The Biggest Myths You Believe About CBD

You've probably heard CBD alternately described as a miracle substance with the potential to cure all the world's diseases and also bring peace to the entire universe, and as the thing that will lead to the downfall of the human race. Or maybe less groundbreaking/catastrophic predictions that somehow still seem to be blown way out of proportion.

If you haven't heard anything about CBD, it's probably because this is the first time you've been on the internet, ever. So for those who are not familiar with the buzz, cannabidiol (or CBD) is a cannabis derivative that's widely used as both a health supplement and a food additive. CBD is found in hemp and marijuana, and that pedigree has turned it into one of the most discussed and most misunderstood substances on the American market.

So, what is the real truth about CBD? Is it a wonder drug or a snake oil? Is it legal or illegal? And most importantly, should you feed it to your dog? Here are some of the most often-repeated myths about this mysterious substance.

When most people hear the word "cannabis," they only think of one plant: marijuana. That's because until recently, marijuana was the only version of cannabis anyone ever talked about. But marijuana is a part of a broad family of cannabis species, which also includes its more conservative cousin, hemp. According to The Motley Fool, marijuana and hemp both come from the cannabis sativa family, but they're two very different plants. They don't even look the same — marijuana is sort of squat and dumpy with wider leaves, while hemp is taller and stalkier and has shiny leaves. 

The most abundant chemical compound found in marijuana is THC, which is the chemical that causes that characteristic high. Some marijuana varieties can have THC levels as high as 30%. Hemp has THC in it, too, but at much lesser levels — usually around .3%. So hemp has traditionally been used more for industrial applications, like making rope or fabrics sold exclusively to hippies at overpriced organic markets.

Both plants contain CBD, though, and you can obtain CBD oil derived from marijuana if you live in a state where marijuana is legal. But most of the CBD oils that are sold freely online or in specialty shops are derived from hemp, mostly because hemp-derived CBD isn't subject to the same state-to-state restrictions.

Based on the whole "regulated by the Food and Drug Administration" thing, you'd think that CBD would be pretty tightly controlled. And in some ways it is. For example, the FDA explicitly prohibits CBD manufacturers from making health claims about their products. You can bottle and sell CBD oil with the intention of selling it as a pain reliever, but you don't actually get to say, "This is a pain reliever."

In other ways, CBD is weirdly really unregulated. According to The Atlantic, CBD "exists in a confusing state of quasi-legality," so there aren't any labeling requirements or composition standards for manufacturers. That means that when you buy a bottle of CBD oil, you don't really know how much of what's in that bottle is really CBD, nor do you really know what an effective dose might be for that particular product. Worse, some products sold as CBD oil, when tested, didn't contain any CBD oil at all.

"It's actually really hard to get pure CBD," Esther Blessing, a CBD researcher from New York University Langone Health told the Atlantic. "It's really expensive, and there's a limited number of high-grade producers across the world." And since the minimum effective dose is around 300 milligrams, consumers who don't buy the right product will end up with a vial of something that really is snake oil, at least in the metaphorical sense of the word.

CBD isn't a marijuana product and it doesn't contain THC, so you can use it to treat the lower back and foot pain you're going to end up with after you've spent a whole day dropping off resumes around town. But according to Forbes, that's a terrible idea, because if one of those companies loves your resume and decides to give you a pre-hire drug test, you might fail it just based on your choice of pain reliever.

Granted, the risk is pretty small, but there have been cases where CBD oil seemed to be responsible for a failed drug test. In one example, a woman in Atlanta Georgia was told that she'd failed a pre-employment drug screening even though she'd never been a marijuana user and had only used CBD oil for two weeks prior to the test.

Hemp doesn't contain as much THC as marijuana does, but trace amounts can end up in any CBD oil. Now, THC in those minute quantities is unlikely to trigger a positive drug test result, but "unlikely" is hardly a 100% guarantee. So yes, there is a slight possibility you could lose your dream job if you take CBD. Your risk, of course, is directly proportional to how badly you wanted the job in the first place — if it's flipping burgers or cleaning dog kennels, your chances of a positive result are probably pretty close to zero.                                                                                      

Now that you're thinking, "This thing is a wonder drug!" it's time to rein it all back in for a second. There is a popular misconception that just because something is a natural, it must also be safe and effective, and that's not always true. Don't forget, botulism is also totally natural, and you wouldn't want to buy any of that in a bottle of oil.

According to Harper's Bazaar, CBD oil can have side effects, and what's especially scary is that you won't find them listed on the drug insert, because CBD products don't have to have a drug insert. But researchers say that CBD may interfere with some over-the-counter medications, and worse, that it might change the action of prescription medications like antidepressants. And based on the research, when it comes to side effects, taking CBD is not exactly the same as popping a couple of Tylenol. Some studies have found that CBD users can experience dizziness, diarrhea, anxiety (which is weird for a product some people take to combat anxiety), drowsiness, mood swings, and perhaps worst of all, changes in appetite. Maybe money saved on Doritos is just too much to ask after all.

Since the passage of the 2018 farm bill, you'll hear a lot of people say that CBD is now legal in all 50 states. That's not entirely accurate, though — it's maybe more accurate to say that it's legal-er than it was before the 2018 farm bill.

According to Matador, CBD derived from a hemp plant (which contains a concentration of CBD not more than .3%) is essentially legal everywhere, with one caveat — it has to be grown by a licensed business that's received federal and state approval. Which excludes most of the CBD oil on the market today. And CBD is not approved for use as a food additive, as we've already established, which means it's legal but not totally legal for all applications.

Also, the farm bill did remove hemp from the list of controlled substances, which means it's legal under federal law. But states are also allowed to pass tighter restrictions, if they decide that CBD is too freely available or they're pissed off about the lines at Whole Foods or something. In Idaho, for example, the only CBD allowed must have 0% THC, instead of the .3% allowed under federal law. In Nebraska, CBD is just flat out illegal. If you were thinking that the stuff sounds like a good idea, it's best to read up on the laws in your state before you place that $120 Amazon order.