Hemp CBD 101

Interest in CBD, Hemp, and medical marijuana has hit a fever pitch in the past couple of years, and with recent laws opening the door for hemp cultivation in the United States, the number of companies launching and marketing products is staggering. There is an inherent danger to consumers and patients when everyone jumps in on the gold rush, putting profits before research or quality control. There is great potential benefit in hemp, but it is important to dig deeper and separate the real quality products from the masses of bandwagon companies.

That’s why, for this month’s product feature, I wanted to highlight a new line of hemp products at our clinic that stands as a positive example of how to approach the healing potential of hemp in a serious and responsible way. Especially because hemp has a very long historical use in Traditional Chinese Medicine, we wanted to find a company that shared that understanding.

Green Earth Medicinals was born out of years of clinical experience of board-certified physician Dr. Christian Le, who has used cannabinoid therapies in an integrative setting with thousands of patients. Their chief formulator, Dr. Jason Cedar Miller, comes from a clinical background in Traditional Chinese Medicine as well. Guided by this background, the company brings a much higher standard to developing CBD products, from organically sourced hemp,cutting edge full-spectrum extraction techniques, and quadruple testing of product to maintain consistency for clinical use. As a company, they appear to be committed to continually gaining a greater understanding of how CBD works, and how to make products more effective as the science evolves.

Green Earth Medicinals’ National Sales Director, Doug Williams, was kind enough to answer a few questions via email, about both the company, and as a sort of intro ‘CBD 101’ for beginners. We hope to continue digging deeper into this subject as more research emerges, and hope this brief intro is helpful to you.

Tell us briefly about the history of Green Earth Medicinals.

Green Earth develops CBD products for practitioners, their patients, and those who use CBD to support their health. Our choices in cultivars, growing methods, processes, and formulation are based on over 10 years of experience in 5 Oregon Medical Cannabis Clinics, recording over 4000 case studies, working with different cultivars, delivery systems, and patient groups.

CBD brands are popping up every day, and we see products all over, even in gas stations vape shops and beyond. Why is it important to purchase from a clinical brand like Green Earth Medicinals?

There is a bit of a Wild West environment as everyone is in a rush to get on the bandwagon and sell the latest CBD choice for the masses. Most of these companies do not make or grow their own products, many growers are unconcerned with the health concerns of agrochemicals and industrial agriculture practices, and of those who do care, few have much depth of experience in using different cultivars in medical practice. Green Earth Medicinals is the only premium quality CBD line based on over a decade of medical practice with cannabis. At every step from the field through processing and formulation, our decisions ultimately come down to what will produce better medicine with fewer side effects.

Some tout and market CBD as a cure-all. Skeptics question whether it is helpful at all. What does research and clinical experience suggest CBD is effective for?

CBD products can provide effective support for the system of biofeedback and cellular communication called the Endo-Cannabinoid System. This system of organ and tissue signaling sends and receives chemical messages, and is responsible for many aspects of human health. It may be understood as a central biofeedback network for our cellular systems, providing retrograde communication along synapses and among and between cellular networks. It is responsible for the basic functions of the Endocrine, Gut, and Central Nervous systems in relation to how we relax, eat, sleep, forget, and protect ourselves both physically and emotionally. The ECS is also supportive of neurological systems for mood, addiction, memory, reward, and stress response, and is an integral part of our neuro-immuno-endocrine network. In particular, practitioners have found it helpful for support of the nervous system, for pain response, and immune health among other areas.

People frequently ask about the proper dosage of CBD. Is it on a very individual basis, or are there recommended ranges for certain health issues?

From our practitioner’s experience of working with 1000’s of patients, there is not a standard serving size for all. We do find CBD works best if used at each meal and bedtime, as 5 mg 4 x’s a day works better than 10mg 2xs a day and that is better than 20mg once a day. We suggest people start at a lower level, increasing the serving size each day until the desired level of comfort is achieved. Cannabis Naive persons [those who have not used it before] may need less, others may need more. People can feel comfortable in finding their own level of comfort as Cannabis is exceptionally safe, with no significant side effects seen at levels of up to 1500mg a day in a clinical setting.

Are there certain conditions or patient types that should avoid CBD? If so, what are some of the potential adverse effects?

If someone has a job that drug tests for CBD, they should check with their employer, as even trace amounts of THC in Hemp can bi-accumulate. In general, the only drug interactions or practitioners have encountered have been ones where there is little room for error and high toxicity.

Is CBD from hemp less effective than extracts that also contain higher amounts of THC, or just for different purposes?

Mostly, CBD products work differently. Where we can, we will sometimes use more THC, as it seems to increase the receptivity of the ECS, but even the small amount in hemp seems to make a substantial difference. There are a few circumstances,such as increasing appetite where THC really improves results. ***Editor’s Note-Commercially available products like Green Earth Medicinals are legally required to have less than .3% THC. Higher amounts may be used in a private clinical setting where allowed by state/municipal laws.

Why is it important to have a full-spectrum CBD extract versus isolating certain cannabinoids?

 The first thing to know is that CBD is not one thing, but a lot of different versions of one thing, which is the cannabis plant. The genetic code of Cannabis will change every time it goes to seed, and the levels of cannabinoids and other compounds such as terpenes, flavones, etc. will change as part of the immune and stress response of the plant to its environment. These changes can cause products to provide very different experiences for consumers as what works in one product may not be present in another. We do not yet know which terpenes or flavones does what, or how everything interacts, so we try to keep as much as we can. Our experience is that the products are more effective when they have the associated compounds that naturally occur in the plant.

After the recent passage of the Farm Bill finally opened some doors for hemp CBD in US, what do you think is the next stage of development?

We are interested to see cultivar specificity in the research, and to find out which forms work best for which uses. Much of what we currently know comes from what we have done out West. It will be interesting to see what does well in other areas, and what the properties of those types will be.

In order to purchase Green Earth Medicinals on our website, you must be approved as an Acupuncture Atlanta clinic customer. For more information and a free 15 minute consultation, feel free to contact us via email or call (866) 910-1567.