What is CBD - A Beginner’s Guide to CBD

What is CBD - Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid found in certain types of plants falling under the "cannabis" genus. Specifically, these are hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) and marijuana (Cannabis Sativa).

You can get CBD in a lot of formats. Pills, tinctures, topicals, edibles, oils, and drinks, to name a few. Buy CBD vape oil and gummy bears. A dry herb is also an option if you happen to live in a legal marijuana state or have a prescription.

But chances are, you're interested in vaping CBD. On that note, let's take a look at how that works and whether CBD is right for you. Here is our CBD for dummies guide.

Will CBD Get You High?

This is a question that every would-be CBD user wants to know. The short answer is "no," but here's why.

What makes this compound particularly attractive (and legal) is that, unlike the tetrahydrocannabinol THC in pot that makes you high, CBD is totally non-intoxicating. This is because it acts upon different receptors, which are located throughout the body. THC receptors, on the other hand, are primarily found in the central nervous system - hence the high. Learn more about the difference between CBD vs TCH in our tutorial.

Is CBD Legal?

Despite the fact that you can find CBD products in every vape shop, head shop or online portal, the truth is that CBD supplements are still illegal.

A lot of people say that, as long as the CBD contains less than 0.3% amounts of THC, it can be sold in all 50 states. This simply isn't true. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) strictly prohibits it for sale as a supplement, because it's currently being researched as a potential new drug.

That being said, nobody seems to be enforcing this law, so buying CBD supplements poses little to no risk.

If you live in a state where marijuana is legal, you can get safe, high-quality CBD products, with or without a prescription, depending on the level of legality.

Is CBD Safe?

Yes. To date, there's no evidence that CBD is toxic.

That being said, we still haven't had a chance to really give it a good amount of research. CBD on its own may be safe, but it could interfere with certain medications. Studies in children with severe epilepsy found that high doses of CBD (400mg per day) can cause increased liver function for those taking certain epilepsy medications, such as valproic acid. Since CBD is metabolized in the liver, any medication also processed in the liver could butt heads with the compound, so talk to your doctor. To learn more about effects of Cannabidiol, check out our tutorial - Does CBD Get You High.

Who Makes the Best CBD?

This is a tricky one to answer. The supplement industry isn't well-regulated, and that includes CBD. The fact that it isn't legal anyway doesn't really help much with accountability.

The best CBD out there is from marijuana. Unlike the supplement companies, marijuana is grown and processed by licensed producers. These organizations are tightly regulated, so if you can get your CBD products from a legal dispensary or via medical prescription, then choose that.

What Types of CBD are There?

In your quest to find some good CBD, you'll find two options: full spectrum and isolate. Choosing the right one is crucial for the best results.

What is Full Spectrum CBD

The thing you need to know about cannabis - be it hemp or marijuana - is that there's more to the cannabis plant than just THC and CBD. There are many other cannabinoids, such as CBG and CBN, that also provide medical benefits.

Terpenes are also critical. These are oily compounds found throughout the hemp plant kingdom, each with their own set of CBD Oil Benefits.

Full-spectrum CBD products maintain these terpenes and cannabinoids after processing. As a result, they work with the CBD to make it more effective. This is due to a phenomenon called the "entourage effect".

The entourage effect is the relationship between cannabinoids and terpenes. They work together to complement each other's strengths.

Full-spectrum is available from both industrial hemp and medical marijuana.

What Is CBD Isolate

CBD isolate is essentially 99% pure CBD with no THC or other compounds. Everything else is filtered out during production.

Unlike full-spectrum, you lose out on all the terpenes and cannabinoids that make the CBD more effective. While isolate will still do the job, it won't be nearly as effective or efficient without the entourage effect to give it a boost.

However, isolate is safer if you suffer from a health condition that affects your liver or if you happen to take certain medications. So you trade efficacy for safety.

How Can I Vape CBD?

If you're interested in vaping CBD, there are two ways to go about it. One choice is to use vape oil, the other is CBD vape juice. Let's look at each.

What is CBD E-liquid

We vapers all know what e-liquid is. In this case, the e-juice contains CBD instead of nicotine. Strengths vary depending on the brand and chosen concentration (most brands have multiple strength options).

Just like with nicotine, CBD Vape Juice is infused into a carrier mix of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG). You can either add it as a concentrated tincture into your vape juice or buy it as its own flavored e-liquid.

What is CBD Oil

In some cases, CBD is available in a vape-friendly oil. However, this doesn't mean every kind of CBD oil is meant for vaping. The label will tell you if the oil is strictly for ingestion, so make sure you triple check. Putting non-vape oil into an atomizer will burn the oil and the device.

Assuming the oil is good for vaping, you still need an oil atomizer. Using a regular e-cig tank won't work in this case.

You can either buy a separate atomizer for oil or buy disposable cartridges. There are also many "3-in-1" vaporizers that can handle e-liquid, dry herb, and oil. What are CBD Benefits and will it help me?

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of research into most medical conditions and CBD therapy. The most well-researched condition that benefits from CBD is severe epilepsy - specifically Lennox Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) and Dravet Syndrome. These conditions are debilitating and sometimes deadly, affecting young children.

This actually led to Epidiolex, which is the first FDA-approved (federal government) pharmaceutical drug derived from CBD and made exclusively for LGS and Dravet patients.

But even then, there's no evidence that CBD can help with other, more common forms of epilepsy.

There is also some evidence suggesting that CBD helps reduce inflammation, so it might be good for people with certain injuries or arthritis when applied topically.

A lot of people say CBD helps them with issues like nausea, insomnia, anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, chronic pain relief, irritable bowel syndrome, and migraines - to name a few.

But as you can see by this partial list, CBD is being touted as a "cure-all". Obviously, we don't want to over-promise or jump to conclusions here. But CBD is virtually harmless, so it can't hurt to give it a try.