What is CBD (Cannabidiol)?

CBD 101: Understanding the difference between CBD and THC and why it matters
Cannabidiol, widely recognized as CBD, is one of 140 identified cannabinoids, or compounds, found in cannabis plant species, namely Cannabis sativa (hemp) and Cannabis indica (marijuana). THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is also a natural occurring cannabinoid in these plants.
Numerous medical studies have found that cannabinoids, including CBD and THC, provide a wealth of health and wellness benefits through its interaction with the human endocannabinoid system (ECS), a complex network of cell receptors and neurotransmitters that help maintain the body’s homeostasis.
According to one study, “modulating the ECS activity may have therapeutic potential in almost all diseases affecting humans, including obesity/metabolic syndrome, diabetes and diabetic complications, neuro-degenerative inflammatory, cardiovascular, liver, gastrointestinal, skin diseases, pain, psychiatric disorders, cachexia, cancer, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, among many others.”*
However, unlike CBD-based products which are non-psychoactive, have little to no side effects and are believed to offer tangible therapeutic benefits to its users, THC-based products used for recreational or medical purposes may induce psychotropic or euphoric effects on a user and have potentially serious side effects, such as extreme anxiety and paranoia.
Another important distinction between the two is the fact that THC products can only be purchased in U.S. states which have legalized medical or recreational marijuana use, whereas authentic, hemp-derived CBD products may be legally purchased nationwide. In fact, today CBD products are being sold directly to consumers online by manufacturers and resellers and in many major and specialty retail stores, including GNC, Walgreens, The Vitamin Shoppe, CVS, pet stores, beauty salons and even local convenience stores and gas stations.
Research published in 2019 by consumer data firm MRI-Simmons estimated that 3.7 million U.S. adults were CBD consumers, and roughly 64 million Americans – or 26% of the nation – have reported trying CBD in the last two years. Due to this escalating demand from consumers for CBD as a natural remedy for a myriad of health conditions affecting adults, children and pets, CBD has rapidly skyrocketed into a multi-billion dollar industry over a few short years; growing from a $550,000 market in 2014 to $7.1 billion in 2019 and is further expected to climb to $9.3 billion by the end of 2020. However, it may surprise you to learn that CBD is far from being a trendy new alternative health and wellness therapy.
Benefits of CBD are nothing new
For centuries, medicinal preparations derived from the Cannabis sativa plant have been used to treat a wide variety of ailments, including gout, rheumatism, malaria, pain and fever.
In fact, according to “Cannabidiol: Promise and Pitfalls,” a 2014 peer‑reviewed article published in Epilepsy Currents, “These preparations were widely employed as analgesics by Western medical practitioners in the 19th century,” likely thanks in large measure to Irish physician and medical researcher William B. O’Shaughnessy.
In 1839 while serving as a member of the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta in India, Dr. O’Shaughnessy published the first peer-reviewed medical research study which investigated the therapeutic effects of the cannabis plant and thoroughly described its potential medical applications.

The study served to validate cannabis therapy as a viable treatment option by the broader medical and scientific communities. On the heels of this important study, in 1850 cannabis was included for the first time in the annual United States Pharmacopoeia, a compendium of “legally recognized standards of identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging and labeling for drug substances, dosage forms and other therapeutic products.”
However, cannabis was later dropped from the compendium in 1942 subsequent to the passing of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, making it illegal to produce marijuana and any plant type in association with the cannabis family – including hemp.