Chances are you’ve heard of CBD products. Many cities around North Carolina have stores specializing in CBD products, and it’s widely available online and in ‘vape’ shops. It’s marketed for its health benefits and is touted as a safe and legal (if largely unregulated) treatment for a variety of conditions, from depression to inflammation to cancer and acne. I was recently asked to look at the law surrounding CBD products, and this post summarizes what I found. What is CBD? CBD is the common name for the compound cannabidiol, one of over 100 cannabinoid compounds found in the cannabis plant. While “cannabis” is often used in common parlance as another word for marijuana, marijuana and hemp are actually different varieties of the Cannabis sativa species—although both can be used to manufacture CBD. Among other botanical differences, hemp has a high concentration of CBD and low concentrations of THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the more renowned cannabinoid and the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana). CBD itself is not considered an impairing substance and at most has trace amounts of THC . . . although we’ll come back to that point. For many years, researchers apparently believed the compound was chemically inert. More recently, it has been shown that CDB is an effective treatment for certain types of childhood seizure disorders, whatever other potential benefits it might have. CDB is available in a variety of forms, and can be eaten, drunk, dissolved through the skin or under the tongue, or inhaled. Back in June of [...]
Faculty Coordinators
