health and maintenance systems and, was discovered during the search for the active ingredients of Cannabis. CBD was first isolated from a Cannabis extract in 1940 but not fully characterised until 1963. THC was first isolated and characterised in 1964. CBD and THC are hydrophobic (fat soluble) organic compounds which can be transported in the bloodstream by albumin or lipoproteins1. They effectively bind to natural CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors within the ECS, located throughout the body, including the central nervous system and some peripheral tissues – immune cells, adipose tissue, liver, kidney, lungs, muscle and reproductive cells (CB1) and peripheral immune system, gastrointestinal tract, heart, liver and, at low density in the central nervous system (CB2)1,3,4. Interestingly, CB1 receptors are absent in the cardiac and respiratory centres of the brainstem which is why cannabis does not depress respiration or stop the heart from beating, unlike opioids, which can be fatal, due to respiratory depression mediated by receptor activation in these vital brain centres.
Is it Safe to Take THC as well as CBD Oil and How Much is there in Our Products?
Hemp, the strain of Cannabis sativa, discussed here, contains both delta9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)2 and, has its growth controlled so that it does not contain more than the legal limits of THC – 0.3% in the USA and, 0.2% in the UK. Marijuana is another strain of Cannabis sativa which contains more than 0.3% and, up to 80% THC (the compound which has psychoactive properties) and is illegal in most countries.
Unfortunately, worries about the abuse of using this medicinal wonder and, perhaps governmental/early pharma pressure to stop people from growing medication in their own gardens, led to it being banned in 1928 in the UK and in 1937 in the United States. Recognition with some peer-reviewed research and public pressure relating to the widespread medicinal properties of Cannabis eventually led to extracts of it being legalised in the UK in November 2018 as an unlicensed, Schedule II drug, under the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001, only to be prescribed by GMC registered, specialist doctors5 and, available for private purchase. Is CBD legal in Spain?
The legal extracts include Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). These are sold combined in our Full Spectrum product up to a strength of 40% CBD (4 grams in 10ml), with 0.2% THC or, as Broad Spectrum CBD, up to 10% CBD (1g in 10ml), containing no THC, for those who may be subject to drug testing through sport or employment
How to Use Pure Organic CBD Oil Products
The World Health Organisation (WHO), Cannabidiol critical review report in 20184 quotes well tolerated oral dosages in scientific studies between 100-800mg of CBD per day in humans6. Doses of 200-300mg per day in adult studies of epilepsy, reported markedly reduced seizures compared to the placebo group, with doses of 100mg per day not showing marked improvement in seizure frequency4,7. Doses of up to 20mg/Kg/day were safely administered to children aged 4-10 years with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of childhood epilepsy. Studies into reducing positive symptoms of schizophrenia have indicated that doses of 1000mg/day were effective8.
In adults, low initial doses would be recommended at 2mg/5Kg/day.
For a 70Kg person, this would equate to 28mg/day or 3 drops of our 20% CBD product per day.
Medium dose would be 5mg/5Kg/day (approximately 6 to 7 drops of our 20% CBD product per day)
High dose would be 10mg/5Kg/day, 14 drops of 20% CBD product or, 7 drops of our 40% product per day.
We advise our clients to start with a low daily dose, twice a day for a week and see how this alleviates their symptoms. If still present, adjust the dose by doubling the amount taken for a week at a time until full relief and wellbeing is attained and stay on that dosage. A minimum of 30 days is required in order to fully establish beneficial effects. One or two doses will not be adequate to ascertain the effectiveness of CBD.
Comprehensive reviews of the safety and adverse effects of CBD, conducted in 2011 and 2017 showed that even chronic use at doses of up to 1.5g/day were safe and well-tolerated with no adverse effects, abuse potential or addictive traits9,10.
Methods of taking CBD Oil
Both CBD and THC can be taken as an aerosol, combined in oil-based capsules, orally or, in certain cases, as a suppository or, dissolved in oil, as in our case, with Pure Organic CBD to be taken sublingually. Due to these compounds being hydrophobic, absorption from the gastro-intestinal tract can be reduced by stomach acid and, initial break down by the liver (first pass effect), once into the blood stream. To counter this effect, for optimal absorption, Pure Organic CBD is recommended to be taken sublingually and, for the user to retain the drops under the tongue, without swallowing, if possible, until it is naturally absorbed through the submucosa into the blood stream. If swallowed, it should be taken after a fat-based drink or food, like olive oil, avocado or oily fish.
Our new topical lotion, about to be released, is designed to be rubbed into an affected area as a soothing relief from pain and has been found to be highly effective in relieving joint and muscular pain.
Factors affecting our results with CBD Oil
CBD is a natural compound like food, derived from a plant and dissolved in oil within our products for maximum bioavailability. Everyone is designed differently with different physique, weight, metabolic rate, level of health and ability to process food and drugs.
The optimum way to ingest the product is sublingually or topically but it is important to take the product for a long enough time to gain maximum effect as well as following our guidelines on how to take our products.
If you have an excess of body fat, the product will take longer to work as it needs to access the receptors of the ECS across a wider area. An increased dose would be required over a slim or underweight person who would technically require less CBD to exhibit an effect although metabolic rates differ widely amongst different individuals. This is why our advice to start with a low dose of product, twice daily, and build up as required, is the surest, most economical way to experience the benefits.
The length of time that CBD remains in your system depends on how effectively and rapidly it is broken down y the liver and excreted as waste in your urine. Some studies have detected intact CBD three days after ingestion but this will vary according to your metabolic rate and dosage over time. CBD does not show up in drug tests but THC will, even in minute doses so, it is advisable to use the broad spectrum products if you are subject to random drug testing at work or in sport.
How Do I Know the Purity of This CBD Oil?
At Pure Organic CBD, we feel blessed to be partnered with a Swiss company that gives us full quality control over the entire production from seed to bottle. Our Swiss partners have 15 years’ experience in cannabis cultivation and are the largest members of Bio Suisse, the main organisation for organic agriculture in Switzerland.
Finally, thanks to our innovative, gentle CO2 extraction process, our CBD oils are guaranteed to preserve all the phenomenal active ingredients of the cannabis plant. Each SWISS-GRADE leaf is harvested by hand. No chemicals, pesticides or additives are used during the planting, cultivation and production. You can taste the potency in every drop – which is why we never add false flavourings to mask the pure organic taste.
Every bottle of CBD sold by Pure Organic CBD has a certificate of analysis available on our website which details the exact composition of the bottle. You simply need to enter the unique batch number of your bottle of CBD oil or lotion on our analysis page to produce your unique certificate.
Conclusion
The ancient and prolific endocannabinoid system, developed over millennia as a stress or danger response network is clearly fundamental for the health and propagation of most animal species, including humans. Extracts of the Cannabis sativa plant, our products CBD and delta9 -THC, act as exogenous cannabinoids which interact with the endogenous cannabinoids in a complex interplay of body processes designed to optimise health and alleviate the effects of disease.
