CBD Nation – Full Review

CBD Nation is an excellent documentary about CBD and cannabis that most people will never watch.  You can watch it on Prime Video for $4.99 (rental) or $7.99 (purchase). 

Maybe it was supposed to be released in theaters. Maybe it will be free next year.  It’s worth paying this small price to watch this year.  If you have friends and family who are skeptical about medical cannabis, buy it for them as a gift.  

The film starts with a study that found high levels of pharmaceuticals in bay mussels.  The obvious contrast is with the cannabis plant that can heal without many of the side-effects of harsh drugs. We then hear true stories of patients, including young Jayden David who had life-threatening seizures.  The legal medical cannabis industry is a patient-driven phenomenon.  Harbourside Medical Center in Berkley provided Jayden with a CBD tincture in 2011.  This medication virtually eliminated his seizures.

Jayden David’s epilepsy was controlled with CBD from cannabis.

Raphael Mechuloum is interviewed briefly at strategic points throughout the film. Mechuloum is the Israeli researcher who discovered THC also discovered the seizure-blocking effects of CBD 35 years ago.

Medical cannabis and CBD are presented as alternatives to harsh pharmaceuticals; and as promising treatments for difficult syndromes such as Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD). This leads to a presentation of the endocannabinoid system – our body’s natural system that helps maintain balance. Our bodies produce natural cannabinoids that maintain the balance of other systems in the body.  Cannabis appears to be a plant that contains substances that help our bodies maintain and restore balance.

Rylie Maedler was the inspiration for Rylie’s Law legalizing medical cannabis for children in Delaware

Rylie Maedler was a young girl when she developed an aggressive bone tumor that began destroying the bones in her face. Her mother began researching alternative treatments for shrinking tumors and started Rylie on cannabis oil.  Surprisingly these treatments worked to regenerate the bones in her face and to shrink the tumor. She did not require the reconstructive surgery that is usually needed.  The Delaware legislature unanimously passed “Rylie’s Law” to legalize medical cannabis for children like Rylie.

Veterans with PTSD are then featured. Colin Wells is a founder of the group “Veterans Walk and Talk” who use medical cannabis and hike several times a week in Southern California.  The founder of Irwin Naturals then describes his mission to offer CBD at reasonable prices.

The film is professionally produced and it makes a strong case for cannabis medicine. I wish this documentary could be widely viewed without paying a fee, but I guess that’s not realistic.  Check it out on Amazon Prime Video or Apple Video.  It’s worth the small cost of admission.

Edit: Hemp-derived Delta 8 THC was legal until 8/21/20 thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill

Update: 8/21/20 – The DEA made most delta-8 THC illegal today subject to a 60 day comment period.  Here is a good summary of what has happened.

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Original Article from 6/2020:

The fuss about THC has always been about Δ9 (delta 9) THC.  It’s responsible for the high in marijuana.   Δ8 (delta 8) THC is a very similar molecule that is present only in small quantities in most cannabis.

Resourceful chemists have recently found a way to create Δ8 THC from hemp.

If you Google “delta 8 THC” you will find references to it being legal, and other equally reliable articles stating that is Federally illegal.  Older articles always refer to it being illegal because it was considered an isomer of delta 8 THC.  The DEA considers isomers of illegal drugs to also be illegal.  The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp in such a way that isomers created from hemp are legal.  As long as Δ8 THC is derived from hemp it is now considered to be legal.  States can still make it illegal, so check with your state laws to be certain.

The term `hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. 
 and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all 
 derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and 
 salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 
 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on 
 a dry weight basis.

A new subreddit covers issues related to Δ8 THC.  Most users report that it is sedating and calming, with a more intense “body high” than CBD has.  Others describe it as making you “stoned without being high.”  It does seem to be psychoactive, but it doesn’t seem to cause the changes in thinking that occur with Δ9 THC – no paranoia; but also no positive mood and mental changes that some seek from marijuana.

There is also evidence that Δ8 THC will show up as THC on a urine drug screen.  You should avoid it of you are drug-tested (even though it is probably legal and hemp-derived).  Some have also reported that it does not work in edibles.  To get effects you may need to dose sublingually with Δ8 THC oil or vaporize Δ8 THC distillate .

Δ8 THC is known to be neurprotective.  It has been shown to reduce nausea in children receiving chemotherapy for cancer.  It is believed to act on both the CB1 receptor and the CB2 receptor, but in a different way than Δ9 THC .

You should avoid driving while taking any new cannabinoid. Δ8 THC is stronger than CBD and is more likely to impair motor skills.

For more information check out:

• Leafly article on Delta 8
• Reddit Delta 8 FAQ
• National Cancer Institute definition

Will the FDA ban over-the-counter CBD Isolate?

The website CBD.how created a stir on Reddit this month with their prediction that the United States Food and Drug Administration will ban CBD (cannabidiol) isolate products in 2020.  I will embed their video in this post below. When I first saw this video I was skeptical. CBD is everywhere.  How can the FDA put the genie back in the bottle?

The FDA does have a history of banning substances that are being sold as supplements if the same substance is being used (or studied) as a drug.  Pyridoxamine is a form of Vitamin B6 that has been shown to reduce “age-related glycation end products” (AGEs). In this way it may protect the cells of diabetics from damage caused by high blood sugar levels.  In 2009 the FDA retroactively banned pyridoxamine from sale as a dietary supplement because a company was studying it as a potential new drug.  Several companies were selling it as a supplement and had to stop. In this case the FDA banned a vitamin. It almost seems like the FDA only bans the really effective supplements.

Like pyridoxamine, CBD is being sold as a dietary supplement by multiple companies. CBD is also available by prescription as Epidiolex^®.  Doses recommended for children with epilepsy are much higher than the products you see in stores and online.  For example, a U.S. dosage calculator recommends  227 to 554mgs per day for a 50 pound child.  At these higher doses elevated liver enzymes were found in some research subjects.

The FDA can ban chemicals but not whole plants.  (Only Congress can ban plants federally and it’s the DEA – not the FDA – that enforces these bans.) Full spectrum and broad spectrum hemp oils contain multiple ingredients and are quite different from CBD isolate. These oils usually contain many cannabinoids, sometimes including trace levels (below .3%) of THC.  The FDA may have more trouble banning these products, thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp and hemp derivatives.  The FDA arguably does not have the power to make hemp derivatives illegal again.

I don’t have a crystal ball (and neither does the guy from CBD.how.)  If the FDA does step in and ban some CBD products I agree that the CBD (cannabidiol) isolate products are the most vulnerable.