CBD
by Daphne Lambert
CBD appendix & resources
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Legal position in the UK
You can legally grow hemp in the UK, provided you obtain a hemp cultivation licence from the Home Office or in Northern Ireland the Department of Health. Approved seeds need to be sown and licences are only granted for industrial purposes or for obtaining seeds which are then pressed for their oil. Hemp growers in the UK are unable to utilise the hemp flowers and leaves for CBD without an additional Controlled Drugs Licence called a Controlled Drugs Licence, which is not easy to obtain. This means that UK hemp farmers are unable to benefit from the valuable hemp flowers and leaves under a hemp cultivation licence alone. For this reason, over the counter CBD products sold in the UK are generally sourced from elsewhere, where the farmers are permitted to process the flowers and leaves without an additional licence.
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Find out more about the present hemp situation in the UK and how to support the domestic hemp industry
https://britishhempalliance.co.uk
A trusted brand
It is essential to buy CBD products from a brand you trust.
A 2019 study https://phytovistalabs.com/how-bad-is-cbd-oil-mislabelling-in-the-uk/
by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis https://www.thecmcuk.org showed that all products are not what they seem to be for example 38% of the tested products had less than half of the claimed CBD content.
One reliable source of high quality CBD products is
and the website is packed full of useful CBD information
Safety
Research suggests that CBD is generally safe with few side effects. However we are all different and some people may experience side effects from CBD which could include fatigue, irritability and change in appetite. CBD might also interact with pharmaceutical medication so check with a medical professional before taking CBD to ensure there are no interactions that could be harmful to health. Medications that come with a grapefruit warning are likely to interact with CBD.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569602/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7092763/
GLOSSARY
Cannabaceae family -
hemp and cannabis (often called marijuana) both belong to the cannabaceae family the defining difference between them is levels of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC.
Hemp contains less than 0.3% and Cannabis more than 0.3% ~ up to 28%
Cannabinoids – A diverse chemical family that includes natural as well as artificially created substances.
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Phytocannabinoids
These are plant based cannabinoids found naturally in the plant Cannabis Sativa L. Around 70 different cannabinoids have been discovered
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Endocannabinoids
These are natural endigenous lingands made by human and animal organisms, they are part of the endocannabinoid system which is involved in a large variety of physiological processes
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Synthetic cannabinoids
These are made in a laboratory
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Endocannabinoid system
The human endocannabinoid system is responsible for numerous physiological and mental processes that occur naturally within the body.
Cannabidiol (CBD)– A naturally occurring cannabinoid, and the second most abundant constituent of the cannabis plant. CBD is legal and safe to consume, but has lived in the shadow of the psychoactive compound THC found predominantly in the cannabis plant not the hemp plant
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Full Spectrum – Full spectrum hemp oil describes hemp oil that is extracted from the whole hemp flower. Unlike CBD isolate, full spectrum hemp oil contains the same cannabinoids and hemp compounds, such as terpenes, vitamins, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients, as the original hemp plant.
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Isolate – describes pure CBD, most often a powder, where the CBD is isolated and chemically extracted from the hemp flower – does not contain terpenes, THC or other cannabinoids.
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Terpenes – the chemicals in the plant that provide the scent and flavour, also have health benefits.
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