Cannabidiol (CBD for short) is one of the 113 compounds found in cannabis plants. In vaping, CBD e-liquids (also known as CBD vape juice or cannabis juice) is used as a fluid for vaping, just like normal e-liquid.
CBD is used for healing people, like medicinal marijuana, the one difference being that CBD does not get people high. This is because the component of marijuana that gets you high is the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), rather than the CBD. CBD had been used decades before vaping even became popular.
What are the medicinal benefits of CBD?
CBD vape oil has many medicinal benefits. It has been approved by the NHS, with pharmacists looking to stock CBD e-liquids. CBD has also been legalised recently by the Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Seizure Reduction
CBD is probably most known for its ability to reduce seizures. This was proved with the story of Charlotte Figi. Charlotte Figi suffered from Dravet Syndrome, a type of epilepsy that, at worst, gave her 300 seizures a week. Her parents and doctors tried everything to help her, but to no avail. As a last resort, her parents tried CBD as an alternate treatment. Her seizures suddenly dropped down to only one a day. This brought a lot of attention to CBD. A special strain of high-CBD cannabis was named after Charlotte Figi, called Charlotte's Web.
A randomised controlled trial was done to test if CBD can reduce seizures in Lennox–Gastaut syndrome sufferers, a hard to treat version of epilepsy that means people suffering from it need help doing normal activities. The participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups and given 3 different treatments: a 20mg dose of CBD per kg body weight, a 10mg dose of CBD per kg body weight and a matching placebo. All groups experienced reductions, with the 20mg group getting the most reduction, at 41.9%, followed by the 10mg group, with 37.2%, and the placebo group, with 17.2%. The researchers concluded that CBD causes a greater reduction in seizures for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome sufferers.
Anxiety
There is evidence that CBD helps to cope with anxiety. One study investigated the effects of CBD on people who suffer from social anxiety. They gave 12 sufferers CBD and 12 sufferers a placebo. They then simulated a public speaking task, and found the people that took CBD were less anxious than the people that took placebos. Many people use CBD to treat their anxiety problems nowadays.
Other Conditions
There is evidence that CBD can help treat psychosis and schizophrenia. From animal cells, it has been found that CBD can have positive effects on diabetes, heart and blood vessels and even cancer. However, this is still ongoing research so it's possible that these results may not be the same for humans.
Is CBD E-Liquid Legal?
The legality of CBD is dependant on where you live. Different places have different rules for CBD and, while it may be legal in some places, products also containing THC (the component of cannabis that gets you high) may not be legal.
UK:Recently, Sajid Javid, the home secretary, has made prescribing CBD legal, but he has said it can only contain up to 0.2% of THC, and the THC must not be easily separated.
USA: Hemp oil, made from the seeds of the marijuana plant, is legal, but anything made from the leaves or the rest of the plant isn't, and the oil must only contain up to 0.1% THC.
India:Anything from cannabis is illegal, apart from bhang,which is a cannabis drink allowed only in a registered shop.
Australia:CBD oil is legal, but you may need a prescription, and the oil must have extremely low amounts of THC.
Sweden:CBD is classified as a medical product.
Switzerland:CBD products with up to 0.1% THC is allowed.
What is in a CBD e-liquid?
CBD e-liquids replace the nicotine in e-liquids with CBD. The CBD in most of these products is CBD "Isolated", which is pure CBD, though you can have "full spectrum" extractions that include other cannabinoids (though not THC, which is illegal). Besides the CBD instead of nicotine, the e-liquid is basically the same as a normal e-liquid.
How to buy CBD e-liquids?
CBD e-liquids can be bought in the same way as normal e-liquids, from tobacconists and online vape shops. Try some out on our website here! If you are buying CBD for medical purposes, be sure to contact your doctor first to see which is best. Always make sure if the e-liquids are legal in your location before vaping it.
Now hopefully you should know everything you need to know about CBD e-liquids, so you can make the right choice on what to buy.
