There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that Cannabidiol (CBD) oil – a concentrated oily extract made from cannabis – will help treat many different ailments. It’s thought to assist with everything from epileptic seizures to opioid addiction, Post traumatic stress disorder to arthritis. But despite CBD oil’s high profile status, there’s still lots of confusion about what it actually is, and what it’s produced from. Some types of CBD oil are already legally available in the UK – like those of CBD honey – whereas other types are very much illegal in the united kingdom – though are available to buy in other countries
CBD Oil extracted from hemp is frequently marketed as a food supplement to promote well-being – similar to other herbals like Echinacea – and increase the defense mechanisms. Although Hemp CBD oil is legal and easily available at stores like Nature and Bloom UK, it is far from a medicine and really should not be mistaken for the current confiscation of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell’s CBD oil at Heathrow airport.
Billy had flown together with his mother to Canada to get the CBD oil – which helps to maintain his daily epileptic seizures under control. But his oil was confiscated as it was created from cannabis flowers leaving, therefore was classed as illegal throughout the uk, pushing childhood epilepsy and CBD oil into the spotlight. To date, so confusing, but a part of the problem is that terms like cannabis and hemp are frequently used interchangeably – which masks the nuances and complexities of the cannabis plant.
Cannabis sativa L, the scientific name from the cannabis plant, is cultivated to generate two distinctive products – industrial hemp, and cannabis. The primary difference between hemp and cannabis is founded on two criteria. First, the levels of cannabinoids – children of chemicals, the cannabis plant naturally produces – and second, the final use. According to current UK drug laws, cannabis is considered an illegal drug due to the psychoactive properties of THC, the component in it that produces the “high”. And under UK law, cannabis is deemed to get a high prospect of abuse – without any accepted medical properties.
Hemp vs cannabis – But here is where it gets a lot more confusing because cannabis can be bred to produce different strains. Cannabis consumed for recreational purposes is selectively bred to optimise high THC content strains – to maximise the “high” feeling. But cannabis also includes CBD, which is a non-psychoactive component. Hemp, on the other hand, is harnessed as seed, best cbd oil and fibre to create an array of products. It is cultivated to make a low power of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC – along with higher amounts of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD.
Cannabis is considered hemp if it possesses a maximum amount of .2% THC. Billy’s CBD oil, confiscated at Heathrow, was developed from cannabis with a higher level than .2% of THC – therefore it was classed as cannabis, which explains why it was confiscated.
Medical marijuana – A recently available survey conducted by Sky News found that 82% with their poll subjects agreed that medical cannabis needs to be legalised. Professor Dame Sally Davies, the primary medical officer for England, who yzepbf appointed to investigate the present scientific and medical evidence, about the therapeutic properties of cannabis-based products, also believes this. She recently claimed that “doctors should be able to prescribe” cannabis.
Davies has recommended removing cannabis from schedule one classification – which covers a team of drugs shown to do not have medical purpose, that can not be legally possessed or prescribed. In Billy Caldwell’s case, the home secretary, Sajid Javid, decided to grant Billy access to imported CBD oil. This fresh strategy to reconsider the classification of cannabis continues to be seminal, and mirrors wider sentiment in other countries. In the US, as an example, medical cannabis programmes have already been initiated in 30 states. Hence, medical tourism to Canada – where cannabis is legal for medicinal purposes – and also the US to gain access to CBD oil.
Throughout the uk, however, Sajid Javid will not reclassify cannabis till the Advisory Council on the Misuse of medication provides recommendations concerning the public health implications – which will range from the abuse potential of cannabis-based CBD. Although it seems most likely that this home secretary continues to move towards a patient focused resolution. For patients like Billy then, this means that cannabis-based CBD oil could soon be prescribed in the UK under controlled conditions, by registered practitioners, as well as for medical benefit.
