What's The Deal With CBD?

This plant compound found in marijuana may be able to help drive gains by wiping out pain and boosting recovery.

- Adam Bible

While everyone knows that a few tokes of weed will get you high, revival of research from the ’70s has found that some compounds in the plant can help with a wide range of ailments, like chronic pain, depression, symptoms from chemotherapy, and multiple sclerosis. That’s one reason that the plant is now legal in 10 states (as of press time) and allowed to be consumed for medical purposes in another 22. The other: Huge amounts of tax money from marijuana sales are filling up state coffers—Colorado alone took in more than $247 million last year. Put simply: The marijuana market is blowing up.

But it’s cannabidiol (CBD)—the straitlaced brother to the chemical in marijuana (THC) that gets you stoned—that’s been taking the nation by storm. This seemingly miraculous compound has been found to jump-start healing in your body by regulating the immune system and reducing inflammation, all without any harmful side effects. Below, we go over what you need to know about CBD oil.

WHAT IS CBD?

The human body has a specific biological network called the endocannabinoid system, which is made up of neurotransmitters and receptors specifically attuned to cannabinoids. These compounds can produce healing effects on our cognitive and physical processes when they bind to specific receptors. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is probably the most well-known cannabinoid—and most prevalent in recreational weed—as it’s what gives you that stereotypical, euphoric high when smoked or ingested. Cannabidiol (CBD), which is found in high concentrations in hemp or industrial marijuana, is the next most common cannabinoid. It doesn’t produce any psychoactive effects, so, up until recently, it was thought to not act on the human body at all. Well, we were wrong.

WHAT CBD DOES