CBD: Expensive, Very Expensive – or Free?

What Does CBD Do?

What exactly does CBD do? According to this paper from the International Hemp Association:

CBD shows no psychotropic effects, but some clinically relevant effects have been found. Among them are anticonvulsant effects in epileptics (Cunha 1980) and antidystonic effects in movement disorder patients (Consroe 1986). Some properties resemble those of THC, e.g., some effects on the immune system (Watzl 1991), other properties differ from THC, e.g., the electrophysiological properties (Turkanis 1981), others show distinct contrary effects, e.g. some effects on the heart (Nahas 1985). Of interest in this context is the action of CBD on the psyche. There are sleep-inducing (Carlini 1981), anxiolytic and anti-psychotic effects, as well as an antagonism of the psychotropic effects of THC. High doses of THC can induce anxiety, panic reactions and functional psychotic states. Zuardi et al. (1997) found a significant reduction of anxiety in a model of speech simulation, with 300 mg CBD comparable to 10 mg of the sedative diazepam. The same working group treated a young schizophrenic man who was admitted to a hospital because of aggressive behavior, self-injury, incoherent thoughts and hallucinations, for four weeks with doses up to 1,500 mg CBD. All symptoms improved impressively with CBD, so that the improvement could not solely be attributed to an anxiolytic effect. …  In a study of Zuardi et al. (1982), eight volunteers received high oral doses of THC (0.5 mg THC per kg body weight, about 35 mg), or this dose plus twice the dose of CBD in a double-blind design. The study demonstrated that CBD blocked the anxiety produced by THC. This inhibition was extended to the marijuana-like effects and other alterations caused by THC.

There is also data showing CBD’s effectiveness in helping those suffering from schizophrenia, though it may not be good for glaucoma patients.

Apparently CBD can be given in massive doses with no side effects and becomes very effective as an anti-psychotic when given in these doses.

Last, but certainly not least, CBD appears to shrink tumors.

It is of great value to have low-THC, high-CBD medicine, since many people don’t want to get high (or don’t want to get too high) but want to consume cannabinoids, so my hat is off to the Israelis of Tikkun Olam. Good job! Well done!

CBD in Industrial Hemp

According Tikkun Olam’s website, they do not charge for those who cannot afford their cannabis. Unfortunately, those in Canada and the United States who wish to buy high-CBD cannabis products are faced with high prices for the dried herb or the seeds. One eighth of “Cannatonic” can run as high as $60 and the seeds can cost around $94 per 10 seeds ($157 for feminized seeds), if they’re available at all.

Lucky for us Canadians, there is another option. Industrial hemp is growing all over Canada:

In 2003, over 2700 hectares (6700 acres) were grown across Canada , mostly concentrated on the Prairies. In 2010 it was estimated that 25,000 were grown. Hemp has been grown with success from coast–to–coast.

(See more here.) 

And this hemp is all rich in CBD, according to every source I can find. Industrial hemp THC to CBD ratios are usually 1/20.  

More here:

In industrial hemp, CBD is the predominant cannabinoid and often occurs in a CBD/THC ratio of more than 8:1.

And here:

Dr. Mahlberg went on to point out that an extraction from industrial hemp using a deceptive procedure found on the Internet will result in a sludge containing many noxious elements and very little THC. Of course the preponderant cannabinoid in this sludge will be CBD.

Canadian aren’t forced to order any special “cannatonic” high-CBD seeds to get lots of CBD medicine, they just have to wander into any industrial hemp field in the fall before harvest with some ice and some buckets and some water and walk out with a ball of high CBD hash the size of your head. Illegal? Yes. But free. There are even fallow hemp fields from the year before that the farmer probably wouldn’t mind (or wouldn’t notice) you doing this with. It matters not that industrial hemp is only 6% CBD and these Israeli strains (or the California high-CBD strains) are 15% or 20% CBD. You can only grow a few of those “medicinal” plants but you can get access to acres of industrial hemp, so you end up getting much more CBD with industrial hemp over-all. Like I said before, industrial hemp CBD is a waste product which is being thrown-out by the tonne every year when it could be harvested for tumor-shrinking (in this post Fukushima world). That’s the real story nobody is talking about, but everyone should be talking about.

If people wish to experiment with crossing their high THC varieties with viable high-CBD industrial hemp seeds, there are some available here for a very reasonable cost: $5 for what appears to be over 20 seeds.

This research paper says you can cross high-THC strains with high-CBD strains to get a mixture of both together.

Whatever you do, remember that even low-THC industrial hemp is illegal to grow in the US under almost all circumstances, and illegal to grow in Canada unless you have ten acres, no criminal record, and you fill out a whack of forms. If they catch you, the authorities will still treat you as if you were growing that nasty THC stuff.

Inverted U-Shaped Dose-Response Curve of the Anxiolytic Effect of Cannabidiol during Public Speaking in Real Life

Conclusion

Our results are consonant with evidence from preclinical studies and support the view that CBD induces acute anxiolytic effects with an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in humans. These findings stress the importance of the careful choice of dose ranges when investigating the potential therapeutic effects of CBD. Further studies assessing the dose-response curve of CBD in other conditions such as schizophrenia, pain, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease and involving the chronic administration of CBD are necessary to translate preclinical evidences into clinical practice and to determinate the precise therapeutic window of CBD for each condition.