How popular can CBD oil grow and just how safe is it for you to use?
Hemp cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis extract, became one of the top-selling supplements in 2019 as consumers chose it as a more natural way to address health issues that range from anxiety to cancer to pain management.
It is so popular that the Hemp Business Journal, an online industry publication that tracks hemp sales, estimates that the hemp CBD market will grow from $390 million in 2018 to about $1.3 billion by 2022.
Bob Peeples, a physical therapist at Peeples Physical Therapy in Bellingham, does not use CBD oil in his practice, but some of his clients put it on before they arrive for therapy.
“I do believe there is a current trend for people to reach towards CBD-based products as an alternative to aid in the management of their health conditions,” Peeples said. “The question of CBD product use comes up regularly when discussing with clients how they are managing with discomfort levels, especially on their evaluation questionnaire.”
When discussing medication management such as Ibuprofen, Aleve and other topicals, Peeples has found that by being more informed himself and looking at the topic from a science-based background, he may better assist them in making educated choices.
Healthcare professionals, including physical therapists, are bound by our practice acts and the Revised Code of Washington, a compilation of all permanent laws now in force. Two of them specifically address how the THC levels in topical products need to be less than .3% for use in healthcare practices. Other concerns are CBD oils have not been closely regulated by the FDA.
“So, it’s difficult to know the exact concentrations of CBD to THC levels contained within specific products (not to mention other materials in the topicals),” Peeples said. “Which brings up the concern in labeling discrepancies between products. (It’s also) difficult for consumers to know what they are getting. It’s like the wild West … there needs to be a better standard of product labeling so consumers have the ability to know what’s in their products.”
Peeples added, however, “I do see that many of my clients report good alternative relief of some of their symptoms, which allows them to not need other pain-relieving products or medications while increasing their functional mobility.”
Bellingham-based Dr. Maria Putney is a naturopathic physician. Her primary practice involves providing Integrative Cancer Care and Women’s Health. She has been working with cancer patients since 2008 and sees patients that are at various points of treatment. There are patients going through conventional cancer care, those in between treatments, and those wanting to thrive post treatment. Putney provides a comprehensive integrative approach to supporting their mind and body while they have a cancer diagnosis. This may include nutritional IV therapy, clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, stress management and lifestyle counseling.
“My training with cannabis involves addressing side-effects from chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or metastatic cancer,” Putney said. “Medical marijuana can be effective for pain: especially spastic, intractable pain, nausea, increasing appetite, and sleep. My recommendation on what to use and how to use it depends on what symptoms we are trying to address. I do not recommend smoking cannabis: the smoke (combustion) from marijuana can hurt the lungs, just like tobacco smoke.”
The two routes of administration that are the safest is ingestion: tincture, capsule, gummy and inhalation of the vaporized bud. Ingesting cannabinoids can take up to two hours to activate and provide relief of symptoms. However, the effect of the CBD and THC can last six to eight hours.
“This makes it ideal to help with sleep and leg cramps, or other pain at bedtime,” Putney said.
Inhalation can be done with a vaporizer. Vaporizing involves heating the bud so the oils and terpenes are released from the flower (bud) of the plant. Inhalation can be effective within 1-2 minutes and can address symptoms for 1-2 hours after. Inhaling the terpenes is ideal for those with nausea, pain, and PTSD. Marijuana is completely non-toxic to the liver, kidneys, and nervous system, if it is the only drug being used at the time, she said.
“The drawbacks to using CBD and THC is that we don’t really have the studies that delineate at specific strains or varieties or dose for specific symptom” Putney said.
As far as we know, Putney said, you need both CBD and THC to have an effect on symptoms. Unfortunately, the THC is the active ingredient and it is also responsible for the psychological effects of being under the influence of marijuana and Putney would warn novice users of CBD/THC to start very low and slow.
She recommends a 30:1 ratio of CBD:THC at first. CBD helps curve the “high” the THC can cause.
Correspondent Cindy Uken is an award-winning veteran journalist.