Traditionally, if you wanted relief from chronic pain, anxiety or the side effects of cancer treatments, you reached for over-the-counter pain relief medicines such as ibuprofen, or you would have your doctor prescribe an anti-anxiety drug or even something more powerful like hydrocodone, which is highly addictive. Today, however, there is another choice — a natural option for treating these and other physical ailments and it’s called cannabidiol or CBD.
According to the Brightfield Group, a cannabis analytics firm, the CBD market is growing faster than cannabis in the U.S. and will soon be a $22 billion industry. However, the challenge is that some consumers don’t understand the ABCs of CBD — what it is, how it differs from marijuana, what CBD products they can use for what ailment and whether they are actually safe.
“CBD stands for cannabidiol, one of the main compounds found in the cannabis plant,” explained David Spang, a Myrtle Beach native who founded Coastal Green Wellness, South Carolina’s first CBD and Hemp Wellness Center. “It grows in high percentages in the flowering cannabis sativa L plant varieties.”
It’s important to note that CBD is not marijuana, although marijuana contains CBD. Marijuana also contains tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is what gives you the ‘high’ when it is smoked or used in cooking. “CBD will never produce an altered state of perception,” said Spang. “You can't take too much of it and it’s not going to be toxic to your liver.”
Spang explains there are several types of CBD products, such as edibles, capsules, pills, gummies, tinctures, a sublingual tincture — an oil under the tongue — vaping and topical products. “They all have different benefits,” said Spang, who highly recommends using sublingual tinctures. “It’s cannabis extract with a simple carrying agent, such as MCT oil. Holding that under your tongue for about a minute is the most efficient delivery method.”
The oils come in different dosages that treat different conditions and Coastal Green Wellness helps customers find the regimen that’s right for them. “For example,” Spang says, “anxiety, mood and sleep regulation require smaller doses while larger doses are usually needed for auto immune problems and chronic pain.”
CBD also helps cancer patients with side effects from treatment such as depression, loss of appetite, pain management and anxiety.
Before taking any CBD products, Spang encourages all consumers to get educated and to be careful which products you’re using. “The CBD market is completely unregulated and there are many people who take advantage of that,” said Spang, who urges consumers to watch out for synthetic CBD products that come from China. “Synthetic CBD poses dangerous health risks. If a company isn’t testing every single batch independently and then putting that information on their website for you to see, I would not buy the product.”
For more information on CBD products, contact Coastal Green Wellness https://www.coastalgreenwellness.com, located in The Market Common, 2954B Howard Ave, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29577; 843-839-3339.
