WHEN THE WORLD’S MOST QUALIFIED EXPERT ON MEDICINAL CANNABIS AND CBD, the non-psychoactive health supplement, tells you it’s a ‘complex topic’, it’s no wonder we ordinary folk are grappling with whether to try it, how to buy it and when to use it. Yet right now we can’t move for products containing CBD. This ‘miracle’ substance is frequently in the news and there seems to be a new launch every week of CBD-containing products in health shops and online. There are oils and tinctures to use under or on our tongues to help us sleep, creams to rub on different parts of our bodies to treat pain, skin complaints and muscle aches, and even CBD-containing food and drink that claim to ease stress and anxiety.
The problem is some of us are lapping it all up without fully understanding how much to take and whether it’s safe. It doesn’t help that manufacturers aren’t permitted to make specific health claims on packaging. One of the more recent controversies was the launch of Ignite, a vaping CBD, marketed with Love Island-style bikini-clad girls to attract younger ‘stressed’ users. While this bling approach got the thumbs-down from the scientific community, the jury is still out on the effectiveness of the product.