
CBD or cannabidiol is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis sativa, which will not get you high, but is showing to have many positive medicinal properties. Since full spectrum CBD is the most medicinal, packing the strongest punch, this version of CBD carries a lot of worries for people who worry that their employers will fire them if a drug test were to be required. The reason is because full spectrum indicates that the other parts of the plant are in the extract oil as well, like the infamous THC, which is the compound that creates the high that has fueled the stigma all these years. Without full spectrum, you take out the other cannabinoids (like CBG, CBN, and THC), as well as plant terpenes, omegas, and other medicinal properties.
CBD’s claim to fame came around a decade ago when one of the first High CBD strains was found to help children with epilepsy. CBD has neuroprotective properties and can ease the severity and lessen the frequency of seizures. Since the 70’s, scientists knew of the cannabinoid CBD, but we didn’t have a strain that was high in CBD and low in THC, but with decades of underground breeding, viola, here we are. Charlotte’s Web was that first early medical marijuana strain that started the movement, because of it’s ability to treat a variety of ailments without the side effects of THC. Since the 2014 Farm Bill Charlotte’s Web is now a supplement company that only sells hemp based products.
I recently reached out to Stanley Brothers Charlotte’s Web and trialled their Original Formula, which is a CBD tincture with 1500mg of CBD in a carrier oil of Olive Oil. The 30ml bottle provides 50mg per serving. I began taking the oil tincture sublingually, by dropping 25mg a day under my tongue in the morning. After holding the oil under my tongue for 1-2 minutes, I then swallowed the oil. The taste wasn’t bad with some grassy, herbaceous notes. Some CBD oils taste much worse, so much so that I can’t take them sublingually, but have to put the drops in a beverage. The downside of doing that is that it slows the effect and lessens the absorption rate.
After a week, I noticed that my baseline level of stress has eased up mostly. My back and neck soreness dulled slightly. So I decided to up my dose to help me with my sleep and to help manage my discomfort right before bed, so I began repeating the same dosage at night. So 25mg in the morning and 25mg at bedtime, and that really started to do the trick. On really bad days, I’d take a little more, which seemed to increase its effectiveness. After a month, I surely felt better overall. I started to test putting some of the oil directly on the parts that hurt in my back and neck and found further relief. All in all, I am impressed by the quality of the oil and the medicinal benefits of the Charlotte’s Web strain of CBD hemp. It’s an amazing medicine that’s gentle with few side effects, and is among my daily regimen of natural botanical supplements.
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